Clerk, do we have quorum?

Serjeant-at-Arms, ring the Quorum Bell for 10 minutes.

Hon. Senators, we now have quorum so we will proceed with today's business. Clerk, you may proceed to call the first Order.

Order, Sen. Murgor. Take your seat. I have some communication to make.

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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Apologies to the students for walking in when the Communication was being made. However, I take this opportunity to welcome them to the Senate and wish them a fruitful visit just as the Speaker has said. I hope that you get to experience some good debate this afternoon. I also hope that we shall be seeing some of you taking up these spaces in the future. I wish you well in your studies. God bless you. I thank you.

Next Order Clerk. The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Budget, I beg to lay the following Papers on the Table of the Senate today Tuesday, 11th June, 2024-

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.

Next Order.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I stand in for the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget who is on his way to Mecca to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move the County Allocation of Revenue Bill 2024, which was published and read on 3rd May, 2024 and read for the first time in the Senate at a sitting held on Thursday 30th May, 2024. Thereafter, pursuant to Standing Order No.145 of the Senate Standing Orders, the Bill was committed to the Committee on Finance and Budget for consideration. The Bill has been prepared in accordance with Article 218(1)(b) of the Constitution and revised among the county’s revenue allocated to the county level of government through the Division of Revenue Act, 2024. At the time of publication of the Bill, the Bill had provided for Kshs415,952,200,000 as equitable share to be divided among the counties. The figure was based on the Senate's amendment to the Division of Revenue Bill, 2024. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Division of Revenue Bill, 2024 was enacted and the county equitable share for the Financial Year 2024/2025 stood at Kshs400,116,788,147. The allocation under the Division of Revenue Act, 2024 necessitates amendments to the First Schedule to the Bill. The CARA objective is to divide county equitable share in accordance with the basis of revenue allocation among counties under Article 217 of the Constitution of Kenya. The horizontal allocation among the county governments of Kshs400,116,788,147 is allocated per county by as follows- The first Kshs158.25 billion will be shared in accordance with the allocation ratio under Financial Year 2019/2020. The resultant balance of Kshs241.87 billion is allocated among county governments using the third revenue formula. The formula takes into account the following parameters contained in the third basis formula- Population, 18 per cent; health index, 17 per cent; agriculture index, 10 per cent; urban index, five per cent; poverty index, 14 per cent; land area index, eight per cent; roads index, eight per cent; and, basic share index 20 per cent--- Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of conversation going on---

Senator for Nandi, kindly take your seat. May the Senator for Mombasa be heard in silence.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Second Schedule to the Bill provides the indicative recurrent expenditure ceilings for the county assemblies and the county 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.

executive for Financial Year 2024/2025 as proposed by the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA). During consideration of the Bill, the Committee invited members of the public to submit views on the Bill. Further, the Committee held consultative meetings with key stakeholders and received submissions from the National Treasury and Economic Planning, the Council of Governors (CoG), the CRA), the county assemblies of Embu, Kakamega, Bungoma, Wajir, Nairobi City County, Baringo, Kisumu, Isiolo, Kiambu, Nyeri, Machakos, Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Tana River and Garissa. Mr. Speaker, Sir, having considered the Bill and the submissions from the stakeholders, the Committee made the following observations, including, Financial Year 2024/2025 is the final year of the implementation of the third basis formula as per Article 217(1) of the Constitution. Notably, Parliament is required to approve the fourth basis formula, which will be used to share revenues for Financial Year 2025/2026 to FY2029/2030. The Bill as published, allocated to county governments, Kshs415.9522 billion. However, following the passage of the Division of Revenue Bill by Parliament, the sharable revenue to counties is now Kshs400.1167 billion. The proposed ceilings for the current expenditure of county assemblies indicate that the current expenditure ceilings for some county assemblies are lower than the ceilings approved in the Financial Year 2023/2024. This is due to the adjustment of the ceilings during the approval of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2023 by the inclusion of the Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) car reimbursement and Senate provisions to cater for a one-off expenditure as per the request by respective county assemblies. The Committee recommends that- (a) The Senate approves the Bill with amendments- (i) The First Schedule to the Bill to reflect the allocation to the respective county governments of the total county equitable share of Kshs400,116,788,147. (ii) The Second Schedule to the Bill to reflect the adjusted recurrent expenditure ceilings for certain county assemblies. (b) The CRA should carry out an assessment of the status of the establishment of funds relating to the staff car loan mortgage scheme with a view to ascertaining how many counties have established the fund; whether the respective funds have been operationalized and challenges, if any, faced by the administration of the funds. Based on the findings, the CRA may, if appropriate, factor in the cost of the submission and operationalization of these funds in determining the recurrent expenditure ceilings in the subsequent financial years. Finally, I appreciate the stakeholders who submitted memoranda and appeared before the Committee to present their comments on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill 2024. I thank the offices of the Speaker and the Clerk of the Senate for the support extended to the Committee in undertaking this important assignment. I also take this opportunity to commend Members of the Committee for their devotion and commitment to duty, which made the consideration of the Bill successful. 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.

Lastly, I wish to request the Senators to approve the report of the Committee on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2024. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I request Sen. Onyonka to second the Motion.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I second.

Senate Majority Leader, what is your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, I rise under Standing Order No.111 on limitation of debate. Members will notice how heavy the Order Paper is, and given that this is a special sitting, there is quite a heavy agenda to prosecute ahead of us. There is Committee of the Whole to be done for almost five Bills and there are these two Bills to consider; this one and the next one. This Bill is as a result of the mother Bill, which is the Division of Revenue Bill. Be that as it may, I appreciate that it is important for Senators to speak to it. However, in light of the heavy schedule, I would like to request that the debate be limited to three minutes per speaker. Perhaps, for those who do not get a chance to speak to this Bill, there is the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill that is coming immediately after. They can as well speak on the same matter, so that everybody in the House gets a chance to at least say something. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to move and request Sen. Sifuna to second.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I second.

Hon. Senators, we may go through the normal procedures of handling that Motion or we can strike a consensus to limit debate at three minutes per Senator speaking. Do we have consensus on this?

Good. Sen. Maanzo, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. It is important to point out that the Senate is here to protect devolution. I like what the Committee led by Sen. Ali Roba has done. What is most important is that devolution has certain parameters that are in the Constitution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, agriculture, health and water are devolved. However, the biggest problem has been health and agriculture. Many functions for health and agriculture, which should be devolved, are still held at the national level. That rather inconveniences the operations of county governments. If you look at the percentages, even from the budget, 91 per cent of the overall funding still remains at the national Government. Although some of them are funded internationally by international organisations, once the funding is done, the national Government purports to work with the county government on a project and majorly holds the monies at respective Ministries. 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.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, for that purpose, it is important that we encourage the Government to fully devolve agriculture and health. If you just give a county government nine per cent, which is very little funding, how do you expect them to build new hospitals and keep them operating by equipping them with medication? These are devolved functions. If you keep most of the functions of agriculture at the national level and yet agriculture is a very important component of our economy, how then will the county government manage and control agriculture fully? Things such as fertiliser, which this House is in seize of, should be procured by the counties according to their needs. There are some counties, which do not need fertilisers at all while others do. I believe all these should go through the governors, instead of having fertiliser being procured even without implementing the Fertilizer Act. The Fertilizer Act should be implemented, so that you do not give the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), which deal with cereals, the work to distribute fertilisers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Senator for Nandi County, Sen. Cherarkey, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support the County Allocation of Revenue Bill. In support of devolution, last year, counties got Kshs385 billion. I am happy that after mediation, we now have Kshs401 billion. What we need to do is ensure the National Assembly gets into the latest audited accounts because the total national budget is Kshs4 trillion. So, it does not look good that out of Kshs4 trillion, we are allocating counties Kshs401 billion. Counties should at least be getting around Kshs500 billion to match the functions. Mr. Speaker, Sir, going into the future, let us in one way or another, ensure we also protect against claw back issues such as fertiliser and the health sector. I have even seen an amendment that the feeder roads in counties should be taken over by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) through the constituencies. As a country, we have an obligation to protect devolution. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am happy that Nandi County, for example, got Kshs7.3 billion in the last financial year. In this financial year, through equitable shareable revenue, they are getting Kshs7.6 billion. In the loans and grants, Nandi County is getting Kshs420 million out of Kshs485 million of Kshs42 billion. I think this is significant for us. If you add the equitable share, the additional resources and the conditional grants, it comes to a total of over Kshs8 billion that will go to the County of Nandi. We want to see provision of roads, bursary, water and many other things. Finally, I urge the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to be on the lookout. We work around the clock to ensure resources are devolved. Under Article 219, when we have appropriated funds, they must go to entities directly. The biggest soft underbelly and lethargy is continuous plundering and corruption in our devolved units. I challenge the EACC to be keen and ensure that anybody found misappropriating funds meant for counties is arrested and prosecuted, so that we can protect devolution now and for posterity. 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.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, with those very many remarks, I support this Bill. We must process it as quickly as possible to ensure we have enough resources. I thank you.

Sen. Kavindu, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill and request that the Government to devolve more funds for the counties. As I echo the words of Sen. Maanzo, agriculture and health are devolved, however, we are facing many challenges in the counties especially with the hospitals because we are short of funds. The counties are paying the doctors, buying medication, building new hospitals here and there and many other things. The funds are not enough. I request the national Government to disburse more funds for health and agriculture to the counties, so that the counties can operate without struggling. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is very important that counties get more funds for agriculture because many farmers are farming without enough fertilizers and seedlings. If they get more funds, county governments will be able to buy all those things and supply them to the farmers. I thank you and support this Bill.

Sen. Wambua, proceed.

