National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has called for hastened talks to resolve the standoff over the Division of Revenue Allocation Bill 2019.
MPs and Senators have disagreed over the amount to be allocated to counties with the National Assembly insisting on Sh316 billion. Senators said they will not accept an amount less than Sh327 billion.
The passage of the bill has delayed, leaving counties at risk of running out of funds for their activities.
Speaking in Garissa town on Saturday, Duale said the bill will be retabled in the National Assembly this week.
He said the bill to be retabled is that initially brought to the House by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich when he tabled the 2019-20 budget last month.
Duale said there will be more negotiations between the Council of Governors, the Senate, the Commission of Revenue Allocation and the National Treasury.
“We want to republish the bill the way it was brought by CS Rotich as stakeholders engage under the leadership of the President and the Deputy President. If we agree on a figure, then both houses will amend their bills before they are published,” Duale said.
He said the stalemate has left counties mulling a re-adjustment of their budgets "because they don’t have a figure to work with."
Last week, Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya warned that county activities would grind to a halt if the bill is not urgently passed.
"The Council of Governors call for a speedy solution to this matter so that crucial services to Kenyans are not interrupted. Essential services will obviously suffer if the bill is not enacted in the next three weeks," Oparanya said.
Both Houses of Parliament must pass the bill for President Uhuru Kenyatta to assent to it before Money can be disbursed to the devolved units.
edited by peter obuya
