President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law, bills that will end the row over county funding and help the government finish impending projects.
Division of Revenue Act 2016 provides for the equitable division of revenue raised between the national and county governments in the 2016/17 financial year.
The total sharable revenue for 2016/2017 amounts to Sh1.38 trillion,
Sh1,093.9 billion
of which has been allocated to the national government.
County governments have been allocated Sh280.3 billion, while the Equalization Fund will receive Sh6 billion.
Of the total revenue allocated to the national government, funds set aside for conditional grants to the counties amount to Sh21.9 billion.
The county equitable share represents 30 per cent of the total audited revenue for the 2013/2014 financial year.
The equitable share for 2015/2016 amounted to Sh259.8 billion. The 2016/17 allocation represents an eight per cent increase.
The Supplementary Appropriation Act authorises the release of Sh35.6 billion from the Consolidated Fund.
The government will use the money to fulfill its financial obligations for the remaining part of the financial year that ends on
June 30.
The Act indicates the amount each ministry has been allocated for recurrent and development expenditure for the remaining period of the financial year.
It further grants Treasury the authority to reduce sums supplied for several government services for a number of votes amounting to Sh72.5 billion.
At State House on Friday, Uhuru also signed Climate Change Bill 2014, aimed at
developing, managing, implementing and regulating mechanisms to enhance climate change resilience and low carbon development in Kenya.
The Act establishes the National Climate Change Council as an overarching high-level national climate change mechanism to be chaired by the President.
It empowers the council to assign duties related to climate change to public and private entities.
The Act also establishes the Climate Change Directorate, which will be the secretariat to the council and the lead government agency on national climate change plans and actions.
It further
establishes the Climate Change Fund as the financing mechanism for priority climate change actions and interventions approved by the council.
The bills were presented to the President by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.
Muturi was accompanied by Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso, Solicitor General Njee Muturi and
Michael Rotich, the
Deputy Clerk of National Assembly .
Also present were National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale, Senate Majority Chief Whip Beatrice Elachi, Runyenjes MP
Cecily Mbarire and Nairobi woman representative Rachel Shebesh.