Senators up in arms over Division of Revenue Bill

Senators up in arms over Bill. (Photo: Courtesy)

A showdown is looming in Parliament as the two Houses go neck-to-neck on the passage of the contentious Division of Revenue Bill.

The sibling rivalry is once again headed to court to stop the enactment of the Appropriations Bill 2017.

This after the National Assembly Thursday blatantly ignored the budget procedures and went ahead to pass the Bill, though the document was still in the mediation stage over a Sh29 billion stand-off.

The move might halt operations of the 47 counties from this month because they will not pass their budgets until the Bill and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill are passed.

Thursday, Senate temporary Speaker Wilfred Machage said the Senate would have no option but to obtain a court injunction stopping the National Assembly from concluding debate on the Bill, which appropriates spending of funds in the budget.

Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki (Tharaka Nithi) condemned the conduct of the National Assembly, warning that what they had done was unlawful and unconstitutional.

He described the prevailing situation as a "constitutional crisis of untold magnitude".

"My view is that there is no Division of Revenue, and if there is no Division of Revenue, there can be no Appropriation Act. This means there is no County Allocation of Revenue Act spelling allocation among the 47 counties," said Prof Kindiki.