Standoff over revenue bill bodes ill for counties

The standoff between Senate and National Assembly over the Division of Revenue Bill 2019/2020 bodes ill for counties. No doubt, matters are coming to a head as counties face serious cash flow crunches that threaten operations. Workers have not been paid salaries since July 2019.

Consequently, the Kenya County Government Workers Union, Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union, Union of Kenya Civil Servants and the Kenya Union of Nurses have issued a seven-day strike notice.

The unions have threatened to down tools if their members are not paid their full salaries by Monday next week. This need not be the case if truly devolution is meant to work for the common mwananchi.

Ideally, the Division of Revenue Bill should have been ready before the presentation of budget estimates for the 2019-2020 financial year by the Treasury Cabinet secretary in June, but that did not happen due to the disagreement in the bicameral Parliament.

While senators have thrown their lot with the governors who are demanding an allocation of Sh335 billion, the National Assembly has approved Sh316 billion.

On his part, the President threw his weight behind the National Assembly when he warned governors that there was no extra cash for them.

The Supreme Court’s Advisory opinion that senators, MPs and governors should find a common ground on the revenue bill should be heeded. It would be imprudent to let grandstanding force counties to grind to a halt, especially now that Kenyans have started to enjoy the fruits of devolution and appreciate its full potential.