MPs’ deal on counties law ends budget stalemate

MPs have finally struck a deal on a contentious piece of legislation, unlocking a stalemate that had threatened to derail the budget speech next week.

The Senate and National Assembly sealed the deal on the enactment of the County Governments Grants Bill, 2021, ending a four-month impasse.

It paves the way for Thursday’s 2022/23 budget speech by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani. The deal also paves the way for the debate and the eventual passage of the Division of Revenue Bill (Dorb), 2022, whose consideration the Senate had stalled as their leverage in ending the impasse.

In an unprecedented move, the 10-member Mediation Committee struck a deal yesterday after the National Assembly abandoned all its amendments it had initiated when it considered the Bill late last year.

This means that the mediated version of the Bill includes nearly all the proposals that were contained in the document that originated from the Senate last May after the High Court ruled that conditional grants cannot be part of the Dorb.

Equitable share of revenue

However, the National Assembly was able to extract some concessions, key of which was to change the name of the Bill to the County Government Additional Allocation Bill, 2021.

The change of the title is supposed to reflect the fact that devolved units receive additional allocations from the national government’s equitable share of revenue, instead of them being viewed in the narrow mirror of grants.

However, the two sides agreed that the law will hence be annual, meaning that the funds will be appropriated by Parliament every year. 

The National Assembly had wanted the Bill to be permanent, requiring no annual consideration as is the case of the budget, county allocations and division of revenue Bills.

The Bill will be submitted to Parliament every year alongside Dorb and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Carb) and that the Treasury CS will be obligated to provide monthly reports on the status of disbursement of the funds.

Debated and adopted

“After extensive consultations we have agreed that the Bill developed by the Senate be adopted as the mediated version because it is good for both Houses,” said Mr Kanini Kega, a member of the committee representing the National Assembly said.

The report of the Mediation Committee and the mediated version of the Bill were tabled in both Houses late in the afternoon. 

Whereas the Senate debated and adopted the report, with 32 senators voting in support, the National Assembly is likely to do so next week after it suffered quorum hitches yesterday owing to heightened political activity.

Mr Charles Kibiru, the Kirinyaga senator who chaired the Mediation Committee, said it had been agreed that the disbursement of the funds should start as soon as next week once the President signs the Bill into law.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi ruled that Mr Yatani will now be allowed to present the 2022/23 budget only if the DORB 2022 is signed into law.