Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader Raila Odinga on Friday, November 15, 2024 called out members of the National Assembly over their attempts to reduce revenue allocation to counties.
Odinga, in a press briefing, said that such action is a disregard to the constitution and the recommendations of the Senate.
“It also sets an extremely dangerous precedence, which, if allowed to stand, will lead to a slow but steady strangulation and eventual killing of counties. The National Assembly must get it very clear that revenue allocation to counties can only go up, not down, unless the intention is to kill devolution,” said Raila.
According to Raila, a seizure of power (being plotted by the National Assembly) belies the bill which poses a threat to the Constitution.
“On the surface, this standoff is about the division of revenue amendment bill 2024. The hidden reality, however, is that this standoff is about a power grab and an assault on the constitution that members of the National Assembly want to execute, and which would amount to a cruel betrayal of the people and an overhaul of our structure of governance,” added Raila.
This was bound to happen
The ODM leader now says that the conflict between Senate and National Assembly had been brewing for some time since the launch of the National Government Constituency Development (NGCDF) Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action (NGAAF) Funds.
These two, he states were in the hands of members of the National Assembly. He accused Members of Parliament of plotting to engage in projects that are out of their jurisdiction.
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“These funds give MPs the power to conceive, implement projects, and oversight them at the same time,” noted Raila.
“Having managed to entrench this anomaly, members of the national assembly are now attempting to determine the amount of money counties get despite the clear constitutional provisions on the revenue sharing. Members of the national assembly are also scheming to dip their fingers into more executive projects like road maintenance levy fund, the national constituency level, in addition to the national government constituency development fund, and the national government affirmative action fund.”
The standoff threatens to shut down counties
This fight over allocation of revenue to counties, according to Raila, threatens a shutdown at the counties.
He noted that counties need the resources to function optimally and help boost the country’s increasingly fragile economy.
He added that the move by the National assembly is going all out to reduce revenue allocation to counties and is a complete disregard of the constitution and the recommendations of the senate.
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Raila concluded by stating that by virtue of having existed for more than a decade, the two levels of government, the management and funding of counties should be getting more efficient and more predictable.
He said that the current standoff and attempts to tamper with the equitable revenue sharing indicate a dangerous backward march. He urged the Members of Parliament to be enablers of devolution and refuse to be part in partnership with those determined to frustrate and kill devolution.
A mediation committee consisting of members from the National Assembly and the Senate was formed to address the finding dispute between the two houses. Co-chaired by Hon. Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and Sen. Ali Roba (Mandera), the Committee has been meeting to agree on a possible resolution to the stalemate that has significantly impacted operations at the counties.
The standoff is bound to cripple operations in the 47 counties as they are yet to receive their financial allocations.
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