Senators fault Governors for funding national functions

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua when he appeared before the Senate Public Accounts and Investments Committee on October 25, 2016. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The lawmakers said the governor could have liaised with the Ministry of Interior to improve security before deciding to spend county funds on the vehicles, which are fuelled and serviced by the county.
  • Some governors have also been accused of spending a lot of county funds on education with latest incident being Siaya governor Cornell Rasanga, who reportedly allocated Sh1.7 million for mock examinations bearing his portrait.

Some governors are spending huge amounts of money on national functions at the expense of their core mandate, a Senate watchdog committee has said.

The Senate County Public Accounts and Investments Committee said this is a perversion of county priorities when governors are always complaining about inadequate funds.

The committee, chaired by Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu), said it is unfair that devolved functions like health are grappling with strikes when counties are allocating a lot of funds to security and education.

“This issue is very serious. Funding a national government function, when they have not even asked for help,” Senator Martha Wangari said.

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua was taken to task for entering into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the national government to purchase security vehicles at Sh53 million.

The vehicles are meant to complement the services of police to deal with coffee theft and illicit alcohol.

“Nyeri is a unique county. Eighty per cent of the county relies on coffee. Coffee theft has been a big issue. Police have been using excuses that they don’t have vehicles and fuel to respond to distress calls,” he said.

He said the county signed the MoU on the condition that if security doesn’t improve, the county can withdraw from the deal, because the vehicles are registered in the name of the county.

“The county government is satisfied that we have collaborated well, since we got the vehicles. Crime has gone down,” Mr Gachagua said.

But senators Kennedy Mong’are Okongo (Nyamira) and Kimani Wamatangi (Kiambu) said counties must concentrate more on devolved functions given that they usually complain of minimal funding from the National Treasury.

“You can’t complain of little funding yet you are investing the inadequate funding on functions that are supposed to be done by the national government,” Mr Okong’o said.

The lawmakers said the governor could have worked with the Ministry of Interior to improve security before deciding to spend county funds on the vehicles, which are fuelled and serviced by the county.

Some governors have also been accused of spending a lot of county funds on education, with the most recent case being Siaya Governor Cornell Rasanga, who reportedly allocated Sh1.7 million for mock examinations bearing his portrait.

Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya defended governors' spending on national functions, saying they can’t sit and watch as residents suffer in their counties due to the national government’s failure to play its role.

He cited roads, saying some of the roads supposed to be maintained by the national government are in bad shape but they are mostly used by county residents daily.