I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also add my voice in support of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, 2024 for the Financial Year 2024/2025; a fairly straightforward Bill, if you ask me. There are only two things I will mention about this Bill. For now, and into the future, let us kill this misconception that the national Government has got any money to allocate to any county. That is not the case. It is the work of both Houses of Parliament; the National Assembly and the Senate, to share money between the national Government and the county governments. So, expecting that the national Government is going allocate or devolve more funds to the county governments, is expecting something that will never happen. Secondly, I take cognizance of the fact that this year there has been quite some growth in terms of the amount of money allocated to counties. It is about Kshs400 billion. Kitui County is among the top 10 counties that are receiving quite some share of the equitable share from the Senate. As the National Assembly appropriates for the national Government, the Senate is appropriating for counties. I reiterate what I have always said that it is okay we have come from recess today to appropriate money to our counties. It should be okay when we go to those counties next week or the week after to find out how the money we sent to the counties is being utilised. There should be no problem between Senators and Governors. With those remarks, I support.

Proceed, Sen. Essy.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, thank you for this opportunity. I would wish to support the work that was done on this Bill. Money going down to counties is a good initiative. 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.

First, I would implore the county chiefs and their respective county assemblies to prioritise adding more allocations to the Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) that are within counties. This will build up the capacity of young people to be in a position to put money in their pockets by doing some of these locally made initiatives that we are looking for. Secondly, there is the issue of agriculture. It has for a long time been looked at as an area that thrives through senior citizens. In a way to encourage young people and women to venture more into that field and being a devolved function, more allocation needs to go to those sectors so that we pull together. Finally, I saw Governor Kang’ata sharing an idea on how they have collected a lot of money in Murang’a County as own-source revenue. I request our county chiefs to also look at that. In as much as the national Government is sending money to counties, let them beef up their own-source revenue, so that we supplement those efforts collectively and steer this nation forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Proceed, Sen. Abass.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I support the County Allocation of Revenue Bill. First, I commend the mediation team for the good work they have done. I believe the counties have now received an additional fund of 6.4 per cent. There is also an increase in terms of the level of segregation, industrial parks and Community Health Promoters (CHPs). Many factors have been taken care of in this budget. However, we have so many devolved functions and money has not been released. Therefore, I urge the national Government to also release available funds. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is a good gesture in terms of the CHPs. This will enhance health services to the rural areas; people will receive medical care and health advice on health issues. I also thank the Members because money for the roads has now been released. This budget is very inclusive and I hope we will keep it. The challenge we have is that as good as it is, this increase is not commensurate to own-source revenue collections. Therefore, I urge governors to also increase their own-source revenue, so that the budget can be absorbed while taking care of their own source resources. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we need to make prudent use of resources. The national Government has shown goodwill on the funds released to the counties. The counties should also show and go the extra mile to make prudent use of the money. With those few remarks, I beg to support.

Proceed, Sen. Sifuna.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I am very proud to be a Senator this time. I am extremely proud of the House. As you understand, my position is that we did not put up a fight last year as a House to grow the basket of devolution. However, I am happy that standing here today, as the fourth Senate, we have breached the psychological Kshs400 billion mark on the resources that are going to the counties. I thank my colleagues, all of you who voted for the Division of Revenue Bill and the mediation committee that was chaired by the Senator for Meru, Sen. Kathuri Murungi, for the job that they have done. 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.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you look at the schedule this year, my county of Nairobi is getting an additional Kshs850 million on their equitable share of revenue. I will later be bringing a proposal here for amending the Sports Act. The proposal is that these counties must be forced to allocate at least one per cent of the money we send them for support of the registered county sporting associations. My governor will have no excuse because I have now given him an additional Kshs850 million. I also know that he put around Kshs500 million in the Joe Kadenge Stadium, what used to be known as City Stadium. As we speak, our national team is playing their World Cup qualifiers in Malawi. It is extremely embarrassing and a shame for this country. We hope that county governments can develop sporting infrastructure to the level where we can hold international matches in some of these institutions. The Governor of Nairobi City County will have no excuse because I want to see the completion of the Joe Kadenge Stadium, so that we can host international games there. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we have also seen that Nairobi is getting an additional Kshs224 million for the CHPs. This is what we all promised during the campaigns. They play a critical role, especially in the densely populated areas in Nairobi such as the slum areas. They have been instrumental in ensuring that our people are in good health. Last year, we did not appear in the additional allocation list because we did not get any money for county headquarters or industrial parks. However, we continue to make the case that even if we do not qualify for some of these allocations like the ones for industrial parks, we qualify to be allocated resources just like the other counties for other things, including the construction of markets. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the only thing that we now must insist on as a House is the timely release of these resources to the county governments. We have had a debate here, including when we were managing the disasters that came---

Proceed, Sen. Mandago.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill on allocation of monies to counties. As I support this Bill, we urge our counties, that the Senate having worked very hard to increase the allocation from the proposed Kshs391 to Kshs400 billion mark, expect our counties to be diligent in the utilisation of these resources. My own county of Uasin Gishu will have additional funds of over Kshs300 million. I expect that the County Government of Uasin Gishu will ensure that the VTCs that are on the verge of being closed, with only one out of 13 being functional will be restored and our young people will be able to get skills to work. As I also rise to support this Bill, as the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Health, I urge our county governments to invest resources in health because this builds the foundation of every county. It would be sad to see a county like Isiolo continue without a morgue or working ambulances. It will be a disaster to see the city funeral home operating without a generator after all this allocation. I hope that Sen. Sifuna is listening. He should make sure that he tells his governor to expend these resources by getting a generator for the Nairobi Funeral Home, which he has not procured for the past two financial years. 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.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is incumbent upon this House to make sure that our counties utilise resources well and also take action on governors who, after allocating all these resources, dare not appear before Senate Standing Committees whenever they are required or requested to do so. Anybody who has agreed to receive public resources must be ready to accept to account for those resources on an equal measure as required by the law. As the Senate, we must also check on utilisation of the money. I urge that as we start the next session of the House, committees of this Senate should focus on visiting counties to see the reality. Reports can be good on paper. However, on arrival, you will find a slaughterhouse in the name of a dispensary. It is only when we visit the counties that we will see the reality of what our people are going through and utilisation of the---

Next is Sen. Mwaruma.

Asante, Bw. Spika, kwa fursa hii ambayo umenipa kuchangia Mswada wa The County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024). Kaunti zetu zitapata takriban Shilingi bilioni 401. Hata hivyo, haikuwa rahisi bila kupigana kwa sababu Bunge la Taifa lilitaka kaunti zipate Shilingi bilioni 391. Ilibidi tuwe na Kamati ya Maridhiano. Kuna sababu kadhaa ambazo Wabunge hao walitoa kwa kukataa kupitisha Shilingi bilioni 415 ambazo zilipendekezwa na Seneti. Ya kwanza ni kwa sababu ya ufisadi katika magatuzi. Ufisadi pia uko katika Serikali ya Kitaifa jinsi ulivyo katika serikali za magatuzi. Ni muhimu taasisi husika zipigane na ufisadi katika Serikali ya Kitaifa na zile za magatuzi. Sababu ya pili waliyotoa ni kwamba hawaelewi majukumu ya magatuzi na ndio maana walikataa kupitisha Shilingi bilioni 415. Hilo ni jambo la kushangaza sana kwamba Wabunge wanaopewa kazi ama jukumu la kupeana pesa hawaelewi majukumu ya magatuzi. Labda Wabunge wetu wanahitaji kosi za kuelewa magatuzi yanafanya kazi gani. Nashukuru sana Maseneta kwa kukubali kwamba kazi yetu ni kuhakikisha kuwa pesa zaidi zinaenda katika magatuzi yetu. Wakati magatuzi yanapopata pesa, ni vyema sisi kama Seneti tufuatilie na kuhakikisha kuwa majukumu yaliyogatuliwa yanafanywa jinsi inavyotakikana. Mimi ni Mwanakamati wa Kamati ya Elimu inayoongozwa na Sen. Joe Nyutu. Tunapozuru kaunti mbalimbali, wakati mwingine tunapata kwamba zimewacha jukumu yaliyogatuliwa na kuingilia majukumu ambayo hayajagatuliwa. Ukiangalia bajeti za idara za elimu, utapata kuwa magavana wengi wanatenga pesa za bursaries kwa wanafunzi wa shule za sekondari, vyuo vikuu na Technical, Industrial, Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET). Simaanishi kuwa ni vibaya lakini pia tusisahau majukumu yaliyogatuliwa. Haya ni pamoja na shule za chekechea na vyuo anuwai---

Proceed, Sen. Chute.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I take this opportunity to thank Members, including myself, who went for the mediation. We managed to get an allocation of Kshs401 billion. 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.

The problem that counties are facing is mainly the issue of release of funds for county functions. Agriculture, health, Early Childhood Education Centres (ECDEs), TIVET, water, among others, are devolved functions. Let me tell you about roads. The Governor of Kiambu appeared before the Senate sometime back and complained about thousands of kilometres under county governments, but no funds are allocated. Marsabit is one of the second-largest counties in this Republic. Moving from Ileret to Marsabit can take three days because there are no roads. How do you expect the county government to manage those roads without funds? That is the first problem. Secondly is the issue of water and Marsabit County is an example. People are suffering because the Government sends money to regional authorities instead of counties. Why are we releasing functions without funds? This is a criminal offence. Just like one Senator said, this is theft which starts from the top going down to the counties. I believe that funds must follow functions. Regional authorities should be completely disbanded. We do not need them because we have counties. Thirdly is the issue of funds for ECDEs. In Marsabit, we do not have ECDEs because children learn under trees. The reason is because funds are being consumed at the Ministry of Education. Why is the money kept and used by the national Government while ECDEs are suffering? Health is a devolved function. The introduction of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) will help counties manage their hospitals---

Hon. Kingi): Proceed, Sen. Omtatah.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. However, I am also not happy about the amount of money that counties will get. When you look at the allocations that will go to the counties, this is not the kind of money that counties need to execute their functions. Little as it is, the money should be released on time by the National Treasury. One of the major problems faced by counties is late release of funds. The National Treasury should realise that it serves 48 governments and there is no provision that it has to satisfy the national Government first then county governments. We should have money on the ground on time, so that the budgets can work. I have also looked at the laxity with which the National Assembly approves audited accounts of the Auditor-General. However, when it comes to the National Government-Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), they do not peg it on audited accounts, but on raw data. If at all we are going to entrench the NG-CDF in the Constitution, as they are trying to do, it must be pegged on audited accounts. That way, the National Assembly will be up to task to give us timely audited accounts on budgets of the national Government. Further to that, as a House, we need to look at the definition of “revenue” according to Section 2 of the Commission on Revenue Allocation Act. That definition of revenue robs counties of money that they are entitled to. They exclude a lot of money that the national Government generates, yet the Constitution is clear that 15 per cent is on revenue raised nationally. At the end of the 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.

day, you will find that they take away so much money that what remains to be shared among counties is small and cannot satisfy the demands of devolution. That as it may---

Sen. Munyi Mundigi, proceed.

