Munya vows to continue push for more county funds

Meru Governor Peter Munya (left) and his Deputy Raphael Muriungi (second left) are welcomed at Sportsman's Arms Hotel in Nanyuki on May 24 2015. Mr Munya, who is the chairman of the Council of Governors vowed to push on with the Pesa Mashinani campaign. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Meru governor dismisses the notion that he is fighting the government.
  • “As governors, we feel that there is a need for more money to be allocated to the counties so that we can carry out our responsibilities.”

The push for increased funding to county governments will soldier on, newly elected Council of Governors Chairman Peter Munya has said.

The current budgetary allocation to the regional governments was not sufficient, said Mr Munya on Sunday.

Speaking in Timau, Kiirua and Makutano during a public tour, the Meru governor also dismissed the notion that he was fighting the government.

“I am not fighting the government in any way,” he told the crowd. “As governors, we feel that there is a need for more money to be allocated to the counties so that we can carry out our responsibilities.”

He denied that the county bosses had slowed down their campaign for a referendum on funding, saying the Pesa Mashinani drive remained a top priority.

“As the chair of governors, I have to protect devolution and ensure its success and I will do so in every possible way.

“We shall not allow anyone to take us back to the old system where resources and development were handled centrally.”

He said county governments had been given specific mandates in the Constitution that could not be realised without funding.

“We are not asking the government to give us all the development monies but what is rightfully ours,” he said, adding that water was a county government function but was still being managed by the national government. He also warned against taking away the management of health from counties.

Because governments come and go, leaders should establish sustainable systems that can outlive their tenures, hence the governors’ push for the devolution of more resources, he added.

His tour is today expected to head to Imenti Central, Imenti North and Imenti South sub-counties.