Senators had a big fight on Thursday. They were discussing how to share money among counties. The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) had made a plan, but some senators did not like it.
The senators whose counties would get less money were very angry. They said the plan was not fair. But the senators whose counties would get more money liked the plan.
This fight was like one that happened in 2020. Back then, the senators tried 10 times to agree on how to share money. But they could not. In the end, the President had to help. He gave the counties 53 billion shillings more. This way, no county lost money.
Mary Wanyonyi is the head of CRA. She told the senators about the new plan. The senators asked her how CRA made the plan.
The new plan will determine how counties share money from 2025 to 2030. According to the plan, 31 counties will receive less money, but 16 counties will receive more.
Senator Okong'o Omogeni said the plan is not good. He said it would make it hard for counties to do their jobs.
"If you take away money from some counties, that is not fair," he said. "Four counties are getting 7 billion shillings more. But the total extra money is only 30 billion. That is not right."
Wanyonyi said CRA considers the number of people in a county very important. They gave it a weight of 42%, up from 18% in the old plan.
CRA also considers a county's size. They gave this a weight of 9%, up from 8%.
All counties will get the same amount of money, which has a weight of 22%. It used to be 20%.
It is also important to know how many poor people live in a county. This still weighs 14%.
"We want all counties to have enough money to help their people," Wanyonyi said. CRA made a new thing called "income distance." They gave it a weight of 13%. But the senators were not sure about this. They asked where it came from.
"I do not like this income distance idea," Senator Enoch Wambua said. "Did everyone at CRA agree on this? Or did some people disagree?"
Senator James Murango told CRA that senators will not like a plan that is not fair.
Wanyonyi said the CRA knows some counties might have problems. So, they want the government to give counties 417.42 billion shillings next year. This way, no county will get less money than it does now.
The senators whose counties would get less money were very angry. They said the plan was not fair. But the senators whose counties would get more money liked the plan.
This fight was like one that happened in 2020. Back then, the senators tried 10 times to agree on how to share money. But they could not. In the end, the President had to help. He gave the counties 53 billion shillings more. This way, no county lost money.
Mary Wanyonyi is the head of CRA. She told the senators about the new plan. The senators asked her how CRA made the plan.
The new plan will determine how counties share money from 2025 to 2030. According to the plan, 31 counties will receive less money, but 16 counties will receive more.
Senator Okong'o Omogeni said the plan is not good. He said it would make it hard for counties to do their jobs.
"If you take away money from some counties, that is not fair," he said. "Four counties are getting 7 billion shillings more. But the total extra money is only 30 billion. That is not right."
Wanyonyi said CRA considers the number of people in a county very important. They gave it a weight of 42%, up from 18% in the old plan.
CRA also considers a county's size. They gave this a weight of 9%, up from 8%.
All counties will get the same amount of money, which has a weight of 22%. It used to be 20%.
It is also important to know how many poor people live in a county. This still weighs 14%.
"We want all counties to have enough money to help their people," Wanyonyi said. CRA made a new thing called "income distance." They gave it a weight of 13%. But the senators were not sure about this. They asked where it came from.
"I do not like this income distance idea," Senator Enoch Wambua said. "Did everyone at CRA agree on this? Or did some people disagree?"
Senator James Murango told CRA that senators will not like a plan that is not fair.
Wanyonyi said the CRA knows some counties might have problems. So, they want the government to give counties 417.42 billion shillings next year. This way, no county will get less money than it does now.