Asante, Bw. Spika, naunga mkono Mswada wa kuongeza kaunti pesa. Kuna kaunti 47 nchini na nashukuru Maseneta waliozungumza na Wabunge wa Bunge la Taifa. Pesa zilizotengwa kwa magatuzi zimeongezwa kutoka mwaka jana na shilingi bilioni 15. Mwaka wa fedha unaoisha Kaunti ya Embu ilipata Shilingi billion 5.3. Kwanzia mwezi wa saba mwaka huu, Kaunti ya Embu itapokea Shilingi bilioni 5.4. Mswada huu ukipita tutakuwa tumeongezea Kaunti ya Embu Shilingi milioni 200. Pesa hizi hazitoshi lakini naunga mkono. Naomba gavana wa Kaunti ya Embu aangalie ushuru anaotoza kwenye kaunti ili aongeze pesa hizi. Kuna fedha zingine zinatarajiwa kutoka nje kama msaada ili tupunguze madeni kwenye kaunti. Kaunti ya Embu iko na wage bill ambayo iko juu. Pia pending bills ziko juu. Kaunti ya Embu itasaidika wakati gavana atafanya kazi vizuri na Members of County Assembly (MCAs) ili pesa itoshee mahitaji ya Kaunti ya Embu. Gavana wa Kaunti ya Embu inafaa atilie mkazo sekta za kilimo, afya na ujenzi wa barabara. Mazao ya wakulima wa kaunti isiwe na shida ili economy ya kaunti ya Embu ibadilike. Hapo mbeleni tulikuwa na shida lakini sasa naomba gavana afanye kazi ambayo inafaa. Kaunti ya Embu imeteseka kwa miaka kumi lakini kwa miaka tano ya gavana aliyechaguliwa tumeanza kuona mabadiliko. Naomba gavana ajikakamue kwa miaka iliyobaki, ili kaunti iwe kwenye mstari wa kwanza. Miaka itakayokuja tunataka economy ya Embu ibadilike. Ningependa kusisitiza kuwa, miaka inayokuja isiwe ni wabunge wa Bunge la Kitaifa wanatuamurisha vile tunafaa kufanya kazi. Wabunge hawa wanafaa waelewe kuwa kazi ya Maseneta ni kuangalia vile magavana wanafanya kazi. Hii si kazi yao. Naunga mkono. Asante, Bw. Spika.

Sen. Oledama, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. That is very interesting. You have never called me that name, but I will take it. I rise to support the County Allocation of Revenue Bill for the following reasons. I am happy that the money has finally been distributed to the counties. However, I am not happy with the amounts allocated to counties. The national Government keeps clawing back on devolution and allocating billions of shillings to Ministries yet county governments, where most of the population reside, are given peanuts. I was looking at the numbers. Although someone will clap and say Narok County has been given an additional allocation of Kshs171 million and the ceilings for the assemblies have been raised by Kshs1.4 million. What is that? We require the ceilings for the county assemblies to be raised so that they can oversee counties. With the little money allocated to the county governments, we need to ensure the fiducial responsibility of the accounting officers. This is where we are missing the point. We can realign our 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.

small existing resources, bring in accountability and change how things are done in county governments. We have over borrowed as a country. This Senate fought a bit and got an additional Kshs9 billion, which we could have gotten. I never voted for the Division of Revenue Bill because I felt like the little money that was given was not enough. When you see a Member of the National Assembly clapping hands and saying that they have already been allocated an additional Kshs20 million to carry out functions that the county government should carry out, you start questioning whether we understand our role. I long for the day when we will all come of age and know that Parliament's role is to legislate, not implement projects. When you see Members of the National Assembly running around, even county assemblies tomorrow will say they need a kitty. These are the things we have been fighting about. We need to think about the future generation. The time to think about this is now. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can see my time is over.

Sen. Wamatinga, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support. I will start by commending the Mediation Committee for the job well done. They came to a compromise to increase the money allocated to county governments. I want to add my voice to the fact that we need more allocation to county governments. It must be clear to everybody that the only way the Government can raise more resources and revenue is through taxation. It is painful to see that some of the money allocated to county governments is utilized inappropriately. This year, Nyeri County will receive an additional Kshs500 million. It is my prayer that our governor will ensure that the deteriorating health services in Nyeri County are improved. I urge the governors to prioritize settling the pending bills when they receive the allocation. Non-payment is hurting Kenyans and, more specifically, killing small enterprises. It is high time we started discussing how to streamline our own-source revenue. We were impressed by the Governor of Murang'a. I would like to commend the Senator for working closely and in collaboration with his governor to ensure they hit the Kshs1 billion mark in terms of own-resource revenue. It is not good enough to collect resources and allocate more resources. We must ensure that the allocated resources are used appropriately to benefit this country's citizens. Mr. Speaker, Sir, because of our enhanced role through the oversight fund, it is time that we, as Senators, become proactive to ensure that we arrest situations before we lose money. It is known to everybody that Senators have been reduced to morticians. We are given audited accounts to see the situation as it was. It is important that moving forward, we play a proactive role to ensure money is not lost and arrest situations of leakages. Unless we do this, the citizens of this country will continue to complain about heavy taxation because taxation without seeing the use of the money will continue burdening Kenyans. 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.

As I sit down, I commend the Senate for their role and, more importantly, the committees for the Bill they have brought before this House. We must be more visible and present in our counties, so that the role of this House can be felt.

Sen. Osotsi, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for this opportunity. We worked so hard to ensure our counties get Kshs400 billion. We are now distributing those monies to our counties. This Bill shows that my county is getting an additional Kshs190 million. I urge the governor and his people to prioritize key areas. Number one is the Early Childhood Development Centres, where we face the challenges of paying salaries. There are many issues with vocational training centres, and many are almost collapsing. We would like to see more money being sent to our counties. As the country is going through the debate of how to allocate more money to the counties, a few are talking about one man, one shilling one vote. We need a conversation on how to protect small counties such as Vihiga, Elgeyo, Marakwet, Lamu and the others. We need to start thinking of how we will make these counties productive in our formula. That is a debate that some of us who are representing those counties will be coming up with. Therefore, for now, the money that we send to our counties must be used very well. As another Senator said, as the Senate, we need to be very proactive on oversighting our various counties to ensure that we do not act as morticians, but we can oversight the money in our counties. The biggest problem is the late disbursement of funds. I agree with the Senators who had spoken earlier that this is a problem that we need to deal with as a Senate. Very soon, we will be passing the Cash Disbursement Schedule that has clear dates. How I would wish that in that Disbursement Schedule, we need to state very clearly that whenever there is a delay in disbursing funds to the counties, the National Treasury owes us an obligation of full disclosure of why there is a delay. The situation now is that when there is a delay, no one talks to us and the counties and they have to perpetually keep on waiting. This House deserves to get a disclosure from the National Treasury whenever there is a delay in disbursing funds to our counties. I will be moving a Motion in that regard so that when there is a delay, the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary---

Proceed, Sen. Joe Nyutu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I rise to support this Bill and my reason for supporting this Bill is that I am excited about the capping or the ceilings for recurrent expenditure. Since then, we have been having issues with counties all over for overspending on the recurrent expenditure. The provision to have this on the Second Schedule makes me support this Bill. Additionally, the fact that the resources are going to follow functions, in that every County Executive will, in consultation with the national Government, determine the cost of the transferred function and have the monies transferred, is something that makes me feel we should support this Bill. Mr. Speaker, Sir, accountability, especially when a county function has been transferred to a national Government as provided for in Section 6(4), that such an entity will submit quarterly reports to the Senate, will bring a lot of light to this. This reminds 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.

me of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and that such bodies will now report to the Senate makes me feel that we should support this Bill. As we support these allocations to counties, we must also call out the governors and remind them that these monies are public funds and they should be accountable to them. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if you may allow me, I want to call out the Governor of Isiolo, who has been called to the Senate Committee on Health three times. As if that was not enough there is a clip going around of him saying that he will only attend a committee summoned by the Senate when he feels like it. This reminded me of the comments that Adan Duale made one time, ‘Hii si pesa ya mama yako.’ We must call out the Governor for Isiolo and every other governor that does not want to account for the funds so disbursed to their counties. We cannot just fight for them to have more resources and when it comes to accountability, they do not want to account for this. I want to stop there, but ask the governors, as they also collect revenue in the counties, they should also consider the conditions that affect our people in the counties and not raise these charges where not necessary. I applaud my governor for improving on ---

Proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Oburu.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I would like to take this opportunity, just as my colleagues have done, to congratulate the committee, which was negotiating the Division of Revenue between the Equitable Shareable Revenue. They did a good job. However, the job they did as far as I am concerned, is not enough. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when you talk of division of revenue, you should always take into consideration the fact that there is inflation in this country. Therefore, when you are saying that you give counties at least 15 per cent of the total revenue of the last audited accounts which was two to three years ago, you are not taking into consideration that every year there is an inflation of more than 10 per cent. Consequently, when you give an increment of say, Kshs500 or Kshs200 million on Kshs7 billion, for example, for my County of Siaya, you are giving nothing. When you talk of real money, it means the value of that money at that particular time. We cannot be saying that we are giving counties more money when in fact we are not giving them more money. We are just giving them the same money that we gave them last year because that increment that we give is consumed by inflation. I know that when we give money, there are people, particularly in the county assemblies, who are very uncomfortable with this oversight that you want to do. A confusion that the Senate wants to take over the role of oversight from the county assemblies is far from the truth. We cannot just be allocating money to the counties and we are expected not to monitor how that money is spent. There is a role, which the county assemblies play. There is also a big role for the Senate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I have sat down with my county Government and told them about our limit of where we are going to go. There are guidelines, which have been given here that do not touch on the functions of the county assemblies. Let the assemblies do their monitoring part and let us also continue doing our part. 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.

