Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura adjourned the sitting after he established the House did not have the required 24 county delegations needed to be present to put the matter to vote/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 5 – Counties will have to wait a bit longer for disbursement of a Sh300 billion allocation after a quorum hitch forced adjournment of a special Senate sitting called to approve the monies.
Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura adjourned the sitting after he established the House did not have the required 24 county delegations needed to be present to put the matter to vote.
“Having finished with Order No 4, it quite obvious that we don’t have a threshold to deal with any of the Orders on the Order Paper, consequentially I would have to adjourn the House. Honourable Senators seeing that there is no other business to be transacted. The House now stands adjourned until September 17.”
Migori Senator Wilfred Machage while concluding debate urged the Speaker to defer vote on the matter.
“In case we are not able to pass the Schedule today, I request that another attempt at the earliest possible is made for this House to reconvene again and pass this Schedule because it is of extreme importance to the disbursement of funds to the county governments and I will appeal to both sides of the House that when that is done, then all systems must go and we should all respond to our primary responsibility,” he said.
The County Government’s Cash Disbursement Schedule lists the amount of money each county will get every month for the financial year.
Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki called the special sitting hardly days after the Council of Governors complained about delayed release of the monies by the Treasury saying their workers are about to strike over delayed salaries.
The Senate which now proceeds on recess until September 13, also failed to deliberate on the Mediation Reports of Community Land, the Land Laws (amendment) and the Water Bills that are supposed to be passed by Parliament by August 27.
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