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"content": "getting. This is what has happened because they have already complied. Since it is not unlawful, it means you can go ahead and have it adjusted. Mr. Speaker, Sir, that is our position but I want to emphasize one point to Sen. Hassan; the court process, I think we should not ignore, that they were two consents that were filed in the court by the 47 county assemblies, allowing them to draw, first the 50 per cent, then up to 75 per cent of the money. The withdrawal of this money was based on the ceilings. That court process, more than anything else, determined how the money was to be given out. I think I have addressed the legality of the matter as raised by Senators. The Senator for Elgeyo-Marakwet, Sen. Murkomen, raised the issue of Appropriation Acts. Once an act has been passed in the assembly, appropriating that money based on the budget estimates, can the circular from CRA nullify that? No. It is not the circular but the Controller of Budget. Can the Controller of Budget review? That is the question that they took to court and the ruling was very clear in that regard. I just want to read that part, with your indulgence. The court said:- “It is also not bound to follow the respective county budgets which are themselves subject to national laws which include the County Allocation of Revenue. We have those laws at the national level and they are all subject to the national law. Therefore, the Controller of Budget can actually review or have powers to look at it based on those provisions of law.” The judge said that no challenge had been made by the assemblies to these laws. That is the point I wanted to clarify. The question that Sen. Murkomen asked regarding county executives being members of IBEC and, therefore, using their weight does not arise. They use a structured process to look at a county assembly and see where there is a speaker and how many Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and staffs are there and what their benefits and allowances are. They work out figures based on this. The same thing is done to the county executive. There is the governor but they also have to know how many employees including the County Executive Committee (CEC) members are there. So, this is done in a structured basis and there is a complete report on that. I have also provided it in this Report. Therefore, the influence of IBEC does not really arise I have responded to Sen. Ndiema’s question that the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) can revise that because this is not binding. This year, the ceilings which will come to us from the CRA, if adopted by this House, will remain binding and will not be changed until the year ends. However, because this has not been approved by the House, that is why the court ruled that it is not binding and, therefore, can be amended. That is why Members, on a need basis, can have the figures reviewed. We have already directed the CRA and the Controller of Budget to do that. Concerning the question of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) raised by Sen. Ndiema, according to the County Assemblies Forum (CAF), all county assemblies are already connected and working with the IFMIS. However, in the meeting that we had a couple of weeks ago, the Controller of Budget had told us that they will confirm with the Director of the IFMIS. That is why we gave them 30 days. Already, one week is down the road and in the next three weeks, we will know the status of the IFMIS. If it is workable, then, there will be no reason why county The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
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