MPs and Senators deal spares counties delays in release of Sh316.5bn

Counties will not endure cash delays in the financial year starting July after the National Assembly and the Senate agreed on Sh316.5 billion as equitable share for the devolved units.

The two houses of Parliament unanimously passed the Division of Revenue Bill, 2020 in April, paving the way for timely releases of the funds from next month.

“The Senate considered and passed the Bill… and now seeks concurrence of the National Assembly on the said amendments in accordance with the provisions of the article,” National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi said in a notice to MPs in April.

This is a departure from the stalemate witnessed between the two houses in recent years, which led to delays in allocating the 47 counties cash by up to three months.

The stand-off led to salary delays, freeze in projects, delayed payments to suppliers and paralysis in hospitals.

Under the Division of Revenue Bill, 2020, the counties will get Sh316.5 billion from the Sh3.2 trillion budget to be presented today by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.

Last year, MPs and Senators disagreed on the amount to be allocated to the counties as the equitable share, leading to delays in the release of funds that nearly crippled operations at the devolved units that rely on the Treasury due to misses in own-source collections.

Senators had sided with the Commission on Revenue Authority (CRA) in pushing for Sh314.7 billion for the counties while MPs insisted on Sh291 billion, delaying the passing of the County Revenue Allocation Act of 2019 to September.

The stand-off saw the 47 governors move to the Supreme Court to challenge the division of shareable revenue.

The two houses agreed on Sh316.5 billion last September, easing a cash crunch that had put in jeopardy delivery of key services such as healthcare in the counties.