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{
"id": 1502627,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1502627/?format=api",
"text_counter": 59,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "behalf in that Committee. There was need to approve a version that would allow the National Treasury to produce and allocate approved amounts to the counties that were available. It would not make sense for us to stick to a hardline position when, in fact, the National Treasury would not have the capacity to disburse the amounts that we sought. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, equally, there was additional funding that was sought by the counties, but these were occasioned by policies of the national Government. For example, contributions by counties to the Housing Levy, NSSF contributions, counterpart funding for Community Health Promoters (CHPs), county aggregation and industrial parks, amongst many others. These are national Government policies that required counterpart funding from the county governments and because of that, counties had requested for additional funding. We are trying to explain the rationale behind us taking a lower amount as opposed to what we had agreed here as a House. We agreed that we shall adjust the figures to reflect the realities. Having considered the possible options, the committee resolved that- (a)The national Government equitable share for the Financial Year 2024/2025 be Kshs2,235,993,000,000 - if I am not reading it wrong. (b)The county equitable share for the Financial Year 2024/2025 be Kshs387,425,000,000. (c)The Equalization Fund be Kshs8 billion, of which Kshs7,825,814,725 is the constitutional 0.5 per cent and Kshs147,185,275 is the contribution of arrears to the fund. (d)Therefore, Clause 3 of the Bill is deleted in its entirety. This implies that the section where there will be shortfall within the revenues in the Financial Year 2024/2025 was to be shared between the two levels of government and the capping of what was to be borne by the county governments at 15 per cent was dropped. Consequently, the provisions of Section 5 of the Division of Revenue Act (DORA) 2024 remain and in case of revenue shortfall, it shall be borne by the national Government. Similarly, in case of excess revenue collection, it shall accrue to the national Government and may be used to reduce deficit or to defray public debt. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, in short, that is the agreement. The last thing we also said was that we wanted to encourage county governments to establish strategies and mechanisms to improve the collection of Own Source Revenue (OSR) in order to reduce over-reliance on equitable share as a main source of funding. I have attached the minutes of the Committee. I have also attached the agreed version of the Bill. I just want to say one thing before I move. The team that this House sent for the mediation was a very competent team and we were led by none other than our Chairman of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, the Hon. Sen. Cpt. Ali Roba. We did our best and we even had open sessions that you saw on television which were carried live. However, there were also closed sessions which were done out of the sight of the public where we were given figures and taken through. We also agreed with this team and we listened to a presentation that was saying that even if we insist on some position, there is a possibility that the National Treasury in reality may not be able to disburse the amounts despite the willingness. It could be a situation where the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}