Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has taken issue with National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi for failing to appear before the Senate.
Mbadi was set to appear before the Senate on Wednesday, September 18, and despite confirming his attendance, he failed to appear for the session.
Speaking before the committee, a visibly upset Sifuna expressed his frustrations over Mbadi's decision to snub the summon terming it unacceptable.
"I'm very shocked... We woke up very early in the morning to come and attend this session. The question that I was supposed to put to CS Mbadi is a question that is over a year old," he said.
Sifuna further accused Mbadi of disrespecting the Senate even though he served as a Member of Parliament and knows how things work in the two Houses.
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"I want to tell Mbadi that this is unacceptable. It is worse that he was a Member of Parliament, if he had just been plucked from the wilderness like some of the other people I see maybe we would excuse him but he was a Member of Parliament
"As of yesterday, there was a communication that he had confirmed that he was going to come... At the very minimum, you should have written yesterday and said he was not going to be able to make it. We also have other businesses to attend," he concluded.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua joined Sifuna in condemning Mbadi for failing to appear before the house saying, "According to Articles 132 and 153 of the Constitution, Cabinet is accountable to Parliament. When a Cabinet Secretary is required to appear before the Senate, everything else must stop."
On September 17, 2024, Mbadi appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget in Nairobi to address a significant funding crisis facing Kenyan counties.
The session highlighted a deadlock over a proposed cut of Ksh20 billion from the counties' shareable revenue for the fiscal year.
Mbadi informed the senators that the government would not borrow additional funds to meet the counties' demands for Ksh 400.1 billion, citing a tight fiscal environment characterized by a revenue collection shortfall of Ksh 316.7 billion from the previous year.
He emphasized that out of a total budget of Ksh 2.63 trillion, substantial amounts were already allocated to debt servicing and salaries, leaving limited funds for other expenditures.
Senators expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed budget cuts, insisting on at least Ksh 400 billion for counties, as they argued that such reductions would hinder essential services and projects mandated by the national government.
