THE ROLE OF THE SENATE IN THE BUDGET-MAKING PROCESS.

Article 98 of the Constitution speaks to the membership of the Senate. There 47 elected Senators, 16 women nominated by political parties, 2 nominated to represent the youth and 2 nominated to represent persons with disabilities. This is almost five times fewer seats than they are for MPs, however, the importance of the senate in the budget-making process cannot be understated. The senate plays three important roles when it comes to the budget-making process;

1.?????Determining the allocation of National revenue among counties.

2.?????Oversight of how national revenue is allocated to counties.

3.?????Monitoring the adherence to the principles of public finance and fiscal responsibility.

These roles directly affect the county budgets and the implementation of the projects at the county, constituency, and ward levels. ?The decisions concerning the budget made at the senate, or the upper house, trickle down to every level of the government. When you have the right senator representing you, those decisions will be of benefit to you and the positive impact will be felt at every level of the government. This article will discuss the roles of the senate and how you can use these roles as a criterion in deciding the right senator for your county.

1.???Determining the allocation of National revenue among counties.

In determining the allocation of national revenue between the two levels of government, the Constitution requires that the Senate shall by resolution determine the basis for allocating among the counties the share of the nationally raised revenue. In so doing, the Senate must consider recommendations from the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), the Council of Governors (COG), the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance (National Treasury), as well as the public and other interested groups. The information gathered from all those sources is meant to provide a basis for the allocation of National revenue to county governments. Counties have varying needs and as such the amount of national revenue allocated to counties varies depending on the county. ?The criteria for sharing of resources are articulated in article 203 of the constitution as the ability for counties to perform functions, development and other needs of counties, economic disparities within and among counties, affirmative actions in disadvantaged areas, and economic optimization of county capacity to raise revenue, stability, and predictability of allocations.??The third revenue sharing formula aims to redistribute resources based on functions assigned to counties and key services. The parameter includes enhanced service delivery in the health sector (17%), agriculture (10%), urban services (5%), basic share (20%), and other county services (18%). The second objective is to promote balanced development as indicated by land area (8%), roads (4%), and poverty (14%). The two parameters which were reviewed by the senate are incentivization of counties to raise revenue (fiscal effort at 2%) and fiscal prudence at 2%. Having the right senator will ensure that the county’s pain points are known through public participation and the county will be able to get the correct share of National revenue. This will go a long way in implementing county projects that will transform the county and the standards of living of county residents.

2.???Oversight of how National revenue is allocated to counties.

The constitution has provided for the controller of the budget and the Auditor General as the two mechanisms that facilitate its oversight role. These two offices are under Article 228 and Article 229 of the Kenyan constitution, respectively. The Controller of budget is required to submit reports on how the county governments are implementing their budgets every four months to the National Assembly and the Senate. The Auditor general in turn is supposed to submit audit reports about county governments to the parliament or the relevant authorities within six months after the end of each financial year, the deadline is 31st December.?These two reports are used by senators to perform their oversight roles. When you elect the right senator, these reports can be used to ask the county governments the hard questions about budget absorption and hold the people responsible accountable. When this is done, you will be able to get more out of your county budget. Can your preferred candidate understand the reports from the controller of budget and Auditor general? Can he/she ask the hard questions and hold concerned people responsible?

3.???Monitoring the adherence to the principles of public finance and fiscal responsibility.

The Senate has the responsibility of ensuring that counties follow the principles of public finance and uphold their fiscal responsibilities. The principles of public finance must be adhered to in preparation of county government budgets and distribution of funds in the county to various levels such as constituency and ward levels. The senate is handed this important responsibility that ensures that the right processes are followed in the budget-making process and implementation of the budget once National revenue is shared with the 47 counties. Guidelines such as ensuring counties get at least 15% of the approved National Revenue go long way in helping counties get equitable amounts from the National revenue. That being the case, this oversight role is very crucial in the budget-making process hence it should be trusted by the right people, the people that you as a Kenyan citizen are going to vote for.

In summary, the position of a senator is a critical position both at the county level and national level with an aim of protecting the interests of the county governments. Entrusting that power to the right hands can do a lot of good not just to your county but to the country at large. The time to make a change and turn the country around is near, does your preferred senator understand the roles of the senate in the budget-making process? Does his/her understanding of the same reflect on their manifestos? Only you can know the answer to that, on August 9th, 2022, make the right choice!!