Ruto’s push for the elusive county oversight kitty for senators has alarmed members of the National Assembly, who have vowed to reject the proposal, claiming it violates the constitution.
This came after lawmakers confirmed that the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) established under the 2015 Act is legal and not a repeal of the 2013 Act, which was declared unconstitutional by the High Court and later upheld by the Supreme Court as an infringement of the law.
The lawmakers from Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza and Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition are set to clash over the legality of the Senate fund proposal, which was previously grounded in the National Assembly.
“What the president is doing is bribing MPs with populist incentives at a time when the country is struggling with an ailing economy and a ballooning wage bill,” Homa Bay Town MP Kaluma said.
“What he (Ruto) is trying to do is political patronage by pushing for the Senate oversight kitty,” says Kaluma, who was a member of the select committee on CDF in the 11th parliament that drafted the NG-CDF Act. We can’t mix a legal kitty (NG-CDF) with an illegal proposal (Senate oversight kitty).”
Several previous attempts to establish the senators’ kitty have failed due to violations of the Public Financial Management Act.
