Senators to extend life of Equalisation Fund

Marginalised counties are set to continue receiving funds meant to uplift them as senators push to extend the implementation period of the Equalisation Fund.

The Senate Finance and Budget committee is planning to rally Parliament to extend the sunset clause of the fund by more than 10 years to make up for delays in its roll out.

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale said the undue delay in the implementation of the fund for various reasons is what prompted the committee to consider the extension. He pointed out that the fund came into place after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution and was to last 20 years but its implementation was delayed until last year.

Consequently, the committee is looking at extending the sunset clause to cater for the lost time and ensure it achieves its intended purpose—to bring the marginalised areas as close as possible to other regions in terms of level of development.

Dr Khalwale said the constitution allows Parliament to extend the sunset clause of the fund with reasons.

“Since we rationalised the fund last year, this means that 13 years were lost between 2010 and 2023. This means that the years of implementation were not utilised,” said Mr Khalwale.

“So we are going to extend for a period of 13 years so that we make up for all the lost time. It will require Parliament to overcome some technicalities in the process. We will be mapping to the next phase the years that were not utilised now that there is proper legislation in place for the fund to be applied to the beneficiary counties,” he added.

Article 204 of the constitution, which provides for the fund, states that the implementation of the fund shall elapse 20 years from the time the constitution was promulgated. This means that the fund should close in August 2030.

However, the constitution provides that Parliament may enact a law suspending the expiry period of 20 years. It states that such legislation shall be supported by more than half of all the members of the National Assembly and more than half of all the county delegations in the Senate.

The committee’s vice chairperson, nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda, added that the extension is meant to ensure that projects that are already being executed under the fund continue until completion.

“The discussion was more on the completion of the projects that have already been budgeted for and are undergoing implementation. So even if the time lapses, the projects will not come to an end but will continue up to completion because they have been identified, budgeted for and are being implemented,” said Ms Mutinda.

Some 1,424 marginalised areas spread across 34 counties have been benefiting from the fund since the beginning of its implementation.

Money from the fund is supposed to be used to provide basic services including water, roads, health facilities and electricity in marginalised areas.

The constitution provides that 0.5 per cent of all the revenue collected by the national government should be allocated to the fund. Since its establishment, the fund’s entitlement stands at Sh54.03 billion but only Sh26.29 billion has been allocated and Sh12.40 billion disbursed in 2018. In the last financial year, the National Treasury released Sh13.89 billion.

“Implementation of this fund started late. Many marginalised counties are yet to benefit from it because it started late,” said Dr Khalwale.

The fund was meant to benefit 14 counties: Turkana, Lamu, Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Samburu, West Pokot, Tana River, Narok, Kwale, Garissa, Kilifi, Taita-Taveta and Isiolo. However, the Commission on Revenue Allocation changed the formula and increased the number of beneficiary counties to 34. In the new criteria, the commission identified marginalised locations and sub-locations across the counties.

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