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Spoiling for war with National Assembly: Senators demand role in budget making
Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi (center) and lawmakers follow proceedings during Senate mid-term assessment and planning retreat in Naivasha, Nakuru County on February 5, 2025.
Senators now want an active role in the country's budget-making.
The new demand is sure to set them on a collision course with their counterparts in the National Assembly.
The lawmakers will be pushing for the implementation of Article 249 (3) of the Constitution, which allows the Senate to participate in the budget process.
Speaking at the end of the senators' retreat in Naivasha, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang said the senators had resolved that the next budget estimates should be presented to the Senate for debate in the same manner as it is done in the National Assembly.
"We have agreed that we will move a motion in plenary calling on the National Treasury and all other institutions that produce the budget to ensure that the budgets are presented before the Senate. The budgeting of these commissions has been done exclusively by the National Assembly but the law requires Parliament as a whole," said Mr Kajwang.
Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina echoed Mr Kajwang's sentiments, saying the Senate is keen to support devolution by ensuring that counties are adequately funded and the independent commission that holds them accountable.
Mr Ole Kina argued that the law mandates the bicameral parliament with the responsibility of ensuring that the counties and the commissions are adequately funded to function properly.
"The Senate will continue to fight for devolution but at the same time demand accountability by supporting the institutions that oversee them," Ole Kina said.
The Minority Whip further pointed out that the senators said, "The Senate will propose a Constitutional Amendment Bill to amend Articles 95, 96 and 109 to ensure that the Senate becomes the full upper house to ensure that it plays a critical role in all legislative work of Parliament," said Mr Ole Kina.
He argued that senators in Kenya are elected by the people and should be able to have a say on bills that affect Kenyans.
The proposals in the Constitution Amendment Bill, sponsored by Nyamira Senator Okong'o Omogeni, seek to harmonise legislation between the two houses.
"The proposed amendment bill seeks to take care of the public interest to ensure that legislation is given to the two Houses that enjoy direct electoral mandate from the people," said Senator Omogeni.
The senators have also appointed a team of three senators namely Omogeni, Richard Onyoka (Kisii) and Eddy Oketch (Migori) to look into the Constitutional Amendment Bill before the Assembly which seeks to entrench the National Government Constituency Fund and the Affirmative Action Fund in the Constitution.
The senators questioned why the elected MPs want to be involved in the development of the projects but the senators, who are also elected, do not.
"If the amendments want the elected leaders to be involved in the development projects, then the Senate should also have its development funds. It will not be fair for MPS to do projects alone when the senators are also elected," said Mr Omogeni.