Senators clap back at governors' stance on committee summons

This comes after the Council of Governors (CoG) announced that governors will not appear before CPAC, alleging that they have been humiliated by Senators every time they appear for summons.

The Committee issued summons to Nandi, Laikipia, Lamu, Muranga and Tharaka Nithi governors on Monday after failing to appear to respond to audit queries.

During a committee session on Tuesday, where Narok Governor Patrick Keturet Ole Ntutu appeared, Senators censured Governors against avoiding being held accountable.

CPAC chairperson Moses Kajwang’, also Homa Bay Senator, said that Governors should not be entitled to avoid scrutiny on how they appropriate funds, asserting that they will scrutinize all governors to tame pilferage of government resources.

"It is not an option, it is not a favour, it is a duty we have to the public. Whether we like you or not we shall continue fighting for more resources to go to counties," he said.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna stated that the move by CoG to snub summons is an indication of poor leadership in counties, at the expense of poor service delivery.

"What is oversight? If we give you the money, you use the money, you have to account for it. When we hear statements from the CoG saying they will not appear here because we embarrass them, they embarrass themselves by the things they have been doing with public money," Sifuna stated.

"They come here unprepared [with] wrong documentation. They run away from their own documentation of finances."

Citing the alarming incompetence among Governors, Sifuna cited an incident where a governor previously said that they could not read documents because they left their glasses at home. 

On his part, Nandi Senator Samsom Cherargei said that some Governors are avoiding the summons because they are linked to corruption.

"When you buy seedlings of Ksh.59 million in a drought area like Mandera and when we ask why you prioritise that over water tracking, you say these seedlings are rain-fed," he said.

"We will take no prisoners. Any Governor appearing here, we will deal with you on how you have allocated the money."

The matter has even prompted a response from Senate Speaker Amason Kingi who said that the Senate will not cower from executing its mandate of ensuring that there is oversight over the allocation and appropriation of public funds.

"Should the Council of Governors have concerns regarding the conduct or operations of Senate Committees, established and legitimate institutional channels exist through which such concerns may be formally raised and addressed," he said in a statement.

He added that the Senate audit committees are guided by Article 229 of the Constitution, which requires Parliament to consider and dispose of audit reports within three months of their receipt from the Auditor-General-by March 31.

He maintained that compliance with this constitutional timeline is not optional and any attempts to do so impedes the process of ensuring there is prudent use of public resources.

Meanwhile, the CoG has maintained that governors will not appear before CPAC until their concerns are addressed through a structured engagement between the leadership of the Senate and the Council.