This archive report was first published on 24 July 2019.
Kenya: Senators Approve Sh335 Billion as MPs Table Another Bill for Less ¶
On July 24, 2019, Kenya's Senate passed a Division of Revenue Bill 2019 in a record 40 minutes, allocating Sh335 billion as the equitable shareable revenue for counties in the 2019/20 financial year.
The Senate's decision came after the National Treasury reduced the allocated funds from Sh314 billion in the 2018/19 fiscal year to Sh310 billion, citing a decrease in revenue. However, the Senate rejected the reduced figure, arguing that it was contrary to the Commission of Revenue Allocation's (CRA) recommendation of Sh335 billion.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly introduced a similar bill, proposing to allocate Sh316 billion as funds for counties. The National Assembly's chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, Mr. Kimani Ichung'wa, argued that the advisory of the 2013 Supreme Court on the role of the Senate in the enactment of the bill was 'dangerous' and 'akin to killing devolution.'
However, the Senate's chairman of the Budget and Finance committee, Mr. Mohamad Muhamud, faulted the National Treasury for revising the figure of funds to counties, terming the move as 'illegal' since neither the Division of Revenue Act, 2018, nor the County Allocation of Revenue Act, 2018, had been amended to take care of the revised figure.
"Revision of the equitable share base is illegal because neither the Senate nor the National Assembly was amended," Mr. Muhamud told the House.
The Senate's decision to allocate Sh335 billion was based on the CRA's recommendation, which took into account a 3-year inflation rate of 6.9 percent. However, the National Assembly has stuck to its proposal of Sh316 billion, arguing that it is the only eligible bill published by the National Assembly.
