NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 26 – Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has asked MPs to steer clear on the debate of the division of revenue to allow their counterparts in the Senate to break the impasse.
Muturi urged the lawmakers to reserve their comments on the matter until when the County Allocation Bill 2020 is passed by the Senate and subsequently transmitted to the National Assembly for debate.
“I have seen many of you arguing very animatedly to an extent you think one is going to fight another. I urge members to wait, do not bother for the time you are just nomads,” he said Tuesday, during a retreat for MPs in Nairobi.
He said members will get enough time to ventilate on the Bill when it will be tabled in the National Assembly, adding that “things will be different from the time the second formula was sent to the House without adequate time for debate.”
“Last time, this came up in the National Assembly, unfortunately, we did nothing and the sixty days timeline lapsed and hence in the absence of our vote the Senate resolution was deemed to have been approved without amendment,” he said.
The Senate formed a 12-member committee in a last resort to try unlock the stalemate which failed for a record ninth time last week, accelerating a financial crisis in the counties.
The Senate is required to vote for a formular for the disbursement of funds from by the national government, in what has divided legislators.
While some want equitable distribution of revenue in counties, others prefer counties to be funded based on size, development and population.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has since encouraged the Senators to be guided by the principles of justice and truth and shun unnecessary politics on the matter.
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