Proceed, Sen. Dullo.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I sat in the Mediation Committee, but it was hard for us as a Senate to convince the National Assembly to give us more funding. This is the only time that we have managed as a Senate to have an increment after the Houses have passed the ceiling.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I remember over the years we used to increase the budget, but every time you will see that the governors would throw us under the bus when it comes to allocation. I will support this particular Bill, but with a very heavy heart as a Senator of Isiolo County. Mr. Speaker, Sir, in this allocation, we have a Kshs400 million increase to Isiolo County. However, it is really sad that we release the money and somebody sits at the county and says, “I am not accountable to the Senate or I am not accountable to the Senator of that county.” The Governor for Isiolo was called to appear before the Committee on Health yesterday with summons. He has refused to appear even after the Committee has issued two summonses. Where are we heading to? We had such cases in 2013 and 2014. However, with time, the governors saw that there was no need for them to refuse to appear before the Senate. This is the 21st Century. As I speak here, we do not have a morgue in Isiolo County. It only requires only a cooling system. That is what the Governor was coming to explain, but he has refused. As a House, we must have a solution to this. We cannot be lamenting forever. If I was given an opportunity today, I would move a Motion to stop budgetary allocation to Isiolo County. However, I will wait. Imagine where members of staff are deducted the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) that is not remitted. Pending bills of the food in the hospitals have not been paid. Patients are told to fuel ambulances. We also do not have theatres in the two sub-counties of Isiolo.

Sen. Mungatana.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support this Bill. We have a problem with the release of funds to the counties. Every father like you and I know that the day your son or daughter goes out of your house and they are able to stand on their feet, earn their money and determine their own budget, that is the day we can say that the girl or the boy has become independent. We have a National Treasury in Kenya that only serves the purpose of the national Government and nothing else. They do not listen. When we make necessary noise for counties to receive their monies on time and when we pass schedules, they do no listen or do what we want. When we say that money should follow the function, they do not do that. I pray that this Senate will fight for the true independence of counties by fighting for a separate Treasury that will ensure that when money is collected from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), following the formula that is agreed, there is an automatic 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.

separation in terms of deposits. This is so that we create two separate consolidated funds. One going to the national Government and the other one for the counties, so that we never have delays. This is going to be a legacy for this House. If we can fight for financial independence of counties by having, even in the interim, a sub-registry or a sub- treasury that deals specifically with counties, then we will be able to ensure proper and smooth flow of funds to the counties. I thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Sen. M. Kajwang’.

It is okay, Senator. You have nothing to add to this because this is CARA?

I have more on additional allocation, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Okay. Then I will call the Mover to reply. Proceed, Senator.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I thank all the Members who have contributed to this Bill. The issues they have raised are important. For instance, the timely release of the equitable share by the Exchequer cuts across all the counties. My county, Mombasa, has not received any funds since March this year. I agree with the proposal by Sen. Osotsi that whenever there is a delay, the Cabinet Secretary should be summoned before this House to explain why there is delay. Some of the counties are dependent on the equitable share because their own-source revenues have not developed to become self-sufficient. Secondly, on the issue of prudent use of resources, there has been debate in the last few months on exorbitant legal fees facing our counties. Most of the monies meant for development are channeled to pay legal fees, especially the external advocates who get hired by counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the absorption of budget is a critical problem. In the last report by the CoB, we saw several counties, including Mombasa, which have failed to absorb their funds in accordance with their procurement plans. There has been over-emphasis on the issuance of bursaries at the expense of the ECDEs and village polytechnics. Some counties do not have even a single village polytechnic. Yet they spend millions on bursaries that are already catered for by the NG-CDF. Pending bills have also not been paid. There was a report by the Committee on Finance and Budget on this subject. Pursuant to Standing Order No.66(3), I request that the putting of the question of this Bill be deferred to allow debate on Order No. 10 in the Order Paper for this afternoon.

The putting of the question is deferred.

Clerk, proceed to call Order No. 10. The Chairperson, Standing Committee on Finance and Budget. 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.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to move for the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). Allow me to start by thanking all the Committee Members who have been dedicated to their role and mandate as far as finance and budget is concerned. Additional allocation is critical. As per the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, all the timelines in that Act are key. That is why today, we are here for a Special Sitting. The Bill provides for transfer of both conditional and unconditional allocations from the national Government’s share of revenue and from development partners. It is good for the House to note that the total additional allocation amounts for Financial Year 2024/2025 are Kshs55.45 billion. Some of these allocations include Kshs8.2 billion from the national Government’s equitable share. We also have conditional allocations on the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), which amounts to Kshs10.5 billion. We have unconditional allocation – 20 per cent on the minerals amounting to one billion shillings. Finally, there is Kshs35.6 billion, which is grants and loans from the development partners. In the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024), we have four schedules. In the First Schedule, the Committee on Finance and Budget pushed for the five key headquarters to be allocated their funds, starting with Isiolo County, Tharaka-Nithi County, Nyandarua County, Lamu County and Tana River County, which totaled to Kshs445 million. We also did the allocation for the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIPs) for 18 counties amounting to Kshs4.5 billion, the Community Health Promoters (CHPs) amounting to Kshs3.234 billion and transfer for the museum function, which amounted to the Kshs30 million. The Second Schedule has outlined the issue of the road maintenance fuel levy, which amounts to the Kshs10.5 billion. The Third Schedule, as I have said, is on the minerals. The Fourth Schedule is more on the grants and the loans from the different partners. Most of these partners are ranging from the Danida Grants, the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP) Emergency Lockers and the Financing Locally- Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) Monies. As far as FLLOCA is concerned, we noted during our discussions with the National Treasury that Nairobi and Mombasa counties have not submitted their conditional frameworks in order to receive these funds. However, the other counties have adhered to the frameworks as per the conditions of the development partners, and have received their funds. Mr. Speaker, Sir, apart from the Kshs400 billion that we have allocated under the County Allocation of Revenue Bill, we have the Kshs55.45 billion under County 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.

Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). This gives us a total of Kshs455 billion to the county governments. I urge the different county governments to focus not only on development, but also on the animal of pending bills. This has been there for the longest time. Our people are suffering. We have given monies to the counties, but governors are not paying the pending bills. They are playing politics. For example, the Governor of Nairobi City County is focusing more on local and international travel as opposed to giving services and development to the people of this City. That is why we need to change the chairmanship. Some of the observations that we came across as a Committee is the issue of the proposed allocation from the World Bank, which was supposed to be Kshs10.6 billion, but was revised to Kshs10.4 billion. In addition to that, we have inclusion of the conditional grant from the Government of Sweden for the Kenya Agricultural Business Development (KABD) amounting to Kshs733 million. For this grant, county governments are meant to receive Kshs560.1 billion. We also noted the different amounts that have been allocated by the different partners and they have been stipulated in the Bill. I am sure Members have seen the different amounts. I do not need to go to the different amounts and allocations that were adjusted that we noted as a Committee. As I conclude, the Committee recommended that the Senate approves the Bill with the following amendments. I believe we will be able to get to the amendments. That is amendment to Clause 4 of the Bill to delete the phrase. We also agreed that in the First Schedule, the Kshs78.2 million for the headquarters to be issued to Nyandarua County because the other counties have exhausted their share. Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to appreciate the office of the National Treasury, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), the Housing Department and the different stakeholders we had for their great input. We were also able to give additional allocation to the different county assemblies. Over 15 county assemblies appeared in our Committee in the last two weeks, and we have been able to make adjustment ceilings for the different county assemblies. With those few remarks, I ask my senior, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, to second.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to second The County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order, Senate Majority Leader?

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The Deputy Speaker is distracting me.

What is your issue?

My point of order is under Standing Order No.111.

Allow me to propose the question.

Oh, Sorry. That is why I said the Deputy Speaker should have stayed where he was. 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.

Hon. Senators, before I propose the question, I would like to acknowledge the presence in the public gallery this afternoon, of visiting youth from Homa Bay County, Young Future Movement. The delegation comprises 17 youth who are in the Senate for a one-day study visit. In our usual tradition of receiving and welcoming guests to Parliament, I extend a warm welcome to them. On behalf of the Senate and my own behalf, I wish them a fruitful visit. I will allow the Senator for Homa Bay County to extend a warm welcome. That should be done in one minute. No speeches, Senator.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I join you in welcoming the delegation from Homa Bay. Today, they will watch as we allocate Kshs10 billion to Homa Bay County. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Thank you.

On a point of Order, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

What is your point of order?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.111 concerning a Motion that I had moved earlier on Limitation of Debate. I had made a request to the House, but to emphasise on that, and maybe for those who were not in the House, allow me to repeat. We have such a heavy Order Paper today filled up with so much agenda. I had requested that contributions be limited to three minutes. If you can indulge us further, I wish to request that we drop that to two-and-a-half minutes.

Anyway, I am willing to be persuaded to three minutes, so long as we stick to the earlier arrangement when Sen. M. Kajwang’ was not in the House. It was agreed that 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.

