• Sources say Senate was under intense pressure from State House to accept the allocation.
• Some senators who opposed the move accused House leadership of killing the Senate.
Image: FILE
The Senate ceded ground on its long-standing dispute with the National Assembly over the amount of revenue to be shared among the 47 counties.
The House on Thursday accepted the proposed Sh316 billion contained in the re-published Division of Revenue Bill, 2019 currently before a mediation committee from the two Houses.
The move, viewed as a win for the National Assembly and the National Treasury, will now end the three-month standoff that plunged the counties into a cash crisis.
Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen said they made the "difficult and painful" decision to help avert a looming shutdown of services in the devolved units.
“This would have a disastrous effect on critical sectors such as agriculture and health,” Murkomen said after the meeting.
The Elgeyo Marakwet senator said they have advised their representatives in the mediation committee to agree to the allocation of Sh316.5 billion.
“We will be advising the senators representing us in the ongoing mediation process to urgently meet with their counterparts in the National Assembly in order to immediately conclude this matter,” he added.
At least 20 senators, led by Murkomen and his Minority counterpart James Orengo, addressed journalists after a three-hour stormy meeting (kamukunji) held in the chambers.
The Star established that the meeting that was chaired by Speaker Kenneth Lusaka was heated, marked by moments of shouting matches and walkouts.
Senators Ledama Ole Kina (Narok), Ali Abdullahi(Wajir), Njeru Ndwiga (Embu), Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho) and Ochillo Ayacko (Migori) were opposed to the surrender and accused the House leadership of killing the Senate.
Independent sources revealed that the House leadership was under intense pressure from State House to agree to the Sh316.5 billion.
The leadership also gave in for fear of a public backlash in the wake of the planned Senate Mashinani session in Kitui.
“We take solace in the fact that sometimes to win the war, one must be prepared to yield some battles,” Murkomen said.
The two houses had bitterly differed over the equitable shareable revenue between the national and the 47 county governments.
Whereas Senators insisted on Sh335.7 billion, MPs maintained that the devolved units should be allocated Sh316.5 billion.
Services have been disrupted, with counties reporting near-total paralysis for lack cash. In some counties, workers have downed their tools for nonpayment of July and August salaries.
The situation forced the Council of Governors to take the National Treasury and the National Assembly to the Supreme Court for disregarding the Sh335 billion recommended by the Commission on Revenue Allocation and subjecting the counties to untold suffering.
Last week, governors threatened to shut down counties on September 16 if the standoff persists.
Early last month, the speakers of the bicameral Parliament appointed an 18-member team to mediate on the republished Bill after the houses failed to agree on the amount.
The original Bill in which the National Assembly had proposed Sh310 billion and Senate Sh335 billion flopped at mediation in June after both houses maintained their hardline stance.
On Thursday, Murkomen lashed out their counterparts, accusing them of being insensitive to the plight of the counties.
“It is the ultimate irony that it is no bother to the National Assembly if the people of Kenya are denied basic services so long as the national government is adequately resourced. The Senate, by its design, composition and role, cannot be complicit in such a project,” he said.
Edited by R.Wamochie