County governments will be able to access a portion of devolution funds from Treasury even before enactment of the Division of Revenue Bill, should proposed amendments to the Public Finance Management Act sail through.
The amendment Bill, sponsored by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wa, has gone through first reading in the National Assembly and is now committed to public participation through the finance and national planning committee.
The Bill seeks to create a framework that would allow county governments access their minimum share of the 15 per cent revenue guaranteed to them by the Constitution in the event that the two houses fail to enact the division of revenue bill before the commencement of the new financial year.
This is to enable the devolved units offer services to the public pending enactment of the crucial bill, the objectives of the bill read.
Even more fundamental is the proposal to empower the Senate to pass, by a resolution, a motion dividing the guaranteed 15 per cent of all national revenue among counties if the division of revenue bill is not enacted by June 10th of the ending financial year.
The senate then transmits its resolution to the National Assembly, which can only countermand or amend the adopted resolution by two-thirds majority.
The divided monies will then be factored in the final version of the Division of Revenue Bill when eventually passed by the two houses, the bill proposes.
The amendment to the Act that put stringent regulation on accessing public funds are seen as part of efforts to forestall a situation where operations at the county government gets grounded when a stalemate between the House and the Senate on the Division of Revenue Bill persist.
The Senate and the National Assembly are yet to agree on a version of the Division of Revenue Bill for the financial year 2019/20, a fact that governors has cited as undermining operations at the counties as there is no alternative legal framework to allow disbursement of the funds to the counties.
The amendment bill also seeks to empower the Controller of Budget to authorise withdrawals from the Consolidated Fund to enable counties access their 15 per cent minimum allocation guaranteed by article 206(2) of the law.
National Assembly clerk Michael Sialai yesterday invited written public views on the proposals.
The public have up to August 15 to submit their input on the proposed piece of legislation.
