KHRC says budget should not be tabled on Thursday

The Kenya Human Right Commission has moved to court seeking to block tabling of Budget estimates set for Thursday.

The commission on Wednesday said that the Division of Revenue Bill is yet to be passed.

“KHRC has moved to court to stop the tabling of the budget estimates considering it an illegality and unconstitutional. The Division of Revenue Bill must be passed before the tabling of the budget estimates, ” a statement from the commission reads.

Also Read: Expectation versus reality defines tug of war pitting counties and Treasury

The Division of Revenue Bill dictates the sharing of revenue raised nationally between the two levels of government.

However, the mediation talks between the National Assembly and Senate teams have stalled.

In April, the Council of Governors (COG) rejected the revised allocation of revenue to the devolved units by the National Treasury.

The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) had recommended a Ksh.335.67 billion allocation to counties but the Treasury settled for a lesser Ksh.310billion share to keep up the historical trend.

Parliament, which sits in the middle of the ensuing battle, has tended to abide by the recommendations of the National Treasury on allocations to the devolved units signalling a lesser than expected allotment to the devolved units.

According to John Mutua, an economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) think-tank, the Treasury seemingly has the realest model of revenue share and the CRA criteria maybe out of touch with the realities on the ground.

“What should form the basis of the amount to be shared should be evidenced-based or scientific, put simply.

“Given that Treasury has a model to it, this gives it some sought of power or backing in terms of its persuasion to the National Assembly on the quantum of revenue than should be shared between the two levels,” he said.

Additional report from Kepha Muiruri