‘Too many’ nominated MCAs to strain Nyamira County finances
Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama being sworn in on August 18, 2017. Nyamira County says it may be unable to pay for the “extra” MCAs nominated to meet the requirements of the gender balance law. PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Nyamira was supposed to nominate at least seven women because only one of the 20 elected MCAs is a woman.
- Parties nominated 12 women, five more than the previous assembly.
- Mr Orina argues that his county was “ready” for 33 MCAs, not 36 as it will stand now.
Nyamira County says it may be unable to pay for the “extra” MCAs nominated to meet the requirements of the gender balance law, even as it emerged one of them had also been nominated into the neighbouring Migori County.
The County Assembly’s Clerk Daniel Orina claimed three more nominated MCAs have increased the county’s budgetary woes because they are more than those selected in the previous one.
"The law requires that we were to have a third of the (20) elected MCAs as nominees. We anticipated to have at least seven nominees but not 16 as the case is now," Mr Orina told reporters at a press conference he called in his office.
County assemblies are supposed to ensure at least a third of their members are of a different gender.
Nyamira was supposed to nominate at least seven women because only one of the 20 elected MCAs is a woman.
But Mr Orina argues the parties here used that as a blank cheque and nominated more than the county can accommodate.
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Parties nominated 12 women, five more than the previous assembly, where two out of the 20 MCAs had been elected. Parties have also nominated four men; two of who are supposed to represent marginalised groups.
Mr Orina argues that his county was “ready” for 33 MCAs, not 36 as it will stand now.
But the new list of nominees published early this week also shows a woman nominated in Migori County had been listed as an MCA in Nyamira.
Identified as Grace Wangare, ID number 28001202, her name was posted under Migori and Nyamira counties in a gazette notice published by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Tuesday.
“This means that we will seek a supplementary budget with urgency in order to accommodate the additional three nominated MCAs," he said.
He said the county is likely to face a possible financial crisis as a result of the list of nominees to the assembly.
"The budget we have for salaries and allowances is for only 33 MCAs. This leaves us with a financial burden which we can only solve if a supplementary budget is endorsed," Mr Orina said.
