MCAs now seek Senate help in budget cap row

Commission on Revenue Allocation chairman Micah Cheserem (right) with the chief executive George Ooko during a past briefing. A new system to enable the public to monitor the performance of county governments has been launched. FILE PHOTO | DIANA NGILA |

What you need to know:

  • County assemblies say their operations have been greatly affected, want CRA to review ceilings.
  • Spending limits set to check funds misuse.

County assemblies are now seeking the Senate’s intervention to have budget ceilings controlling their spending reviewed.

Members of county assemblies say the ceilings imposed by the Commission on Revenue Allocation have made it impossible for them to function. They say CRA should have consulted them before setting the ceilings.

The assemblies, through the County Assembly Speakers Forum (CAF), have maintained that the ceilings have made it impossible for them to even pay salaries. They lost an attempt to contest the CRA decision in court after the court ruled in favour of the commission.

The CRA measure, which is meant to control spending in counties, stemmed from concern over wasteful spending by MCAs on unnecessary trips and huge allowances.

Siaya Deputy Speaker Stephen Adera said the expenditure ceilings have affected the county’s operations.

“In our case, for instance, we can’t even go to Kisumu to attend meetings; we are forced to ask members to use their own money, promising to refund them,” he told members of the Senate committee on Implementation when it paid the Assembly a visit on Friday.

Mr Adera warned that the independence of many assemblies is now threatened since most have become appendages of county governments’ executive committees.

“Today, there is no single county assembly that can impeach a governor because they rely on county governments… there is no flow of cash, nothing at all. You will find members going to dine with executives so that they can get some money,” he told the Senate committee.

ASSEMBLIES 'ALMOST CRIPPLED'

In Bungoma County, Speaker John Makali said salaries eat up the bulk of their budget. “We are not rejecting the budget ceilings; we are only saying they should consider our views as counties… the issue of budget ceilings has almost crippled county assemblies,” he said.

He said operations of his county assembly have almost ground to a halt as a result of the ceilings. “We can’t even hold meetings,” he said, pleading with the Senate committee to fight for counties.

Mr Makali said in the future, CRA must consult counties so that budget ceilings are interrogated.

Siaya Senator James Orengo, a member of the Implementation committee that visited and met officials in the Siaya, Bungoma and Kisumu over the weekend, said the ceilings should have received Senate approval before they were introduced.

Last month, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance summoned Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo and CRA chairman Micah Cheserem over the budgetary ceilings.

Committee chairperson Billow Kerrow said the intent was to find out how much money should be allocated in light of concerns about wasteful spending.