Members either speak to the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024) or the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). We are now at the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). Perhaps we should give precedence to those who have not spoken, so that preferably by 4.30 p.m.--- We have almost five Committees of the Whole, and each of those Bills has amendments. I know Sen. M. Kajwang’ is on the 7.00 p.m. flight to Mombasa. I am corrected that it is 6.30 p.m. He has duties awaiting him from tonight until the end of the session. Therefore, it will serve him well if he saves time, so that he can catch his flight early.

Hon. Senators, we therefore have a consensus that we limit the debate to three minutes per Senator and priority be given to those who did not make an intervention on the previous Order. Proceed, Sen. M. Kajwang’.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am a proud Senator today because the Senate is going to allocate Kshs10 billion to Homa Bay County. This amount is made up of an equitable share of Kshs8.4 billion, an allocation to Community Health Promoters of Kshs88 million, an allocation to the Road Maintenance Levy Fund of Kshs177 million and loans and grants of Kshs1.29 billion. If we add the expected own-source revenue collection, Homa Bay County will have Kshs11 billion available for development. I am very proud that Homa Bay County has also reached the Kshs1 billion mark when it comes to own-source revenue. Out of that, the Assembly will be allocated Kshs967 million because the ceilings have been captured in the legal instruments that we have been considering. That is approximately Kshs24 million per ward. There is no reason development or oversight at the primary level, with Kshs24 million per ward, should not happen in Homa Bay County. As a Senate, we will live up to our role of ensuring that secondary oversight happens in the event that the people on the ground are unable to do what they are supposed to. I have not seen the allocations for the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) in this particular Bill. It has been referred to, but we are not getting visibility on it. If we added FLLOCA allocations, then perhaps Homa Bay County would be getting something close to Kshs10.3 billion. We will support the governors to put in place the right policies. However, ultimately, they are the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) who must take responsibility for the development initiatives and the outcomes in their various areas. Finally, we must move from this post-mortem approach to a proactive analysis of performance of looking at value for money in our county governments. For 10 years, we have been doing postmortem. When we retreat later on this week in Mombasa County, I will be sharing with Senators the plans we have to ensure that we start looking at the most current financial statements. It is not just the financial statements that we must look at, but also the outcomes on health, roads and urbanization. We must insist that county governments must align their budgets to the criteria---

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.

Order, hon. Senators. May the Senator for Homa Bay County be heard in silence?

Mr. Speaker, Sir, we must insist that each county government must do an allocation in their budget that is aligned to the formula of revenue allocation that this House passed. People are talking of one-man-one-shilling, one-man- one-kilometre, or one-man-one-vote. This is already there in the formula that this House passed. What we need to see is greater alignment to that formula. We say that a certain percentage must go to help---

Sen. Thang’wa proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to support this Bill. Today, I am a proud Senator for Kiambu County because we are passing two laws that are giving more money to Kiambu County. The County Allocation of Revenue Bill, has added over Kshs480 million to the county. The County Governments Additional Allocations Bill has also added Kshs2.5 billion to the county. Today, Kiambu will be getting Kshs15.2 billion. I am happy that we have been able to discuss this and agreed with other Senators that these monies need to be taken to counties. I now urge the County Government of Kiambu, together with other counties, to utilize this money with diligence. Even if we say that this money comes from the national Government, it actually comes from the pockets of the citizens of this great Republic. They must use this money knowing that it is the Wanjikus and everyone else who has been deducted, so that it can develop the counties. I have noted that we have an additional allocation of about Kshs335 million for Kiambu County as road maintenance fuel levy. I caution this House, and bring it to its attention that the Ministry of Roads and Transport, led by the former Senator, Hon. Murkomen, is hiding behind the National Assembly, by saying that this amount should never be taken to counties. They have come up with a formula, say, 22 plus 10 per cent will be going to Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA). I urge this House, that if we pass the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill today, it is going to undo what that department is trying to do. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is good to note that, as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Roads and Transportation, I shall bring the Roads Bill that is going to disband KeRRA, so that all this money goes to counties. The Members of Parliament (MPs) have no business constructing roads that are meant for a county government. We need this money to go to the county governments. That is the 22 per cent plus ---

Sen. Boy proceed. 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.

Asante Bw. Spika, kwa kunipa fursa niweze kuchangia huu Mswada. Leo nina furaha sana kwa sababu nyanjani watu wengi huuliza kazi yetu ni gani. Leo ndio kazi ya Seneta itatambulika katika nchi hii ya Kenya. Leo Maseneta wamefanya kazi na tumeongeza pesa katika kaunti zetu. Pili, katika mashinani wananchi wengi watukufu wa nchi yetu huuliza mbona Seneta haijengi barabara, shule wala kutoa bursary ? Kazi kubwa ya Seneta ni kuhakikisha kwamba kaunti yake inapata pesa na miradi yote inaendelea vizuri. Bw. Spika naunga mkono Mswada huu kwa sababu kaunti yangu ya Kwale imeongezwa mgao wake na kupata zaidi ya Shilingi 400 milioni.

Proceed, Sen. Seki

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also join colleague Senators to agree on The County Governments Additional Allocations Bill for Financial Year 2024/2025 that has an additional of Kshs55.4 billion to counties. I am happy because my county has an additional Kshs1 billion from the County Allocation of Revenue Bill and more than Kshs300 million on the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill. This means that we have a lot of money that is going to county governments in areas of shareable revenue to complement on issues of County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs), where my county has received Kshs250 million. I agree with these figures and support this Bill because it will really help county governments to increase their revenue by allocating more money and taking more developments to our counties. I want to add to what has been said on the 20 per cent of share of minerals and loyalties. The 20 per cent that has been provided has almost an additional of Kshs1 billion, but this is just on the 20 per cent. The 10 per cent that has been given by the law by the Mining Amendment Bill, which is supposed to go to counties, is yet to be appropriated. I urge the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget to push the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs to give county governments, particularly communities, the 10 per cent that is being held by the national Government. It is bringing many issues in the communities because they are not getting that money. The stakeholders and industries are also paying that money to national Government. I urge the Ministry to have a structure and policy regulation that will give the 10 per cent to the communities. Otherwise, I support the Bill.

Proceed, Sen. Githuku.

Asante Bw. Spika, kwa kunipatia hii fursa. Naomba niweze kuungana na wenzangu katika kupongeza Bunge hili la Seneti kwa sababu ya kazi nzuri ambayo imefanyika mwaka huu. Magatuzi zetu hazina vikwazo kwa sababu tumeshawapatia pesa ambazo zitawezesha magavana kufanya kazi wanayostahili kufanya ili wananchi wa kaunti tofauti tofauti waweze kupata manufaa. Katika Kaunti ya Lamu, tumepata mgao wa zaidi ya Shilingi 300 milioni ambazo zitawezesha Kaunti ya Lamu kupata maendeleo. Tunapoongea sasa, Gavana wa Kaunti ya Lamu hana sababu ya kutoweza ku-equip hospitali zetu na madawa ya kutosha. Ukienda katika ECDE classes ambazo kwa muda mrefu katika Kaunti ya Lamu zimekuwa katika hali ambayo sio nzuri, hakuna tena sababu ya kuendelea kuwa katika 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.

hali tata. Tukiingia katika maswala ya kilimo ambayo ni kitega uchumi cha wakaazi wengi wa Kaunti ya Lamu, kama Seneta wa sehemu hiyo, ningependa kuona ya kwamba kilimo kimeimarishwa kwa sababu pesa za kutosha zimeenda katika gatuzi hili la Lamu na sasa tunatarajia kuona mambo makubwa, manufaa na maendeleo ya watu wa Kaunti ya Lamu. Naunga mkono Mswada huu na kusema kuwa umekuja kwa wakati unaofaa na sasa ni wakati wa kuwafanyia wananchi wetu kazi. Asante.

Proceed, Sen. Kisang’.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. As I rise to support this Bill. There are some 12 counties in Kenya that even though we have raised the equitable revenue from Kshs385 billion to Kshs400 billion, they will continue paying salaries instead of doing development for our people. The 12 counties, including Lamu, which Sen. Githuku has just spoken about, represents what they do most of the time, which is just paying salaries. For example, Elgeyo-Marakwet County is getting an additional Kshs300 million in the next financial year from Kshs4.8 billion. This additional Kshs300 million will basically go to salary increments because every 1st of July each financial year, all salaries are increased by a certain percentage. This means that this marginal increase will not even go towards development. You can imagine, you spend Kshs4 billion to pay salaries and expenses and then Kshs1 billion to do development. This is not fair to the 12 counties. Come next year when we are doing the fourth round of revision of the formula, we will propose that at least each county should get Kshs6 billion, so that they can do some meaningful development. In the next 20 years, some counties will look like Kenya and Singapore. In 1972, they were at the same level, but now Singapore is very far, and in Kenya we are still where we were because of being marginalized. Most Senators here are very happy. Nairobi City and Kiambu counties have got an additional Kshs2 billion or Kshs1.5 billion, while some of us are getting below Kshs300 million. This is unfair. On own-source revenue, we want these counties to have a unified system, so that they do not have leakages in terms of revenue. There are some counties where they have leakages of revenue, and they do not declare all that they collect. We also need to have a discussion with our counterparts in the National Assembly. The last audited accounts that the National Assembly are using to face the 15 per cent that is going to the counties is about three years ago. They need to speed up. I agree with colleagues who have said that we need to include NG-CDF also on the last audited accounts, so that they can speed up. On the allocation---

Proceed, Sen. Mumma.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir, for the opportunity to contribute to this Bill, which I support. 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.

