County assembly members accuse governors of using them

Some county assembly members have accused governors of using them in their push for constitutional changes.

The rivalry between county bosses and assembly members played out at a meeting held at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on Monday.

The forum had been convened by the Council of Governors to engage other county leaders on why the Constitution should be amended and how the changes would strengthen devolution.

The meeting, whose theme was “Pesa Mashinani” (money to the grassroots), started well, with the governors explaining the proposals they had come up with.

On behalf of her colleagues, Council of Deputy Governors chairperson Evelyne Aruasa supported the call for changes in the law.

However, Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Alex ole Magelo differed when he was invited to speak on behalf of the chairman of the County Speakers Forum.

“We are aware about the way the Constitution is being mutilated. Since we have a county assembly forum on Saturday, wait until we come up with our own blueprint,” said Mr Magelo.

He maintained that he could not give an answer on whether county assembly speakers supported the governors’ call for a referendum.

It was then that Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who had taken the participants through the 10 proposals they had drafted for “devolution to survive”, gave the MCAs a chance to comment.

CRITICAL ROLE

“When you made the decision to have the law changed, you never consulted MCAs. We play a critical role and you need to inform us stage by stage,” Baringo County Assembly Majority Leader Elijah Toroitich told the governors.

He noted that some governors were absent and said it was obvious that they were not speaking in one voice.

This sparked a heated debate, with some MCAs accusing the governors of using them to rubber stamp their call for constitutional changes.

Others called for the dissolution of the Senate, which governors want strengthened.

They told the governors to wait until they held their consultative forum at the weekend and compare notes.

The MCAs would then decide whether to support the governors.

There were, however, several MCAs who supported calls for changes to the Constitution and concurred with the meeting’s agenda.

Others tried to cool tempers by telling their colleagues to put aside their differences with their governors and focus on the issues before them.

“History will judge us harshly if we don’t resolve this matter as county leaders,” one MCA said.

Council of Governors chairman Isaac Ruto said their aim was only to engage the MCAs and other county leaders, not to dictate to them.