County funding crisis looms as Senators, MPs struggle to reach agreement

Counties across the country are facing the risk of losing billions in additional funding, with no resolution in sight after a deadlock between lawmakers.

Senators and Members of Parliament (MPs) remain divided over how much should be allocated as conditional grants, threatening the timely disbursement of vital resources to county governments.

The disagreement centres around a Sh16 billion gap between the National Assembly and the Senate.

The National Assembly had approved Sh46 billion for conditional grants this financial year, while the Senate pushed for Sh62 billion.

However, their most recent meeting, held on Monday, ended in deadlock, further complicating the matter.

One of the key points of contention is the Sh10.52 billion allocated under the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), which is currently tied up in a court case.

This legal dispute, filed by the Council of Governors, has effectively stalled any agreement.

With the case still pending, MPs are concerned that progressing with the Bill in its current form could lead to its collapse in the National Assembly, forcing a lengthy delay in securing additional funding for counties.

During the meeting, Senator Tabitha Mutinda (co-chair of the Mediation Committee) proposed that the committee move forward with discussing the six contentious issues not involved in the court case, arguing that progress must be made.

"I feel like we should agree to discuss other issues that are not before court and conclude them on Wednesday since the Senate is going into recess on Thursday," she said.

"Rushing concerns"

However, MP Ndindi Nyoro (co-chair of the Mediation Committee) expressed concerns about rushing the process, warning that doing so could be futile if the RMLF issue remains unresolved.

"The Bill would collapse should the RMLF case not be withdrawn, and it will take another six months for a new one to be reintroduced," he said, stressing the need for careful consideration.

The dispute has sparked further disagreements between the two chambers, with MPs urging a more cautious approach. Mandera East MP Hussein Weytan voiced his scepticism, questioning the justification for allocating additional funds to counties when there is little transparency about how they are using existing resources.

"This is one Bill, and there is no way we can have one part and ignore the other. Let us wait until the RMLF issue is resolved, and that is around March 2024," he said.

Soy MP David Kiplagat echoed these concerns, suggesting that the RMLF issue is contaminating the entire Bill and proposed crafting a new Bill entirely.

"Holding that RMLF is sub judice pollutes the entire Bill unless a new one is crafted," he stated.

On the other hand, some senators, including Wajir Senator Abass Mohamed, argued that counties should not be denied their due allocations, given that many of the ongoing projects are national government initiatives.

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua also called for a more cooperative approach, urging both sides to prioritise the welfare of counties over political and legal wrangling.

"Let us not see this thing as either the National Assembly or Senate thing and approach it as one," he said.

Despite these differing views, the committee remains at an impasse.

The National Assembly members have insisted that the mediation be put on hold until the court case is resolved, with Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu suggesting talks with governors could help break the deadlock. "Can we agree that the Senate side should see whether there could be some talks between the Committee Members and Governors so that we make progress?" he proposed.