Stop wasting cash in courts, counties told

Counties have been criticised for spending a lot of money in courts on disputes that can be easily handled through other mechanisms.

The Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee on Tuesday said some of the disputes could be resolved through alternative means.

Committee chairman Karega Mutahi said lack of faith in institutions set up to resolve conflicts was to blame for the many cases, which held up work at national and county governments.

Prof Mutahi said delay in establishing the committee that links the two levels of government had also led to many disputes going to court.

CRUCIAL COMMITTEE

The committee was set up just a month ago, and yet it was expected to be operational immediately after the 2013 General Election.

“Before a county government or anybody else in government goes to court, he is expected to report conflicts to the committee after making efforts to resolve the matter through other dispute resolution mechanisms,” Prof Mutahi said.

He was speaking at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, where County Executive Committee members from the 47 counties attended a conference on devolution.

Commission on Administrative Justice vice-chairman Regina Mwathe challenged county governments to stop spending money on court cases when they could resolve differences through dialogue.