By Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen
It is now public knowledge that there has been protracted engagement in the Senate concerning the basis for allocating, among counties, the share of national revenue otherwise now called County Allocation of Revenue Formula.
This engagement has led to a proposal developed by the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget with various amendments from different Senators.
As you may recall an amendment proposed by the Senate Majority Whip was dispensed with last week and an amendment proposed by Sen. Johnstone Sakaja is currently being debated in the Senate.
On Tuesday, 4th August, 2020 after the bipartisan and behind the scenes negotiations among like-minded Senators across the divide, Senator Kipchumba Murkomen moved an adjournment motion to give room for dialogue and to enable us reach a consensus on the best resolution which protects the interests of all counties. Having had further engagements we would like to update the public as follows;
1. We are supporting an amendment sponsored by Senator Mithika Linturi which is a further amendment to the one sponsored by Sen. Sakaja
2. The Linturi Amendment retains the parameters contained in Sen. Sakaja's original amendment but only lowers the amount that will be shared to the counties using the existing resolution. This amount shall range between Ksh250Billion and Ksh270 Billion. The exact amount shall be agreed upon once the negotiations are complete
3. Anything above the agreed figure as indicated above shall be shared using the formula proposed by the Senator Sakaja.
4. Towards finding a final solution, we have mandated Sen. Sakaja to work with Sen. Linturi in consultation with other colleagues to ensure that they burn the midnight oil and give us the final document on or before Monday, 10th August, 2020. Both Senators will agree on how to co-sponsor the approved version.
5. We believe that the proposed solution(s) will bring to an end the prolonged debate on this matter and that on Tuesday, 11th August, 2020 the Senate will pass the final version unanimously.
We appreciate the people of Kenya for exercising patience as we navigate through these complex negotiations on resource allocation.
Thank You!
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