Governors reject Bill seeking disclosure of county assets

Governors have opposed a proposed law that will compel them to submit an inventory of county assets and liabilities three months before a general election.

In an April 5 memorandum to senators, through Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyengenye, the Council of Governors termed the Bill “unjustified”, saying county bosses are not the custodians of assets and liabilities in county governments.

“The council is aware that the Senate intends to have amendments to the Assumption of Office of the Governor Bill (Senate Bill No. 10 of 2016) as it appears on the Order Paper dated 5th April 2017,” CoG Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Mogeni wrote.

LOANS TAKEN
The CoG termed the amendments as “unjustified”.

The draft law proposes that a governor who fails to submit the inventory commits an offence, attracting a Sh10 million fine or a five-year jail sentence or both.

The inventory should include all existing county assets and liabilities — including any loans the county government has taken as well as money in the county revenue funds and any other bank account opened for the purposes of the devolved unit.

It should also give a status report of all ongoing county projects.

The Bill requires the inventory to be submitted to the Auditor-General, the Controller of Budget, the Senate and the respective County Assemblies.

COUNTY PROJECTS
The governors however argue that, under the law, they are not the custodians of county assets and liabilities.

“The county accounting officer keeps an inventory of the county assets and liabilities,” they contend, citing Section 153 of the Public Finance Management Act. “This is not within the governor’s office.”

They also argue that the county governments’ loan processes are yet to be operationalised.

“The status of county projects is contained in the Annual State of the County Addresses made by the governor to the County Assembly,” the governors argue.

“Further, this is contained in annual reports by the County Executive to respective statutory and constitutional offices.”

TIME CONSTRAIN
They further argue that, with only four months to the election, “no officer would be in a position to provide the stated inventory within one month from the date herein outside the current legislative and constitutional framework”.

The Bill is the brainchild of Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi, who has asked the National Assembly to speed up its scrutiny in order to protect county funds by restricting governors’ spending ahead of the August 8 poll.

It provides for a process through which a county boss would assume office, with the outgoing one prohibited from initiating projects three months to the poll.

NOMINATIONS LOSERS
The draft law is considered urgent because some governors lost in the party primaries and could, subsequently, leave office. 

Senator Wamatangi contends that the biggest headache for senators is how to deal with governors who lost in the nominations. 

“It is certain that some of the governors who lost in the just-concluded primaries are on their way out and we must find a way of taming their expenditure,” Mr Wamatangi said.

The Bill also requires the swearing-in of the governor to be conducted in public before a High Court judge or Chief Resident Magistrate.