Cabinet Issues Ultimatum to MCAs Over Approval of Finance Bills
The cabinet has given a deadline to the County Assemblies in all 47 counties, urging them to promptly endorse finance bills.
In a communication issued by State House on February 14, the cabinet directed county assemblies to promptly endorse the Finance Bills they pass, without adhering to the existing 90-day waiting period.
The cabinet gave its approval to the amendments to the Public Finance Management Act that had been previously passed by Parliament.
These revisions aimed to modify a provision in the legislation that specified the requirement for a county-level Finance Bill to be approved within three months following the approval of the Appropriation Bill.
While endorsing the revisions, the Cabinet observed that the accumulation of pending bills and financial discrepancies within county governments was a result of the three-month time gap.
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“Under the current legal framework, a county-level Finance Bill is passed within three months after the Appropriation Bill’s approval, a time gap that leads to accumulation of pending bills and other financial lapses,” read the communique in part.
“These amendments aim to cure this problem by requiring that the county budget estimates, county finance bills, and other bills necessary for implementing county budgets be considered and approved at the same time,” confirmed the Cabinet.
County assemblies, previously criticized for their untimely settlement of pending bills, frequently attribute the delays to insufficient funds.
Nevertheless, under the recent modifications, county administrations must promptly approve the bills once they are allocated.
Furthermore, in the course of the meeting, the cabinet instructed that the payment of university and school fees should be processed using the eCitizen platform.
Further the cabinet also approved the privatisation of the Development Bank of Kenya and hotels such as those under the safari lodges banner among others.
The cabinet’s meeting also agreed to accord Kelvin Kiptum, the world record holder a State funeral.
Cabinet Issues Ultimatum to MCAs Over Approval of Finance Bills