This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
Parliament's efforts to resolve a protracted dispute over the Division of Revenue Bill, 2019 have hit a snag, leaving counties to wait longer for cash.
On Tuesday, August 20, 2019, an 18-member mediation panel, comprising nine members each from the National Assembly and the Senate, failed to agree on its first sitting, prompting the postponement of the meeting to next Wednesday.
The team's inability to strike a compromise has further paralyzed counties, which are yet to receive funds from the Treasury into the second month of the new year that started in July.
Some counties are yet to pay July salaries due to inadequate revenues collected from sources like parking fees, business permits, and land rates.
The dispute between the National Assembly and the Senate centers around the Division of Revenue Bill, 2019, which allocates funds collected nationally between counties and the national government.
The Bill has stalled twice, with the Senate insisting that Sh335 billion should be sent to the counties to run services for the year to June 2020. The National Assembly, however, rejected the Senate's decision to amend its version of the Bill, which has set the maximum amount of money to be sent to counties at Sh316 billion.
According to Article 113 of the Constitution, the formation of a Mediation Committee is allowed when both Houses fail to agree on the Bill that shares revenue between the two levels of government.
Before the talks collapsed, the Senators made it clear that they would not take anything less than Sh335 billion, but the Leader of Majority, Aden Duale, told them to take a pay cut to raise county allocation to the amount.
