The stalemate in the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill of 2024 took a dramatic turn when Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna said that parliament could as well be dissolved if all the decisions were finalised at the State House.

During a meeting of a mediation committee between senators and members of parliament from the parliament’s Budget Allocation Committee, Sifuna decried the insinuation that a decision would be made by the cabinet secretary John Mbadi, with the blessings of State House.

“We as parliament should not be the ones ceding the power that is vested in parliament to other organs of state. It cannot be possible that a Cabinet Secretary for Treasury is the one telling us that the only money he can give county governments is Ksh380 billion,” Sifuna said.

“Then what is the role of parliament We should dissolve parliament and let Mbadi make all the decisions he wants to make on the money that he wants to send wherever,” he added.

Senate-parliament standoff

The standoff between the two houses of parliament was brought to the fore after the Senate rejected a proposal of the National Assembly to cut down the amount of money sent to counties from Ksh400 billion to Ksh380 billion.

While the senate maintained that the funding to counties should not be less than Ksh400 billion, the National Assembly insists that the austerity measures introduced by President William Ruto occasioned the cut by Ksh20 billion.

The 18-member mediation committee co-chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Mandera senator Ali Roba seeks to end the standoff which has left counties in limbo.

Last week on November 15, 2024, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga castigated the members of the National Assembly for attempting to dictate the capitation received by counties.

In his press conference, Raila said that the law required that counties receive the stipulated amount of money according to the constitution.

“Because they want to have their way with the abrogation of the constitution and getting their pound of flesh with regard to NGCDF, the Senate and the National Assembly are unable to agree on something the law is so clear on about sharing of the revenue between the National Government and the county governments,” Raila said.

Adding: “The law is very clear on revenue sharing. MPs must stick to their constitutional mandate of representation, legislation, and oversight. This power grab is unconstitutional and must not stand,” he said.