• MPs published their version on Tuesday allocating counties Sh316 billion.
• Governors sued MPs and Treasury for the stalemate that 'has almost brought counties to their knees'.
Image: JAMES MBAKA
The dispute over the Divison of Revenue Bill escalated yesterday after senators published a bill parallel to the one published by the National Assembly.
Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka on Wednesday signed the Bill containing Sh335 billion as the equitable share for the 47 county governments for the current financial year.
The Bill was sent to the government printer for publication last evening.
The lawmakers made the resolution during a Kamukunji held in Parliament.
The move came just hours after their colleagues in the National Assembly published their version allocating the devolved units Sh316 billion.
Senate’s Legal and Justice Affairs Committee chairman Samson Cherargei said the House resolved to reduce the publication period of the bill to hasten its passage.
“We reduced the publication period of the Bill from 14 days to one so that we can dispense off with it and send it to the National Assembly for their concurrence because of the emergency,” Cherargei said.
The Nandi senator defended the Senate’s action saying counties risked grounding to a halt if the process was not hastened.
“The Constitution allows us to originate any bill provided it is not a money bill. So, we are within the law,” he said.
The Houses have bitterly clashed over the amount of money counties should be allocated this financial year.
They could not agree on the initial Bill, which had Sh310 billion, even after the matter was taken to mediation to resolve the impasse.
Initially, MPs allocated the counties Sh310 billion but moved to Sh316 billion during the mediation.
Senators, on the other hand, had allocated the devolved units Sh335 billion as recommended by the Commission on Revenue Allocation. They said the amount factored a four per cent inflation recorded in the last year.
They, however, reduced the figure to Sh327 billion during the mediation talks. The two camps failed to agree, leading to the collapse of the Bill.
The stalemate has nearly paralysed services in the counties as the devolved units cannot access funds from the National Assembly.
On Monday, the Council of Governors sued the National Assembly and the National Treasury over the stalemate that they said has nearly brought the counties to their knees.
The governors are seeking an interpretation of the Constitution on the role of the CRA in funds allocation to counties.
On Tuesday, National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale blamed the commission for the stalemate, saying it has been recommending ‘unrealistic figures’ for the counties.
“The commission has been making recommendations based on non-realisable revenues and has been wearing hats of the National Assembly and Senate by promising counties unrealistic figures and actually sitting on the division table and negotiating on the divisions,” Duale said in a statement.
Edited by R.Wamochie