By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
Counties are likely to be the first casualties of the rejected 2024 Finance Bill. This is after President William Ruto declined to sign into law the County Allocation and Revenue Bill.
The bill passed by the Senate and National Assembly allocated Ksh400 billion to counties under the shareable revenue.
However, with the government succumbing to pressure to withdraw the contentious Finance Bill, the allocation will likely be reduced.
In a statement shared on his social media pages, Ruto said “I have reffered the County Allocation and Revenue Bill, which was based on expected revenue from rejected Finance Bill, back to parliament for reduction accordingly.”
According to the Head of State, the rejected bill was to raise an additional Ksh 346 billion. But with its withdrawal, both the national and county governments will have to carry the burden.
“With respect to the National Government, the reduction will be borne by the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and other constitutional commissions,” Ruto said.
However, the President assented to the Appropriation Bill 2024. He also instructed the National Treasury to prepare supplementary estimates to reduce the expenditure by the amount of revenue that was expected to be generated by the rejected bill.
Widespread protests led by Gen Z led to the Head of State dropping the bill. He has already written to the National Assembly with a memorandum recommending that all clauses be deleted.
MPs have been informed of the decision by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
Meanwhile, President Ruto earlier met Catholic Bishops led by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops Chairman Archbishop Maurice Muhatia.
The meeting was held at State House Nairobi.
Sharing photos on his social media pages, the Head of State said his administration is ready to work with the clergy to find solutions to issues the country is facing.
“We welcome the commitment by the Catholic Church to participate in a multi-sectoral engagement that seeks solutions to the issues facing our country. Through this collective approach, we will move Kenya forward,” Ruto said.
