The Senate Committee on Finance rejected a proposal by the National Treasury to revert and redirect Ksh425 million allocated to counties.
Speaking before the committee on Wednesday, May 17, treasury Cabinet Secretary, Njuguna Ndung'u, argued that the amount allocated for library services across counties could be channelled elsewhere.
According to Ndung'u, library services were a devolved function and therefore, the counties ought to source the resources from other avenues.
“It cannot be concluded as part of the county allocation. We are looking at the County Allocation Bill 2023, which passed but omitted that objective.
"The only way for the National Treasury to give Sh425 million to 33 counties for the transfer of library services is to look for it without necessarily including it in the equitable shareable revenue to counties,” Ndung’u stated.
However, the committee rejected the proposal stating that the revenue allocation had already been approved and it would seem like the government was reneging on a passed law.
"You are asking the Seneta to reduce sharable revenue from what you passed, and that will appear like the Kenya Kwanza government is denying county governments money," the committee responded.
The CS countered, stating that the counties would receive their equitable share revenue allocation for March and April 2023 within May 2023.
On Wednesday, May 17, the County Assembly members suspended sittings in the 47 counties if the National treasury failed to address delays in the disbursement.
They also demanded the reinstatement of plenary sitting allowances, which the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) scrapped in 2022.
Further, they noted that the move resulted from the lapsing of a 14-day ultimatum they had issued to President William Ruto after holding a meeting on May 5.
According to the MCAs, the county assemblies ought to be granted financial autonomy to aid in the effective execution of their mandate.
“We have sought a resolution of the issues, but it is not forthcoming. We, therefore, have no other option but to call upon our members to down their tools across the 47 counties with immediate effect,” Kinani ward representative, Francis Wambua, who is also the chairman of the newly established Members of the County Assembly Congress, stated.
“It is hard for an MCA to carry out the oversight function. This is not about the MCAs but about devolution.
"Some of the clerks in committees earn more than an MCA. Most MCAs look for ways of working with the executive, hindering their role,” Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai added.
