National Assembly Rejects Senate Push to Increase County Funding by Ksh60 Billion

The National Assembly has rejected an amendment by the Senate that sought to increase the funds allocated to counties by Ksh60 billion, raising the total from Ksh405 billion to Ksh465 billion.

While moving the motion during the Tuesday, June 3, session, Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah stated that the country’s economy was not in a position to accommodate the additional funding for counties.

“This Bill, as approved by the House, had about Ksh405 billion, but the other House has since amended that and proposed that we increase that to about Ksh465 billion, that is Ksh60 billion above what is agreed. And bearing in mind the fiscal space that we have, it may not be practical to increase by Ksh60 billion,” Ichung’wah said.

He added: “Having considered that, we thought it’s only fair that we reject this amendment by the Senate to allow us to go into early mediation and, therefore, beg to move the House to reject in totality this proposal by the Senate.”

Ichung’wah’s motion was unanimously supported by Members of Parliament, paving the way for joint mediation sittings between the two Houses to try and reach a consensus on the Division of Revenue Bill.

This rejection mirrors past standoffs between the Senate and National Assembly, which have previously led to delays in the disbursement of funds to counties. In 2024, it took multiple sittings of an 18-member joint mediation committee to resolve a similar impasse, during which counties were left facing a critical cash crunch.

On November 20, 2024, the two Houses eventually agreed to allocate Ksh387 billion for county governments. “We cannot afford to give our counties less money than they received in the previous financial year. We have agreed unequivocally and unanimously that our counties deserve resources,” said Ndindi Nyoro, the then-chair of the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee.

“For that reason, we have reinstated the figure counties received in the previous financial year of Ksh385 billion. On top of that, we have made and provisioned additional resources to the tune of two billion to make our counties perform their duties efficiently.”

Senators at the time had pushed for Ksh400 billion, arguing that Ksh39.9 billion in essential non-discretionary expenditures linked to national government projects would be severely affected by the proposed cut.

With the current disagreement unresolved, counties may once again be at risk of operational disruptions unless the mediation committee finds a timely compromise.

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National Assembly Rejects Senate Push to Increase County Funding by Ksh60 Billion