The Senate Deputy Speaker and Chairperson, Senate Liaison Committee, Senator Kathuri Murungi has urged Governors to prudently utilise funds recently allocated to counties.

The Deputy Speaker said the Senate played a crucial role in ensuring that counties received Kshs 400.1 billion up from Kshs 385 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, which he noted, was the highest amount of shareable revenue since the advent of devolution.

"We have increased the funds by Kshs 15 billion and we want to see Service to the people. To whom much is given, much is expected.I wish the Council of Governors representative was here so that we read them the riot act ,"he said.

The Deputy Speaker who is also the Senator for Meru County was speaking during a three-day retreat for Senate Liaison Committee, which brings together all chairs of Senate Committees in Uasin Gishu County.

The theme of the retreat is building synergies and exploring interlinkages for effective and efficient operations of Committees.

Last week ,the Senate and National Assembly reached an agreement on the division of revenue share where Counties will now be allocated Kshs 400.1 billion of shareable revenue in the financial year 2024/2025. This amount is Kshs 15 billion higher than the amount allocated in the current financial year where counties were allocated Ksh385 billion.

The Prime Cabinet Secretary Hon.Musalia Mudavadi who was the keynote speaker in the retreat,urged the Senate to put in place mechanisms for receiving corruption reports from corruption prevention Committees which were established in the counties.

"A mechanism must be established so that corruption prevention reports from all counties reach the Senate for deliberation to see whether there is an attempt to fight corruption in counties,"he stated.

He said his office was open and committed to working closely with Parliament to achieve its legislative agenda.

He pointed out that in order to promote interlinkages between parliament and executive, his office has developed a Liaison framework that seeks to cement the relationship between the two arms of government. 

The Liaison framework,he stated,provides an effective mechanism to ensure appearances of Cabinet Secretaries,Principal Secretaries and other senior ranks of executive to appear before the Senate plenary and Committee sittings.

The Prime Cabinet assured Senators that his office will also monitor the the government's responsiveness to parliamentary matters.

"This will cover the whole spectrum of questions,statements, resolutions and undertakings to parliament. In the spirit of the whole of government approach, parliament will be a critical player and partner in aiding the success of these aspects of the system,"Mudavadi stated.

Senate Majority Leader, Senator Aaron Cheruiyot urged Committee chairs to diligently perform their duties for the benefit of Kenyans.

He specifically called on the Senate Committee on health to find ways of standardizing health services and how doctors are treated in counties. 

"The Committee on Health should lead us in discussing how to stabilise the health situation in all the 47 counties,"he said.

Minority Leader ,Senator (rtd) Justice Stewart Madzayo also called upon Governors to effectively use the monies allocated to them and avoid wastage.

"Senators have played their role and fought for an increase of the shareable revenue to Kshs 400.1 billion .The Governors, therefore, must use the money towards development of their counties,"he added.

The Controller of Budget CPA (dr) Margaret Nyakang'o took Senators through a session on implementation and oversight of county governments budgets.

Other invited guests include Chairperson,COG Chairperson Hon.Anne Waiguru, Wajir Governor Hon.Ahmed Abdullahi,Nyeri Governor Hon.Mutahi Kahiga,County Assembly Forum (CAF) Hon Philemon Sabulei,Principal Secretary of State department for Devolution Ms.Teresia Mbaika and Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) Chairperson CPA Kithinji Kiragu.