The current debate on the revenue-sharing formula in the Senate has given DP William Ruto powers that President Uhuru and his handshake partner Raila lack at the moment.
The debate had given him the “savior” power which both Raila and Uhuru would need right now.
Having been thrown from the government by his boss in favor of new-found ally, Raila Odinga, Ruto together with his allies has found themselves being sought to back the formula that will decide how much each devolved government will receive from the Treasury.
As of now figures show that Senators allied DP are opposed to the revenue-sharing formula that will see 19 counties lose up to Sh17 billion.
At the moment the DP and his troops have the power to determine whether the bill should be passed or not.
It has emerged that President Uhuru is willing to bury the hatchet between them so that he can woo his side to support the bill.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Bomet Senator Christopher Lang’at, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot, and former Deputy Speaker Kithure Kindiki are among the Senators that have opposed the formula, calling for more time to debate it.
According to Prof Kindiki, the argument that some regions are useless, bushes, deserts, or unproductive is misleading, false and a trivial philosophy”.
The Tharaka Nithi senator supports the arguments by senators from counties that will lose money over the formula.
Those with Kindiki are mostly those from countries that stand to gain from the formula but they have chosen to adopt a solidarity front with the losing counties mostly in the Coast and North Eastern, the same regions DP William Ruto is looking to court in his 2022 presidential bid.
Caught in this debate for the DP is the need to have the vote-rich Mt Kenya region on his side, which also back the formula that stands to gain, with Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang’ata pegging the success or failure of the Uhuru-Raila ‘handshake’ on the support of the formula.
The Tangatanga Senators supporting the formula include the Nakuru senator Susan Kihika and her Nandi counterpart Samson Cherargei.
“On this, the chickens are coming home to roost. We warned our colleagues that the Handshake was political conmanship. We knew it was not genuine at all, and we warned our colleagues that sometimes the grass is not as green as it looks on the other side,” Ms. Kihika told the Nation yesterday.
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“We are not surprised that the ‘handshake’ is threatening to crumble at the first sign of trouble. What surprises us is how fast the truth came out.”
Cherargei and his group say the funds should only be sent to counties based on its population and not landmass.
“The spirit of devolution was to provide equitable distribution. It doesn’t make sense to give the same to Kiambu and Mandera. The proposal by the committee should be adopted as it is. Let us give it the necessary support for an equitable Kenya. The principal should be one man, one vote, one shilling,” Mr. Cherargei said.
