Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has criticised the National Assembly’s move to reject the Ksh460 billion allocation to counties, terming the decision a threat to devolution.
Speaking after the adjournment of the Senate session on Thursday evening, June 5, 2025, he stated that the Senate will go for mediation.
“As a Senate, we will go for mediation. It cannot be that Kenya’s budget is Ksh4 trillion, yet you want to give counties Ksh401 billion. It is very unfair. The move by the National Assembly to reject the increment of Ksh460B to counties is a serious threat to devolution,” he stated.
“Their only argument is corruption; even the national government has a lot of corruption. Members of the National Assembly must be honest with Kenyans. What are they doing to fight corruption in the national government?
“I am disappointed because I supported the increment of Ksh465 billion to counties for more money to reach the grassroots to fix roads, healthcare, and education. If you give Ksh400 billion to counties, you are killing counties,” he added.
Furthermore, he has urged former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President William Ruto to reject the move by the National Assembly.
“I am calling upon Raila and Ruto not to support this move of undermining and killing devolution, which is a blessing to many Kenyans,” he stated.
Revenue to counties
This follows a standoff between the National Assembly and the Senate over the equitable share of revenue to counties after Parliament rejected Senate-proposed amendments to the Division of Revenue Bill, 2025.
The Senate had amended the bill to raise the allocation to counties by Ksh60 billion, from Ksh405 billion as earlier approved by the National Assembly to Ksh465 billion, triggering a mediation process between the two houses, a procedure that is often protracted.
Senate Finance and Budget Committee Vice Chairperson Tabitha Mutinda defended the proposed increase, stating that the burden was informed by non-discretionary expenditures amounting to Ksh34 billion, imposed on counties by national government directives.
These include Ksh4.1 billion for the Housing Levy, Ksh6 billion for National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions, Ksh11.8 billion for County Aggregated Industrial Parks, and Ksh3.23 billion for community health promoter payments.
Other obligations include Ksh6.3 billion for annual wage increments under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Database (IPPD) and Ksh3.5 billion for doctors’ salary increases under the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement and return-to-work pacts.
However, the National Assembly dismissed the proposed increase, citing fiscal constraints. Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, while moving the motion to reject the amendments, warned that raising county allocations beyond what was already approved would be fiscally irresponsible.
