MPs deny senators ‘illegal’ fund

A National Assembly committee has scuttled a plan by senators to share Sh1.3 billion amongst themselves in the last year of their term under a fund created to finance their oversight of governors.

In a move likely to reignite rivalry between the two Houses, the Committee on Delegated Legislation has asked the National Assembly to annul in their entirety the regulations developed to manage how the money allocated to the Senate is used.

Based on the formula in the regulations, each elected senator would have received an average of Sh19.5 million and the nominated ones at least Sh3 million this financial year.

But that will now have to be put on hold as the committee said in its report tabled on Thursday afternoon that the regulations were not developed in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act. The MPs also questioned the creation of the committee to oversee the funds’ use.

“The establishment of the Senate Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, whose function is to oversight monies allocated to the Fund … would create conflict of interest since the membership of the committee would comprise the same members who would be responsible for receiving and distributing the Fund monies,” the National Assembly committee said.

It also said the establishment of a county office for the senator under the fund would result in a duplication of roles as there are already such offices in the constituencies established by the Parliamentary Service Commission.

The committee is mandated with scrutinising regulations developed by the various arms of government to determine whether they are in conformity with the law.

Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi described the report of the National Assembly Committee as “malicious and written in extremely bad taste” given the circumstances in which the regulations were developed and the information shared with MPs.

Mr Murungi, the Senate Monitoring and Oversight Committee chairman, said senators would prevail upon MPs to reject the report of the Committee on Delegated Legislation. He said his committee had agreed with their National Assembly counterparts.

INTERNAL FUND

“It was very clear and understood by those sides that the rules were not being done under the Public Finance Management Act but this was an internal fund made by the Parliamentary Service Commission and the funds are already with the Commission so it was just a modality on the disbursement of the Fund,” said Mr Murungi.

The senator said that when the National Assembly committee met the officers from the Parliamentary Budget Office, on whose advice they recommended the annulment of the regulations, they failed to inform them about the origin of the fund.

He said that by concealing that fact, the National Assembly committee had the Parliamentary Budget Office scrutinise a wrong set of rules.

“We had asked to be invited in the meeting before they make a decision because having agreed on the version before, they should not have gone behind our back. They should have called us again,” said Mr Murungi.

Mr Murungi said the Senate team would protest to the Speaker of the National Assembly, put all the facts on the table and ask for a consideration of the decision since the Committee on Delegated Legislation would end up misleading MPs.

“We are going to bring the facts to the members on the floor so that they reject that report because it is very shameful for the National Assembly to behave like second-hand car salesmen, who don’t want to disclose the facts and they want to take shortcuts. I’m very very angry with that report and I feel it was very dishonourable of those members,” said Mr Murungi.

Under the regulations, 92 per cent of the total allocation would go to the 47 elected senators, with six per cent going to the nominated ones, one per cent for training and one per cent for administration.

The share for the elected senators would then be shared on the basis that 47 per cent is shared equally, 45 per cent on the basis of the population represented and eight per cent on the size of the county.

The nominated senators would be charged with monitoring and evaluating activities at the national level of the special interest groups – women, youth and the disabled – they represent in the Senate.