Politics

Senate postpones controversial revenue-sharing formula debate

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The Senate leadership on Tuesday resolved to push the debate on the contentious revenue-sharing formula to Tuesday, 15 September.

The postponement, according to the Senate Speaker, Keneth Lusaka, will allow for consensus building.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 12-member senate committee had retreated to an informal sitting aimed at striking a deal before the sitting that had been planned for Tuesday.

The senate was poised to debate the disputed formula for a record 10th time, having failed to reach a consensus in the last nine sittings.

The Wetangula-led  12-member committee is still yet to agree on a formula, almost three weeks after it was formed.

The Senate was to meet for a special sitting on Tuesday, 25 August but Speaker Ken Lusaka says that won’t happen until there an indication that the committee had reached a consensus.

According to sources, counties that were gaining in the third basis for sharing revenue have refused to budge, insisting on getting what they believe rightfully belongs to them.

Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kangata had proposed that the committee invites the leadership of the House to try and hammer out an acceptable solution.

Kangata said what was important was to get a solution rather than the speed of the process.

“We will wait for as long as we can, because we just don’t want to hasten the process, but we want to arrive at the best possible solution for all counties,” Kangata said.

The Senate has met and failed to agree on the best formula for nine times with the sessions often characterized by high emotions and name-calling.

This even as counties continue to suffer as they have not received their shareable revenue for two months now occasioning nonpayment of county staff and stalling of development projects.

Author

Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast, digital, and print media, who relocated to the United States in 2022 and is now the Senior International Correspondent for Kurunzi News based in Washington, DC, USA. He has previously worked with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), among other high-profile roles with Kenya's first privately-owned media outlet - Kenya Television Network. His experience also include prominent roles as Media Consultant for Football Kenya Federation (FKF), and StarTimes Kenya. His career spans high‑stakes political reporting covering legislative and constitutional issues, elections, governance, and accountability across Kenya, Africa, and global arenas. He also boasts extensive sports journalism experience, covering local and international sports events, including leagues, tournaments and sports governance. He is well-known for his investigative depth, editorial leadership, and evidence-driven journalism that guides his consistent delivery of public‑interest storytelling across platforms.

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