Council of Governors given Sh1bn from county funds

Meru Governor, also the Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya (right) and Namibian Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa at Meru National Polytechnic during the opening of the third annual Devolution Conference on April 20, 2016. PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  JOHN NGIRACHU

What you need to know:

  • The payments by the county governments were deemed illegal.

  • Regions considered hardship areas have been paying the most to fund the council.

  • Total remittances by the counties came to Sh998.5 million.

Revelations that governors have been financing their council using funds allocated to counties Wednesday evening caused an uproar in Parliament, with claims that the county bosses have spent the close to Sh1 billion over three years illegally.

Members of Parliament accused the county bosses of misappropriating money meant for funding government expenditure by sending it back to Nairobi to finance the activities of the Council of Governors grouping.

Documents submitted by the Ministry of Devolution that were tabled in the Senate in response to an inquiry there show the expenses of the council, whose offices are at Delta House in Westlands.

Also Read

The payments by the county governments were deemed illegal because, under the Intergovernmental Relations Act, the operational expenses of the council are provided for in the Budget through the Devolution Ministry.

Majority Leader Aden Duale revealed the document and read out the remittances by the counties, which showed that regions considered hardship areas have been paying the most to fund the council.

Turkana (Sh58 million), Kitui (Sh48 million) and Tana River (Sh39 million) counties were shown to have remitted the highest amount over the three financial years counties have existed. Total remittances by the counties came to Sh998.5 million.

“This money is written nowhere. The County Assemblies have not approved. We must interrogate even how the Controller of Budget approved this,” said Mr Duale.

The Majority Leader had just tabled the Auditor-General’s report on the CoG’s accounts, which he gave a clean bill of health.

The debate came up when Imenti Central MP Gideon Mwiti Irea asked whether legislators had been invited to the ongoing Devolution Conference in Meru, his home county.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi said he had declined an invitation to attend the event.

In the headlines