A Parliamentary committee has warned that the country is on the brink of a crisis due to the failure by Treasury to facilitate the enactment of budget and devolution laws.
The House committee on the budget warned that the incoming county governments risk having “cash flow” problems because the Finance minister has not submited the necessary laws to Parliament for debate.
In a press briefing at Parliament Buildings yesterday, the committee warned that the country is “staring at a crisis” if the laws are not passed before the expiry of the term of the 10th Parliament.
The committee wants the Public Finance Management Act 2012, the Budget Policy Statement, Pre-election report, the Division of Revenue Bill and the County Allocation Revenue Bill approved by the House before its term expires on January 15.
The two bills are crucial because they allow the county governments to access resources for delivery of service. Unless the Bills are enacted, country governments may not operate after the next elections.
Under Section 27 of the Public Finance Management Act, the Minister for Finance must publish a pre-election economic and fiscal update at least 120 days before the election date.
“This is an important report indicating all direct and indirect expenses related to the elections,” Maragua MP Elias Mbau said. The MP said unless the minister submits the report, the country will transit to the to devolution without an idea on the status government coffers. Others in the press conference were MPs Danson Mungatana, Alfred Sambu and Emilio Kathuri.