Governors seek recognition as State officers as they travel abroad
Council of Governors Chairman Peter Munya. He wants the Foreign Affairs ministry to ensure governors are given diplomatic notes required to facilitate visa processing whenever they need them. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The new directive says only county officials travelling for official duties on behalf of the national government qualify for special visas.
- The Council of Governors has threatened to sue the ministry over the directive.
- They want Foreign Affairs PS Monica Juma to ensure they are given diplomatic notes required to facilitate visa processing.
Governors are seeking to be treated as state officers following a change in policy denying them special visas to the United States when not travelling on national government business.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had directed that only county officials travelling for official duties on behalf of the national government qualify for special visas.
The new policy demands that county officials travelling to the US exclusively for county government business do not qualify for the special visa, whether travelling on diplomatic passports or not.
But the governors have said the move is discriminatory and unconstitutional, adding that county governments are institutions on their own with many employees with them as the bosses.
DIPLOMATIC NOTES
Council of Governors Chairman, Peter Munya, Governor Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) and Cyprian Awiti, have challenged Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Monica Juma to ensure they are given diplomatic notes required to facilitate visa processing whenever they need them.
“The governors as county bosses have several functions to attend and not only the national ones.
"Do we need to seek permission from the ministry when attending such functions? We are constitutional office holders,” said Mr Munya.
He said it is the high time the ministry starts looking at them as county bosses.
“We don’t just travel for fun. As county bosses we look for funds and other development-oriented organisations to develop the counties,” he said.
MOVE TO COURT
He said failure they will move to court to challenge the government’s decision.
“We are yet to see whether the ministry will deny any governor travelling to any foreign country the assistance they require when travelling for official county functions,” he said.
Earlier, through a letter to Foreign Affairs and Devolution principal secretaries signed by Mr Munya, and copied to US Ambassador to Kenya Robert Godec, the CoG threatened to sue the ministry over the directive.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had in February given a directive that county government officials will no longer enjoy special visas to the United States unless they are on national government business.
All county officials must, therefore, follow the normal visa application procedures, including physical appearance at the embassy for interviews, fingerprints and payment of visa fee, the ministry said.
