Nairobi — The National Assembly has voted for the establishment of a Mediation Committee after MPs rejected proposals approved by Senators which will require the national government to fully absorb any revenue shortfalls recorded during the period.

Article 113 of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of both Houses of Parliament provide for the establishment of a mediation committee when the National Assembly and the Senate fail to agree on a Bill. The bicameral committee convenes whenever the two houses clash over the exact shareable revenue to be disbursed to county governments.

House leaders Kimani Ichungwah and Junet Mohammed said that the set amount would mean cuts in other budgets estimates.

"This is your last substantive budget in this House, because the next budget that we will do in March-April 2027, will be implemented from the first of July when you will be out their campaigning, so if you have projects to complete under the national government, this is the budget to complete," Ichungwah said.

The Senate approved a recommendation by its Finance and Budget Committee proposing an allocation framework that would grant counties Ksh454.74 billion as equitable share revenue, representing 22.2 percent of audited revenues from the 2022/23 financial year.

Meanwhile, the national government would retain Ksh2.437 trillion from the total sharable revenue of Ksh2.902 trillion, while the Equalisation Fund would receive Ksh10.25 billion under the proposed formula.