Senate now fights Parliament over control of Budget

A turf war between the Senate and National Assembly was building up Tuesday after the former demanded to revise the Division of Revenue Bill, 2013 approved by the Assembly 10 days ago.

The Senate has demanded that the National Treasury forks out an additional Sh28 billion to meet a deficit it says will cripple 22 counties if the Sh210 billion approved by MPs is adopted as the total revenue transfer to the 47 counties.

But MPs say it is overstepping its mandate of merely dividing allocated cash among counties, with one even suggesting that it should meet thrice a year.

The Senate on Tuesday grilled Treasury secretary Henry Rotich over the said deficit. Senator Mutahi Kagwe raised the issue saying Nairobi, Nyeri, Kisumu, Nakuru and Mombasa will be among counties that will suffer shortfalls if the distribution stays as it is.

He said Nairobi will have a deficit in excess of Sh7 billion, Nyeri Sh3.4 billion, and Nakuru Sh1.8 billion.

“A total of 22 counties will have deficits which will make it difficult for them to start off. We cannot equalise counties by introducing poverty. It will bring down some so that others catch up,” Mr Kagwe told the Treasury officials.

Mr Rotich said that the Treasury had done all it could in availing the Sh210 billion, having raised the earlier allocation to counties by Sh12 billion from Sh198 billion.

“We have already stretched our revenues and borrowing limits. The Treasury had no money and it was not willing to take on further debts past the ceiling approved by Parliament,” he said at KICC in Nairobi on Tuesday.

(Read: MPs raise funds allocated to the counties)

The Senate Committee on Finance, Commerce and Planning and that on Devolved Government said adjustments must be made on the Bill to ensure counties with deficits are not disadvantaged.

The role of the Senate in scrutinising and making changes on the Division of Revenue Bill, 2013 will be known this afternoon when National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi rules on whether it was right to refer the Bill to the Senate.

Mr Muturi is expected to give directions over a controversy stirred by Suba MP John Mbadi who raised a constitutional concern that the Bill, which is currently under debate in the Senate, should have been referred directly to President Uhuru Kenyatta for assent and not the Senate.

Mr Mbadi questioned the procedure adopted in referring the Bill to the Senate which he said appeared proper in the Standing Orders and the Public Finance Management Act but contradicts the Constitution.

Mr Mbadi said the National Assembly has the overall mandate to deal with the Division of Revenue between the national and county governments while the Senate has the obligation to handle the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2013 which shares the allocation between the 47 counties.

“I realise that the Bill doesn’t have to go to the Senate. This is likely to spark a constitutional crisis if we were to refer the Bill to the Senate. If there is an amendment or rejection, it will have to be referred back to us and if we fail to agree with the Senators through the Mediation Committee, then the Bill will be lost,” he said.

Source: www.businessdailyafrica.com

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