Speaker Amason Kingi has hailed the diplomatic relationship between Kenya and The Gambia.

Speaker Kingi said The Gambia has been a wonderful friend to Kenya and that the two countries have share close ties for many years.

"Kenya believes in exchanging ideas and building partnerships," Speaker Kingi said.

He was speaking when he hosted a delegation MPs from The Gambia who are in Kenya for a benchmarking tour.

The team is led by Mr Fabakary Tombong Jatta who is the Speaker of National Assembly of the Gambia.

A Joint-Committee of the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Finance, and the Senate Standing Committee of Finance and Budget this morning conducted vetting and approval hearings for the Nominee for appointment to the office of the Deputy Governor of Central Bank, Dr. Susan Koech.

Taking to the hot seat, Dr. Koech expressed her readiness to take up the position before the Joint Committee co-chaired by Molo MP Kuria Kimani and Mandera Senator Ali Roba.

The Budget & Appropriations Committee (BAC) unanimously adopted a report on supplementary budget estimates for the Financial Year 2022/2023.

The Ndindi Nyoro led committee carried the report after a weeklong engagement with Departmental Committees on the 2022/23 Supplementary Estimates. 

The Committee reached the decision after thoroughly examining the re – allocations of funds done and the wish lists for additional funding by the Departmental Committees of the National Assembly.

The Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) has called on the Office of the Auditor General to conduct a Special audit on how the Sh27 billion allocated to the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) was expended.

The Committee further wants similar audits conducted to determine the size of Nairobi Own Source Revenue and the pending bills incurred by both the City County and NMS in the last five years.

A Gambian delegation, led by Gambian National Assembly Speaker Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta, Minority Leader Hon. Alhagie Darboe, and House Clerk Mr. Momodou Sise, has arrived in Kenya for a week-long study tour of the Kenyan Parliament. The delegation aims to learn from the Kenyan bicameral Parliament's legislative and administrative processes.

The Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has said that the delay by National Treasury to disburse funds to counties and inadequate allocation for devolved functions remain the biggest threats to Devolution.

The Speaker called for a robust engagement between the Council of Governors, National Treasury and Parliament on how disbursements can be improved to hasten service delivery to counties.