A financial crisis is looming in counties after the Senate today withdrew its members from the mediation committee set up to mediate the stalemate between the bicameral parliament on the amount of money to be given to counties this financial year.
This is after the National Assembly ignored the mediation process and went ahead to pass the Appropriation Act 2017 which authorises expenditure on the budget.
Today, temporary speaker Wilfred Machage (Migori) said the senate may have to have the Appropriations Bill passed by the assembly illegal.
The senate withdrew its members after a realisation that their colleagues from the national assembly were planning to push an agenda to amend the contested Division of Revenue (DOR)passed by the senate to undo amendment effected by the latter. No funds can be disbursed to counties without DOR.
While the National Assembly had wanted Shs 323 billion to be allocated to counties, the Senate introduced an amendment to change the amount to Shs 352 billion And a majority leader Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka Nithi)agreed with Machage describing the prevailing situation as a “constitutional crisis of untold proportions.”
“My view is that there is no Division of Revenue,and if there is no Division of Revenue,there can be no Appropriation Act,there can be no County Allocation of Revenue Act,they can go ahead and present the appropriation bill to the President to sign but even if he signs it,it will be an unlawful,illegal and constitutional Act,”said Kindiki.