Treasury PS Kimani Thugge and senators yesterday disagreed over what percentage of the total county budgets MCAs can amend.
Currently, county assemblies are allowed to amend only one per cent of the budgets.
Thugge said MCAs should only be allowed to change the budgets up to three per cent.
Senators on the other hand said the county assemblies should alter the budgets up to 10 per cent.
“I want to ask the committee to reconsider the position. Let’s start at five per cent,” Thuge told the Senate Finance Committee.
Committee chairman Billow Kerrow said it is the role of the assemblies to make budgets.
“Why do you allow the National Assembly to amend the national government budget, but when it comes to county assemblies you want to limit them? This time we want you to allow the assemblies to amend up to 10 per cent then we can review in case of
challenges,” he said.
County assemblies have opposed proposed budget regulations that would slash their spending on salaries and allowances.
The regulations were published last month by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
They limit the total expenditure of the county assemblies to seven per cent of the county revenues or twice the personal emoluments of MCAs.
MCAs said the rules published under the Public Finance and Management Act are part of systematic efforts to kill devolution by emasculating county assemblies in the budget process and oversight.
The regulations reduce the role of MCAs in budget-making.
The regulations
mean that in 2016-17, allocations to county assemblies will be reduced from Sh27 billion in the current financial year to Sh18 billion.