Anybody who stands has no choice but to support these Bills. The Senate over the years has been struggling to try and persuade the country, the Executive and the National Assembly to pass or ensure that adequate funds are allocated to counties in order for them to deliver on their functions. We are still struggling on this issue, but I would like to commend the Mediation Committee for the effort that they have made. However, I would like to point out that, as a Senate, it is time we think out of the box on how we can help ensure that devolution is implemented fully. Fourteen years after the promulgation of the Constitution, I am suggesting that the Senate creates an intergovernmental mechanism. Since we do not participate in the summit, we need to create a conversation between the Senate and the Ministry charged with devolution, which is the Office of the Deputy President currently, to ensure that we start discussing some of these things. The reason I say so is that many functions or parts of functions are still held by the national Government. If the Senate wants to be seen to do its job, it is time the Senate came up with a mechanism on how we can oversight the national Government on the way they are carrying out the functions that belong to counties, which they are still holding on to. It means that for as long as parastatals like Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) are still in place, they need to be under the oversight of the Senate because they are carrying out county functions. We need to be able to ask the Ministry of Health, whatever they are holding, how much of that money, if it is going towards county function, is being shared equitably, so that every county is benefiting from these funds. So, we need to stop whining and only focusing on oversight of our counties, follow up with the national Government regarding the monies that belong to counties and come up with a mechanism where we can hold the national Government accountable. We must be able to periodically call the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury here to give us a breakdown of how he is ensuring the equitable share---

Proceed, Sen. (Dr.) Murango.

Asante Bw. Spika. Ningetaka kujiunga na wenzangu kuunga mkono Mswada ulio mbele yetu siku ya leo. Ninafurahi kusema kwamba, nikiangalia pesa ambazo zinaenda kwenye Kaunti ya Kirinyaga, ambako mimi ni Seneta, iko na nyongeza kubwa sana katika mwaka huu. Ninaona ya kwamba katika mgao wa kawaida wako na zaidi ya Shilingi bilioni tano na katika conditional grants wako na Shilingi 36 milioni. Tukiangalia mwaka uliopita ambapo walipata Shilingi 5.4 bilioni, saa hii ninaona watapata Shilingi 6.8 bilioni. Katika nyongeza ya pesa ya mwaka huu, ningetaka kuona hospitali ambazo kwa muda hazijamilizwa kujengwa, zikijengwa. Ningependa kuona zahananti za Kiandieri, Kiaritha Nguka, Ngatho; zote zikifanya kazi kwa sababu watu wetu wanaumia. Ningetaka kuona miundo msingi. Ningetaka kuona daraja kama zile za Kibukuria ambazo 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.

zilijengwa na county kwa mbao zikiwekwa chuma ili watoto wetu wawe na usalama wakati wanapovuka, kuenda na kurudi kutoka shuleni. Ningependa kuona madawa katika hospitali zetu. Ningependa ninapo uliza swali nijibiwe kama Seneta kwa sababu saa hii tuko pamoja wakati tunapotafuta pesa lakini wakati tunapopeleka pesa mashinani huwa tunachukuliwa kama tingatinga ambazo zinajenga barabara; ujenzi ukikamilika zinabebwa ili zisiharibu barabara hizo. Ningependa wanakandarasi wale ambao walifanya kazi katika Kaunti ya Kirinyaga na hawajalipwa, waweze kulipwa pesa zao. Pia, ningependa kuona pesa za bursary ambazo zinapewa wanafunzi wetu zimeongezeka ili waweze kwenda shule. Bw. Spika, kazi kubwa ya Seneta ni hii tunayoifanya siku ya leo; kuangalia kwamba kaunti zinapata pesa zao. Sisi ni kama baba ambaye anarudisha mkate katika kaunti ili watoto waweze kupikiwa wale. Nauliza magavana wote wa Kenya mzima kupika pesa tulizoleta na wahakikishe kwamba zimefikia wale wananchi tunoawatumikia. Inaweza kuwa sitapeana bursary au sitafanya maendeleo moja kwa moja, lakini, tumehusika pakubwa kuhakikisha kwamba pesa zimefikia wananchi. Asante Bw. Spika.

Sen. Faki, what is your intervention?

I note that it is now 4.30 p.m. I beg to move that the Mover replies. Thank you.

Sen. Faki, you are not qualified to move that request because you have spoken---

Just confirm with the HANSARD.

Hon. Senators, can we have order, please. We need to dispense with the intervention by the Senator for Mombasa County. Therefore, I will proceed to put the question.

May the Mover proceed to reply.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. Allow me appreciate all the colleagues for their wonderful contributions. Also, on behalf of the Secretariat of the Committee on Finance and Budget, led by their Clerk, I really appreciate the team and colleague Senators in the Finance and Budget Committee. 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.

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I noted that the Senator for Homa Bay mentioned about the funds of the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action Programme (FLLOCA).

Sen. Boni, silence. The reason the FLLOCA funds are not in the Schedule is that they will be awarded depending on the performance of those counties. That is why the space is blank. However, we note that as a Committee, and it was polite to reply. I urge all Senators to kindly do the oversight because we have given out money. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir.

Hon. Senators, we shall move to division. At this juncture, allow me to request the Serjeant-at-Arms to ring the Division Bell for five minutes.

Order, hon. Senators! Please, take your seats. Sen. Chute and Senator for Lamu County, proceed to take your seats. Serjeant-at-Arms, you may now proceed to close the doors and draw the Bar.

Order, hon. Senators. We proceed with division on Orders No.9, the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024) and No.10, the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024). Clerk, please proceed to call those Orders.

Hon. Senators, voting will be done electronically. At this juncture, kindly log out. Serjeant-at-Arms, pick all those unattended cards. Senator for Migori, proceed to take your seat. 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.

Serjeant-at-Arms, signal me once you are done, so that we proceed to the next step.

I had allowed one minute for those notorious Senators to find their space and take their seats. So, they are excused.

Good. Hon. Senators, you may now log back into the delegate unit and proceed to vote by either pressing on ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or you may abstain. Proceed.

Sen. Maanzo and Sen. Wafula, take your seats.

Now, the results of the Division are as follows:

Hon. Senators, the results of the division are as follows-

Serjeant-at-Arms, kindly open the doors and undraw the Bar.

Clerk, please proceed to call the next Order.

Hon. Senators, let us resume our seats. We are now in the Committee of the Whole. We are going to consider the National Assembly amendments to The County Licensing (Uniform Procedures) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022). We have several Clauses that we are going to deal with. Upon going through all the Clauses, we will have the division.

Sen. (Dr.) Murango, Sen. Seki, and Sen. (Dr.) Lelegwe Ltumbesi, please, resume your seats.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move-

THAT, Clause 2 of the Bill be amended— 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.

(a) in the definition of “Cabinet Secretary” by deleting the word “licensing” and substituting therefor the word “trade”; (b) by deleting the definition of “County Executive Committee Member”; and (c) by deleting the definition of “licensing authority” and substituting therefor the following new definition— “licensing authority” means a County Licensing Board established by a county government under Section 7.

Division will be at the end.

i

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 5 of the Bill be amended by inserting the words “including making specific provisions to ease the application process for persons with disabilities” immediately after the word “licence” appearing in paragraph (a).

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 6 of the Bill be amended— (a)in paragraph (a) by inserting the word “distributors” immediately after the word “suppliers”; 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.

(b) by deleting paragraph “(c)” and substituting therefor the following new paragraph — (c) consult the relevant government entity responsible for standards in order to ensure that quality of goods produced and services delivered are of high standard”; (c)by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph (f)— “(g) ensure that it does not prejudice national economic policies, economic activities across county boundaries or the national mobility of goods, services, capital or labour in line with Article 209(5) of the Constitution.”

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 7 of the Bill be amended— (a) by inserting following new sub clauses immediately after sub-clause (1)— “(1A) Each county government shall establish a board to be known as the County Licensing Board to perform the function of granting, amending, renewing, restoring and replacing of licences under subsection (1). (1B) A County Licensing Board established under this section shall comprise— (a) the Chief Officer for the time being responsible for matters relating to revenue in the county government or a representative appointed in writing, who shall be the Chairperson; (b) the Chief Officer for the time being responsible for matters relating to trade in the county government or a representative appointed in writing; (c) the Deputy County Commissioner in charge of the specific subcounty where the licence is to be issued; (d) a representative of persons with disabilities who shall be nominated by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities from among persons with disabilities trading within the county; and (e) a subcounty administrator responsible for the specific county where the licence is to be issued. (1C) The Cabinet Secretary shall make regulations to give effect to the provisions of this section including— (a) the conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the County Licensing Board; (b) the appointment of persons under subsection (3)(c) and (e) on a rotational and need basis depending on the subcounty where a licence is to be issued; (c) the appointment of the persons appointed under subsection (3)(d); (d) remuneration of Board Members; (e) staff of the Board. 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.

(b) by inserting following new sub-clauses immediately after sub-clause (2)— “(2A) The mechanisms referred to under subsection (2) and the platforms to facilitate electronic application of a licence shall be designed while taking into account the needs of persons with disabilities.”

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 9 of the Bill be amended by deleting sub clause (2) and substituting therefor the following new sub-clauses— “(2) A notice under subsection (1) shall be made within three days of receipt of the application and shall specify the person to whom such information shall be submitted.” “(2A) An applicant shall be granted a period of seven days to furnish the information requested in the notice specified under subsection (1).”

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 10 of the Bill be amended in subclause (1) by inserting the words “and timely” immediately after the words “provide sufficient” appearing in paragraph(c).

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move - THAT, Clause 11 of the Bill be amended by deleting sub-clause (1) and substituting therefor the following new sub-clause- “(1) A licensing authority shall, where the respective legislation requires an application to be advertised, publish a notice of the application in at least three of the following platforms— (a) one daily newspaper of wide circulation within the county; (b) in one local radio station; 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.

(c) a designated public notice board at the county, ward and village levels; (d) official website or social media platform.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move - THAT, Clause 14 of the Bill be amended in paragraph (a) by deleting the word “unconditionally”.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, Clause 15 of the Bill be amended in subclause(1) by inserting the words “in writing” immediately after the words “inform the applicant”.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT clause 17 of the Bill be amended — (a) in sub clause (2) by deleting the words “and for the period stipulated in the licence” appearing immediately after the words “date of licence it renews” (b) by inserting the following new sub clause immediately after subclause (2)— “(2A) A licence shall be valid for the period stipulated in the licence: Provided that a licence issued to a business intending to operate for one year or more shall be valid for one year from the date of issue”

Division will be at the end.

