Governors sue as Sh2.5bn row rages
Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya. Governors have sued the Senate for authorising county assemblies to spend an additional Sh2.5 billion in the current financial year. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The Senate decision is suspicious, coming just after senators announced a plan to cut the powers of MPs through a referendum, a process in which the role of MCAs is crucial.
- Mr Wanyama said public participation in budget matters had already ended and the amended ceilings had not been subjected to public scrutiny as required, with the June 30 deadline by which counties were required to have passed their budgets having elapsed.
- The governors said the Senate lacks the power to impose ceilings on county governments because “that can only be done based on CRA’s recommendations”.
Governors have sued the Senate for authorising county assemblies to spend an additional Sh2.5 billion in the current financial year.
Through lawyer Peter Wanyama, the council of governors accused the Senate of overstepping its mandate by issuing a last-minute circular with revised ceilings for assemblies.
Mr Wanyama said the Senate had not indicated where the extra cash would come from.
“County governments had already enacted their finance Acts after considering ceilings the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) had prepared,” the lawyer said, accusing senators of failing to consult the CRA.
The CRA had set spending ceilings for assemblies at Sh24.9 billion. The assemblies had tried to quash this ceiling through courts but failed, a task the Senate appeared to be carrying out for them easily.
The Senate decision is suspicious, coming just after senators announced a plan to cut the powers of MPs through a referendum, a process in which the role of MCAs is crucial. The arrangement would see allocation to the executive cut and given to assemblies.
Mr Wanyama said public participation in budget matters had already ended and the amended ceilings had not been subjected to public scrutiny as required, with the June 30 deadline by which counties were required to have passed their budgets having elapsed.
“The new ceilings provided by the Senate, if allowed, will destabilize county governments. The Senate has not justified the amendment,” he said.
The governors said the Senate lacks the power to impose ceilings on county governments because “that can only be done based on CRA’s recommendations”.
“Budget making is a consultative process as outlined in the public finance Management Act and the Senate cannot purport to impose its wishes on counties at the last minute based on political considerations,” the county bosses said in their suit papers. Governors want an order directing county budgets should be based on the CRA’s recommended ceilings.
They want the Senate’s decision temporarily stopped pending determination of the suit. The Controller of Budget and the CRA are interested parties. High Court Judge Isaac Lenaola directed the governors to serve the Senate. The case will be mentioned on July 9.
