• Senate and National Assembly at odds over Division of Revenue Bill, 2019.
• Lack of funds has stalled some county functions.
The Senate and National Assembly have been embroiled in a tussle over the Division of Revenue Bill, 2019 for some weeks now, rendering county governments almost dysfunctional.
Whereas senators want counties allocated Sh327 billion as their share of national revenue, the MPs have only conceded to raise the figure to Sh316 billion from the initially proposed Sh310 billion.
The Bill, which has been the subject of mediation by the two Houses, flopped and was to be republished to authorise transfer of funds to the devolved units.
But this is yet to happen, to the detriment of county governments that now face a grave cash crisis, rendering them unable to pay salaries and run offices.
The Council of Governors plans a march today to the Supreme Court to seek its interpretation on the funding row.
The clash between the Senate and National Assembly on this crucial allocation is unhealthy and dangerous.
The two houses must put an end to the row, much as they have argued that it is informed by other genuine concerns.
They must get their act together, drop their biases and see to it that their differences do not erode critical functions of the devolved units.
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The Author and creator of The Huffington Post was born on July 15, 1950.