National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has criticised senators for skipping a meeting aimed at resolving the Division of Revenue Bill 2019 stalemate.
Speaking moments after the talks failed to take place, Duale said that it is unfortunate that the senators decided to make such a move at a time when operations at the counties are paralysed.
Duale, who is also the Garissa Township MP, said that it is surprising for the senators to make such a decision, adding that it has dealt the counties a major blow as the financial crisis persists.
“This is a serious issue because it touches on the operations of the counties. It’s surprising that our counterparts from the Senate are not here to help solve this problem,” Duale said.
“This does not look ordinary," he added.
The National Assembly wants counties allocated Sh316.5 billion and the Senate has approved Sh335.7 billion. Only senators Okong’o Omogeni (Nyamira) and Mohamed Mahamud (Mandera) showed up for the session.
The Council of Governors (CoG) has since announced that counties will shut down next month if the stalemate is not resolved with immediate effect.
CoG chair Wycliffe Oparanya has said that the counties have run out of funds, which has made it difficult for them to operate.