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{
    "id": 992853,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/992853/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 129,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, the Supreme Court, on a positive note, ruled that counties should access 50 per cent of their allocation from the preceding financial year as long as the said allocation does not go below the 15 per cent provided for in the Constitution. In the meantime, the judgment of the Supreme Court has provided a structural framework that will apply if an impasse occurs due to the failure of the mediation process, owing to the lack of concurrence between the two Houses over the Division of Revenue Bill. Madam Temporary Speaker, please note that if Parliament fails to enact the Division of Revenue Act within the stipulated period, the finding of the Supreme Court is that Parliament may be dissolved in line with Article 261 of the Constitution. This provision of the Constitution allows any Kenyan to petition the High Court when Parliament has failed to enact any legislation within the specified time. This action is not without precedent. In Australia, Parliament has been dissolved at least seven times for failing to pass required legislation and occasioning constitutional crisis, resulting in paralysis of Government operations. At all times, we must be alive to our solemn duty to ensure that both levels of government are able to operate seamlessly and provide services to the people on whose behalf we exercise sovereignty. This House must be proactive and pass legislation, directing the National Treasury on the proper mode of distribution of funds without undue delay as provided in Article 219 of the Constitution and in line with the budgetary cycles of the county governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, I now turn to the most crucial limb of the judgment from the Supreme Court; indeed, the grundnorm and the biggest win for the Senate. The Supreme Court has affirmed the position that this House has often times held; that the National Assembly cannot enact the Appropriation Act before the Division of Revenue Act."
}