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.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move - THAT, clause 20 of the Bill be amended— (a) in sub clause (1) by inserting the following new paragraphs immediately after paragraph (c) —

“(d) obtains a licence fraudulently; (e)operates a different business from that which it is licenced to operate”; (b) by inserting the following new-sub clauses immediately after sub clause (1)— “(2) A licensing authority shall issue a fourteen-day notice to a licensee before cancelling a licence under subsection (1)(a), (b), (d) and (e). (3) Each county government shall establish a committee to undertake the review of a decision to cancel a licence. (4) The committee established under subsection (3) shall comprise— (a) the County Executive Committee Member for the time being responsible for matters relating to finance; (b) the County Executive Committee Member for the time being responsible for matters relating to trade; (c) two representatives from the respective County Chamber of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce; (d) the County Commissioner; and (e) the County Attorney.”

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, clause 24 of the Bill be amended— (a) in sub-clause (2) by inserting the following words immediately after the words “respective county” – “taking into consideration the following factors— a) nature and scope of the licensed activity; b) economic considerations; c) administrative and regulatory costs; d) public interest, and resource utilization; and e) interests of vulnerable groups, women, youth and persons with disabilities. (b) by inserting the following new sub-clause immediately after sub-clause (2) — (2A) Pursuant to Article 209(5) of the Constitution, the Council of Governors shall, within six months from the date of commencement of this Act, establish strategies and guidelines for— (a) harmonisation of licensing regulations, procedures, requirements and fee structures to ensure freedom of transit of goods and provision of services across various counties; 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.

(b) the progressive development of systems, including inter-county integrated digital platforms, to facilitate exchange of information, coordination and implement harmonised licensing to facilitate transit of goods and provision of services across various counties. (c) in sub-clause (4) by deleting paragraph (b).

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, clause 29 of the Bill be amended— (a) in sub-clause (1) by deleting the word “may” and substituting therefor the word “shall”; and (b) in subclause (2) by deleting the word “may” and substituting therefor the word “shall”.

Division will be at the end. We are done with the consideration of the National Assembly amendments to The County Licensing (Uniform Procedures) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022). For the convenience of the House, we will proceed immediately to deal with The Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023).

Sen. Dullo, please approach the Chair.

Hon. Senators, we are now ready to consider The Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023). We have several clauses, which we will proceed to amend.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I propose that Clause 2 be part of the Bill.

Sen. Dullo, you are moving the proposed amendments. Move the proposed amendments to Clause 2.

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.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT, clause 2 of the Bill be amended by deleting the proposed new subsection (5) and substituting therefor the following new subsection — (5) Where it comes to the attention of the Committee that a Cabinet Secretary responsible for a regulation-making authority has failed to submit a statutory instrument in accordance with subsection (1), the Committee may, by a resolution, require the Cabinet Secretary to — (a) publish a notice in the Gazette within seven days from the date of the resolution, to the effect that the statutory instrument is a nullity; and (b) submit the published notice to Parliament.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move - THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 3.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move – THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 4.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move– THAT, the Bill be amended by deleting clause 5 and substituting therefor the following new clause 5— Amendment of section 19 of Cap 2A The principal Act is amended by deleting section 19 and substituting therefor the following new section 19— Requirements for publishing an annulment 19. (1) Where Parliament has adopted a report or a resolution that a statutory instrument be annulled— (a) the instrument shall stand annulled; and 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.

(b) The clerk of the relevant House shall publish the annulment on the Parliamentary website and shall convey the resolution of the House to the regulation- making authority. (2) Upon receipt of the communication from the Clerk in accordance with this section, the regulation-making authority shall publish the annulment in the Gazette within fourteen days.

Division will be at the end.

I call upon the Chairperson, Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to move.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I move– THAT the Bill be amended by deleting clause 6.

Division will be at the end.

I call upon the Chairperson, Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to move.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move– THAT the Bill be amended by deleting clause 7 and substituting therefore the following new clause— Amendme

Division will be at the end.

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.

Division will be at the end.

Sen. Dullo, could you please approach the Chair?

Hon. Members, we are now in the Committee of the Whole to consider The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024). We shall start to consider the amendments to the various clauses.

I call upon the Chairperson standing on the Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to move the proposed amendment, Sen. Dullo.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I move – THAT the Bill be amended by deleting Clause 3 and substituting therefore the following new clause — 3. Section 6 of the principal Act is amended in subsection 2(c)— (a) by deleting the introductory clause and substituting therefor the following new clause — (c) has proven knowledge and at least ten years of experience in any of the following fields – (b) by inserting the following new subparagraphs immediately after subparagraph (vi) — (vii) information and communication technology; and (viii) accounting.

Division will be at the end.

Division will be at the end.

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.

I call upon the Chairperson, Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to move the amendment. Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I move – THAT clause 7 of the Bill be amended in the proposed new— (a) section 24B (5) by inserting the words “in each House of Parliament” immediately after the words “Parliamentary Committee”; (b) section 24B (6)— (i) by inserting the words “in each House of Parliament” immediately after the words “Parliamentary Committee”; and (ii) by deleting the words “the National Assembly” appearing immediately after the words “the report in” and substituting therefor the words “the respective House of Parliament”; (c) section 24B (7) by inserting the words “and the Senate” immediately after the words “the National Assembly”; (d) section 24B (8) by inserting the words “and the Senate” immediately after the words “the National Assembly”; and (e) section 24B (9) by inserting the words “or the Senate” immediately after the words “the National Assembly”.

Thank you, Sen. Dullo. We had a further amendment to Clause 7 that ought to have been moved by Sen. Osotsi, and in his absence that further amendment is hereby dropped.

Division will be at the end.

Division will be at the end.

This is similarly an amendment whose Mover is supposedly Sen. Godfrey Osotsi. In his absence, therefore, this proposal for amendment is dropped.

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.

Division will be at the end.

I call upon the Chairperson Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs and Human Rights to move the proposed amendment.

Mr. Temporary Chairperson, Siri, I beg to move– THAT Clause 2 of the Bill be amended— (a) by inserting the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph (e) — (g) in the definition of the word “Parliamentary Committee” by inserting the words “and Senate” immediately after the words “the National Assembly”; and (b) in paragraph (f) in the proposed new definition of the word “parliamentary party” by inserting the words “and Senate” immediately after the words “the National Assembly”.

Division will be at the end.

Division will be at the end.

Hon. Members, we are done with the Electoral and Boundaries Commission Amendment Bill. We are proceeding with the Committee of the Whole on The County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024).

Hon. Members, with regard to the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024), we only have two amendments. We will proceed to consider those proposals.

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.

Division will be at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT the Bill be amended by deleting the First Schedule and substituting therefor the following new schedule-

Division at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT the Bill be amended by deleting the Second Schedule and substituting therefor the following new schedule-

Hon. Members, we are done with the Committee of the Whole for The County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024).

We now move to the Committee of the Whole for The County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024).

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move-

THAT Clause 4 of the Bill be amended in subclause (2) by deleting the words “except allocations under section 5(1)(a)” appearing immediately after the words “this section shall”.

This is to ensure that the law expressly states that all additional allocations, both conditional and unconditional, are included in respective county governments appropriate bills, including all allocations for the supplement for county headquarters.

Division at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move-

THAT Clause 5 of the Bill be amended- (a) in subclause (1) by - (i) deleting the words “Column E” appearing immediately after the words “set out in” appearing in paragraph (c) and substituting therefor the words “Column D”; (ii) deleting the words “Column F” appearing immediately after the words “set out in” appearing in paragraph (d) and substituting therefor the words “Column E”; (b) in the introductory clause to subclause (3) by deleting the words “year 2023/24” appearing immediately after the words “Government for the” and substituting therefor the words “year 2024/25”; (c) by deleting subclause (4) and substituting therefor the following new subclause— 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.

(4) Conditional allocations financed by proceeds of loans or grants from development partners to each county government for the financial year 2024/25 shall be as set out in Column S of the Fourth Schedule comprising — (a) conditional allocations from a grant by DANIDA to finance Primary Healthcare in Devolved Context as set out in Column B; (b) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan to finance the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP II) as set out in Column C; (c) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an AFD (French Development Agency) loan to finance the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP II) as set out in Column D; (d) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan to finance Emergency Locust Response Project (ELRP) as set out in Column E; (e) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from a KfW (German Development Bank) loan for co- financing of FLLoCA – County Climate Resilience Investment (CCRI) Grant amounting to Kenya shillings one billion, two hundred million as set out in Column F; (f) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan for the FLLoCA - County Climate Resilience Investment (CCRI) Grant amounting to Kenya shillings three billion, seven hundred and twelve million as set out in Column G; (g) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan for the Food Systems Resilience Project - FSRP) as set out in Column H; (h) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan for the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) as set out in Column I; (i) conditional allocations from an IDA (World Bank) loan to finance Water and Sanitation Development Project (WSDP) as set out in Column J; (j) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) loan for the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP) II as set out in Column K; (k) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) Loan for the Kenya Urban Support Project (KUSP) - Urban Institutional Grant (UIG) as set out in Column L; (l) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an IDA (World Bank) Loan for the Kenya Urban Support Project (KUSP) - Urban Development Grant (UDG) as set out in Column M; (m) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) loan for the Kenya Livestock Commercialization Project (KeLCoP) as set out in Column N; (n) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from a KfW (German Development Bank) Loan for the Drought Resilience Programme in Northern Kenya (DRPNK) as set out in Column O; (o) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from an International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) loan for the Aquaculture Business Development Programme (ABDP) as set out in Column P; 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.

