Governors fault Ruto for pitting Parliament against Counties

Despite receiving 15 per cent in funds from the Treasury, Governors have accused the executive of using parliament to unfairly target them even as graft continued to reign in the national government.

The move comes in the wake of the arrest of Kiambu and Trans Nzoia Governors Kimani Wamatangi and George Natembeya for allegedly misappropriating funds.

According to COG Deputy Chair Governor Mutahi Kahiga, there is tendency by some quarters to think that county governments do not work.

The Nyeri Governor noted that there is a lot of focus on counties and governors who are over-sighted at County Assemblies and the Senate.

“There is no other officer in this country who is more over sighted than a governor but who oversights the rest of these other officers?”

“The president should be essentially being over sighted by parliament, but your guess is as good as mine, they are in bed together and that is the truth,” he said.

Addressing the press on the sidelines of the Second Kenya Devolution Support Program (KDSP) in Naivasha, he said that gains made in devolution were been eroded by the day.

He noted that when devolution started, there was a fully-fledged ministry but this had been turned into a department adding that release or funds to counties had become a nightmare.

“We want a fully-fledged ministry to ensure that we stop tittering and we walk straight and make giant steps towards the full realization of devolution,” he said.

On his part, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki said county allocations are yet to be released couple of weeks before the finance year comes to an end.

He noted that the funds would hit accounts days to the closure of the financial year making it impossible to fully absorb them as required.

“The disbursement schedule has not been released to the treasury by the senate and by the time this money is in the accounts, it will be days to the end of the financial year,” he said.

On the KDSP, he said that the programme would ensure counties observe fiscal discipline because there were parameters to be meet so that the counties could get the money.

Others who spoke were COG Chair Abdulahhi Ahmed who said that just like development partners, counties were frustrated by the release of funds by the national government.

“We are happy that the World Bank shall be releasing funds directly to counties as we have been frustrated by flow of funds from the national government,” said the Mandera Governor.