The team, bringing together nine members from both the National Assembly and the Senate first met on Thursday last week.
The formation of the committee follows the National Assembly’s rejection of the Senate amendments to the Bill on October 16, 2024.
It is co-chaired by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro and Mandera Senator Ali Roba.
The stalemate is as a result of a disagreement on the amount of revenue allocated to counties which has now impacted operations at the devolved units.
While the National Assembly is proposing Sh380 billion, the Senate, on the other hand, is insisting on Sh400 billion which is the original figure under the Division of Revenue Act, 2024.
During the November 7 meeting, Nyoro informed members on how the National Assembly settled on Sh380 for the County Equitable Share for this Financial Year, in light of the austerity measures.
“Initially, we had a budget of Sh4.2 trillion but after what happened in July, we revised the figures and the revisions led to a downgrade in expenditure but also an upside in projected deficit,” said Nyoro.
He further emphasised the National Assembly’s support for devolution and the need for the Mediation Committee to find a balance that will cater for the general welfare of our country.
These sentiments were echoed by Roba, who noted that devolution has come of age hence the need to ensure that Counties are adequately funded to ensure seamless operations for the public good.
During today’s meeting, the committee will examine several factors including the reasoning behind the reduction of the allocation to counties by Sh5 billion from last year’s funding, and also the basis for the projected shortfall of Sh346 billion in revenue.
Furthermore, the committee members will review the criteria used to determine the projections before deliberating on how much funding will ultimately be allocated to Counties.
They will also assess historical revenue collection projections over the past decade by the national government along with county performance in collecting revenue from local sources.
The Division of Revenue (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to revise the revenue-sharing formula between National and County governments due to lowered revenue forecasts for FY 2024/25 was introduced following the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, 2024.
The Bill seeks to amend the Division of Revenue Act, 2024, to revise the sharing of the revenue raised nationally between the National and County Governments, to reflect the downward revision of projected ordinary revenue collection for the Financial Year 2024/25.
It was passed in the National Assembly on August 7.
Senators approved it with amendments on October 3.