(p) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from a grant financed by the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) for the tenth Country Program as set out in Column Q; (q) conditional allocations financed by proceeds from a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) grant for co-financing of the Kenya Agricultural Business Development Project (KABDP) as set out in Column R; and (d) in subclause (5) by inserting the words “and c” immediately after the words “of paragraph (b)” appearing in paragraph (d); (e) in subclause (6) by deleting the words “subsection (2)” appearing immediately after the words “allocation under” and substituting therefor the words “subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4)”; and (f) in subclause (7) by deleting the words “subsection (2)” appearing immediately after the words “allocation under” and substituting therefor the words “subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4)”.

Division at the end.

Division at the end.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move- THAT the Bill be amended by deleting the First Schedule and substituting therefor the following new schedule-

Division at the end.

Division at the end.

Division at the end.

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.

Mr. Temporary Chairman, Sir, I beg to move-

THAT the Bill be amended by deleting the Fourth Schedule and substituting therefor the following new schedule-

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.

Division at the end.

Division at the end.

Hon. Members, we are now done with canvassing the proposed amendments to the clauses and we shall proceed to Division. The Division Bell will be rung for five minutes. Serjeant-at-Arms, proceed to ring the Bell.

Hon. Members, we now have quorum to resume Division. We will go straight to Divisions on the National Assembly amendments to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedure) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022.) Hon. Members, I now direct the Serjeant-At-Arms to close the Door and draw the Bars.

Members, I ask you to be a bit vigilant because we are reducing the time to facilitate you to vote from 60 seconds to 30 seconds. Proceed to be vigilant and vote in the appropriate time. Sen. Cherarkey and Senate Majority Leader, kindly resume your seats.

You may now proceed to vote.

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.

Hon. Members, in the interest of time, we will proceed to the next vote and thereafter, report on the results of voting on all the five Bills. We will proceed to Division on the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023).

You may now proceed to vote.

We still have three more Divisions on this Bill. I will proceed to call clauses with amendments.

Sen. Wamatinga, kindly approach the Chair.

Hon. Members, we are proceeding to the next question be ready to cast your vote.

Hon. Members, those who have not voted, please, vote.

Sen. Wakili Sigei): Hon. Members, kindly resume your seats so that we do not waste time. We are having difficulties with confirming who is in and who is not for purposes of voting. I request you to bear with us for the next few minutes by settling down, so that we conclude on this business in the shortest time possible. We will now proceed to put the question on all clauses.

Hon. Senators, you may now proceed to vote.

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.

Sen. Munyi Mundigi, approach the Dispatch Box. The following Senators to approach the Chair; Sen. Mungatana, Sen. Murgor and the Deputy Speaker, Sen. Murungi.

Hon. Members, we are now proceeding to the Third Division on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024); that Clauses 3, Clause 7, as proposed by the Chairperson and Clause 2 be amended. Hon. Members, proceed to vote.

Those who have not voted, kindly do so. Sen. Dullo, please approach the Chair.

Hon. Senators, we are now going to the last question on all the clauses.

I will put the question, which is that Clause 3(as amended), Clause 4, Clause 5, Clause 6, Clause 7(as amended), Clause 8, Clause 10, Clause 11, Clause 2(as amended), the Title and Clause 1 be part of the Bill.

Hon. Senators, please proceed to vote.

Sen. Mwaruma, please approach the Chair.

Sen. Murgor and Sen. Dullo, approach the Chair.

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.

We are now dealing with the last Division on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024), which is that Clause 3, Clause 4, Clause 5, Clause 6, Clause 7, Clause 8, Clause 9 and Clause 10, the First Schedule (as amended), the Second Schedule (as amended), Clause 2, the Title and Clause 1 be part of the Bill. Senators, proceed to vote.

Sen. Chute and Sen. Cherarkey, proceed to approach the Chair.

Hon. Senators, we are now going to deal with the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024) on clauses with amendments. Sen. Chute, please proceed to take your seat and vote.

Hon. Members, we are on the last question on the Division of the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No. 19 of 2024), which is that Clauses 3, Clause 4 (as amended), Clause 5 (as amended), Clause 6, 7, 8, the First Schedule (as amended), the Second Schedule, the Third Schedule, the Fourth Schedule (as amended), Clause 2, the Title and Clause 1 be part of the Bill.

Hon. Senators, proceed to vote.

Sen. Mandago, approach the Chair.

Hon. Members, these are the results of the voting on the First Division.

Sen. Mariam Omar, proceed. We are reporting progress on the National Assembly Amendments, to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedure) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022).

Senator for Nairobi City County, Sen. Wambua, Sen. Cheruiyot and Sen. Oketch Gicheru, please, let us be orderly. Proceed, Sen. Mariam Omar.

Mr. Temporary Speaker, I beg to move that the Committee of the Whole do report to the House its consideration of the National Assembly Amendments to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedure) Bill (Senate Bill No.9 of 2022) and its approval thereof.

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.

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division on the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023).

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division-

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division-

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division:

Mr. Chairperson, I beg to move that the Committee of the Whole do report to the House its consideration of the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bill No.2 of 2023) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Senators, this is reporting on the results of the Division on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024).

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division:

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division:

I call the Senate Majority Leader to report progress on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024).

Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee of the Whole do report to the House its consideration of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Amendment Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Members, on these are the results of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill first Division.

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division-

Now Hon. Senators, the vote on the Division is as follows.

I now call upon the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance and Budget, Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, to move. This is on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bill No.25 of 2024).

Mr. Temporary Chairperson, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the Senate its consideration of the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bill No.25 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments. 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.

Lastly, Hon. Members, the results of the final Division on the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill.

Hon. Senators, the vote on the Division is as follows-

Hon. Senators, the vote on the second Division is as follows.

I now call upon the Chairperson, Sen. Tabitha Mutinda, to move. This is on the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bill No.19 of 2024).

Mr. Temporary Chairperson, Sir, I beg to move that the Committee do report to the Senate its consideration of the County Government Additional Allocation Bill (Senate Bill No.19 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Hon. Members we are done with consideration of those clauses on division. Serjeant-At-Arms, kindly draw the bars 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.

and open the doors. Hon. Members, we still have the Third Reading, I request you not to leave the Chamber. We will be done in a short while. Kindly, be patient so that we conclude on this business today.

Order, hon. Senators.

Hon. Senators, we are reporting on the Committee of the Whole. We are considering the Consideration of the National Assembly Amendments to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedures) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022). Chairperson, please, proceed,

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered the National Assembly Amendments to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedure) Bill (Senate Bills No.9 of 2022) and its approval thereof.

Thank you. Who is the Mover of this Bill?

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said Report. I call upon Sen. Kisang’ to second.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to second.

Hon. Senators, having considered and approved the National Assembly Amendments to the County Licensing (Uniform Procedures) Bill (Senate Bill No.9 of 1022), there will be no Third Reading. The Bill will be referred to His Excellency the President for assent. I thank you. 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.

Hon. Senators, it is 6.30 p.m. However, today having been a Special Sitting, we will continue with the business of the day until conclusion. So, the adjournment at 6.30 p.m. will not apply. If we will not have finished by midnight, we will still be here until we finish the business of the day. However, we will be able to conclude in the next few minutes all the same. The next Bill is The Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No. 2 of 2023). The Chairperson, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered The Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Mover of the Bill, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said Report. I request the Senator for Nyandarua County to second.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Mover, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No. 2 of 2023) be now read a Third time. I request the Senator for Kitui County to second.

Sen. Wambua, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Let us report on all the Bills and then we can do Division at the end. Now, we go to The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024).

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.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Mover, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said Report. I request the Senator for Migori County to second.

Sen. Eddy Oketch, proceed.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Proceed, Mover.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that Independent and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.10 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I request the Senator for Vihiga to second.

I second.

Division at the end.

Chairperson, please, proceed.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir. I would like to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Proceed, Mover.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said Report.

Sen. Tabitha, who is seconding?

Sen. Alexander Mundigi.

Bw. Naibu wa Spika, naunga mkono. 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.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No.25 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I request the Senator for Kitui County to second.

I second.

Division at the end.

Proceed, Chairperson.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I beg to report that the Committee of the Whole has considered the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024) and its approval thereof with amendments.

Proceed, Mover. We are on the County Government Additional Allocation Bill.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Committee on the said report. I request Sen. Chesang to second.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that The County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024) be now read a Third Time. I request Sen. Montet Betty to second.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I second.

Hon. Senators, we have four divisions. I order the Serjeant-at-Arms to ring the Division Bell for one minute. 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.

Serjeant-at-Arms, close the doors and draw the Bar.

Hon. Senators, we will start with the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023). I will put the question, which is that the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023), be now read a Third Time. Serjeant-at-Arms, check the cards. Put the system on we should start voting.

Serjeant-at-Arms, withdraw the bar and open the door so that we can get quorum. Ring the quorum bell for three minutes.

Order, Senators. Resume your seats. Sen. Oketch Gicheru, take your seat. Hon. Members, I had put a question on this Bill and therefore we are proceeding to vote. Senators, you can now vote on the Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill (National Assembly Bills No.2 of 2023). Proceed to vote.

Serjeant-At-Arms, withdraw the bars as we are voting simultaneously for all the Bills. You can now close the doors and draw the bars.

We are voting for all the Bills. We have three more to go. I am waiting for the results of the division.

Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir.

Proceed, Sen. Mungatana.

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.

Order, Hon. Senators. These are the results of the Division.

Let us go to the second Division.

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.

Order, Hon. Senators. These are the results of the Division.

We are on the County Allocation of Revenue Bill (Senate Bills No. 25 of 2024).

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division-

Hon. Senators, we are on the last Division on the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill (Senate Bills No.19 of 2024) Proceed and vote.

Hon. Senators, these are the results of the Division-

Serjeant-At-Arms, kindly withdraw the Bars and open the Doors.

Order, hon. Senators. There being no other business on the Order Paper, the Senate, therefore, stands adjourned until, Tuesday, 25th June, 2024, at 2.30 p.m.

The Senate rose at 7.08 p.m. 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.