- Faki said the move will badly affect devolution, a matter echoed by Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
- “The other day MPs passed supplementary estimates where they said they will reduce the equitable share from Sh400 billion to Sh380 billion. As senators, we oppose that,” Faki said.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Mombasa Senator Mohammed Faki has criticized the slashing of counties' budget by Sh20 billion.
Faki said the move will badly affect devolution, a matter echoed by Mombasa governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
“The other day MPs passed supplementary estimates where they said they will reduce the equitable share from Sh400 billion to Sh380 billion. As senators, we oppose that,” Faki said.
He spoke at the Amani primary on Saturday while issuing various equipment worth Sh3.5 million to 120 women and youth groups in the Jomvu constituency.
MPs Badi Twalib (Jomvu) and Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe) were present.
Twalib however said they will never work towards killing devolution, saying it has made some areas develop faster than would have been anticipated.
“I am for devolution. I have seen what devolution has done for Jomvu and will never work against it,” Twalib noted.
He said some of the things passed in Parliament do not have his blessings.
“We vote in Parliament and sometimes our votes are outnumbered by others. We, as Mombasa MPs always try to be on the side of the people because they are our bosses,” Twalib said.
Faki said once the Division of Revenue Bill is passed, no other debate can follow until the next fiscal year.
The national government, the senator said, cannot increase allocation to counties even when they surpass the revenue collection targets they had set.
“They will never come back to the counties and say ‘We expected to collect Sh2 trillion but we have collected Sh3 trillion, so we will give you an extra amount’,” Faki noted.
He said if the national government collects less than they had targeted, they should carry that burden and not slash funds meant for the counties.
“We will lobby all the senators to ensure that the equitable share remains Sh400 billion,” the senator said.
Governor Nassir said devolution must be protected by all means.
He said it is sad that the National Assembly agreed with the national government to slash funds for county governments.
“The law says funds that go to the counties should be a minimum of 15 per cent of the revenue collected in the previous fiscal year.
“The laws also say should there be a shortfall of revenue collection, it is not the counties that should carry that burden,” the governor said.
He said it is the national government that should slash their budgets.
“The National Assembly did wrong constitutionally to slash the equitable share from Sh400 billion to Sh380 billion. I commend the Senate for protecting devolution,” Nassir said.
He noted that soon the Senate will receive the Division of Revenue Allocation and other fiscal bills and asked senators to be wary of attempts to stifle some counties through denial of funds.
“I see the danger of some Coastal counties being negatively affected by these bills. We have to protect devolution,” Nassir said.
Faki said their biggest responsibility as senators is to ensure funds go from the national government to the county government.
In the 2022/2023 fiscal year, Mombasa got Sh8.4 billion and in the 2023/2024, it got Sh9.5 billion.
For this year 2024/25, Mombasa will get Sh10.2 billion.
“So, governor, we will work hard to ensure that more money comes to you,” he said.