MPs reject Senators’ proposal of allocating an extra Sh. 7.7 billion to counties

The National Assembly has slammed the Senate for allocating an extra Sh7.7 billion to the counties.

The MPs took issue with the Senate and accused them of failing to tell how the money will be raised, and with that, they unanimously voted to reject the senators’ proposal contained in the Division of Revenue Bill, 2015.

Soon after the vote, Speaker Justin Muturi ordered the Leader of Majority Aden Duale and Leader of Minority Francis Nyenze to give names of MPs who will sit in the mediation committee to find an agreeable position for the two Houses.

"I need those names so that we can alert the Senate that their amendments have been rejected so that we set a mediation committee," said Mr. Muturi.

The committee will have 30 days to reach a consensus over the rejected proposal. Until then, the counties will have no basis on which to prepare the budgets.

In rejecting the proposal, the MPs accused the senators of misreading the Constitution, playing ping-pong with the budget process and seeking to either push the country into debt, cut the budgets to the national government or raise taxes to get the extra cash.

The backlash against the Senate came on the day when the senators were meeting governors and the members of the county assemblies in Kisumu to take stock of the two years of devolution.

The MPs felt that the senators were setting them up against the public by coming up with the "unrealistic" proposal.

expected revenue

They agreed with the Budget and Appropriation Committee that it was wrong for the senators to add more money to the counties before the Budget Policy Statement is approved, and the country knows what is in the resource envelope.

"The Senate adopted the report of the BPS and yet the same Senate goes ahead and wishes to vary its own decision on a policy decision," said Mutava Musyimi (Mbeere South), the chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.

The Senate had proposed Sh4.4 billion for the emergency kitty for governors, and had also proposed Sh1.8 billion to be slashed from the national government's budget.

"When they take money from the national government without explaining how the gap is to be filled, it leaves a lot to be desired and we can't accept that," said George Omondi (Alego Usonga).