County workers and contractors could soon smile al the way to the bank after a mediation committee, consisting of members of the Senate and the National Assembly, agreed on a Ksh415 billion county equitable share allocation, ending a long-standing stalemate.
This comes two weeks after the National Assembly rejected the Senate's amendment of the proposed Ksh405 billion allocation for counties, raising it to a whopping Ksh465 billion.
In a statement on Wednesday, June 18, Parliament announced that this agreement had been met following back-to-back meetings of the committee.
The crucial decision came after the fourth meeting of the Mediation Committee on the Division of Revenue Bill, tasked with reaching a compromise after the two houses failed to reach a consensus.
"The Mediation Committee on the Division of Revenue Bill, 2025 (National Assembly Bills No. 10 of 2025) has reached a final agreement on a Ksh415 billion allocation for the County Equitable Share for the Financial Year 2025/26," part of the statement read.
This Ksh415 billion allocation is Ksh10 billion of the initial proposal by the National Treasury, which is a 4.8 per cent increase.
Following the agreement, the Bill will be tabled in both the National Assembly and the Senate for debate and subsequent passage.
It is set to be tabled at the National Assembly in the afternoon session of Wednesday, June 18 sitting.
If passed, it will see a huge increase from last year's contentious allocation of Ksh387.4 billion, which saw the two sides take much longer in the mediation process and counties grappling with a cash crunch.
The Ksh27.6 billion rise in funding for the counties is expected to go a long way in funding county projects, including payment of staff salaries on time.
The conclusion marks a crucial step in finalising the national budget and ensuring fair and equitable distribution of resources to the counties for the upcoming financial year.
While reading the budget on Thursday, June 10, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi projected the total allocation to County Governments at Ksh474.9 billion, of which the equitable share is Ksh 405.1 billion.
