Senators to Amend County Revenue Allocation Formula Affecting 21 Counties[LIST]

Members of the Senate Finance and Budget Committee, on Monday, deliberated on the Fourth Basis on revenue sharing among counties where they strongly opposed the move.

In the meeting chaired by Mandera Senator Ali Roba, the committee engaged with the Commission on Revenue Allocation on the new proposal that is set to change how funds are distributed.

According to the senators, the new formula is discriminatory as 21 counties are set to lose money they had received in previous allocations, something they are not keen on approving.

“How do you expect us to convince the Senate to pass this formula bearing in mind that 21 counties are losing?  If somebody is pushing you, go and tell that person it won’t work,” Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale posed.

The commission had been tasked with recommending how much each county would receive, an exercise which they carried out based on Population, Equal Share, Geographical Size, Poverty, and Income Distance.

Population will determine 42 per cent of the allocation, followed by Equal Share at 22 per cent, Poverty at 14 per cent, Income Distance at 13 per cent, and Geographical Size will receive the least allocation share at nine per cent.

The commission then submitted the recommendations to Parliament in January, as stipulated in Article 216 of the Constitution. If approved, they will serve for the next five financial years.

As a result of these concerns, Senator Roba noted that the Senate would seek to amend the recommendations before passing the new formula.

“This formula has officially left the hands of the CRA; it is now the property of the Senate,” he stated.

“Nothing stops us from seeking further clarification from you and any other stakeholders. The onus is now on us to ensure this formula is equitable.”

According to the senators, the existing formula was working just fine and did not need to be amended.

 “If the machine is working, you don’t have to fix it,” Senator Khalwale stated.

“I will not appreciate any formula that will make Nairobi or any other county lose money,” Nairobi’s Edwin Sifuna added.

Some of counties include; Nairobi, Nakuru, Kiambu, Meru, Kakamega, Turkana, Wajir, Bungoma, Kitui, Machakos and Kajiado.

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