Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki (left), Transition Authority chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi (centre) and Kara chairman Richard Nyaga during the lobby’s bi-monthly debate in Nairobi on Monday. Photo/DIANA NGILA
The Transition Authority has opposed demands by members of the county assembly for a raft of privileges, including official vehicles.
Members of county assemblies (MCAs) have also demanded drivers, messengers, personal assistants, secretaries and office managers at an estimated cost of Sh10 billion annually.
Kinuthia Wamwangi, the TA chairman, says MCAs were blackmailing county leaders in push for the perks.
“I have received disturbing complaints from the governors and speakers of the county assemblies because MCAs are demanding they get their wish or the county leaders will be impeached,” he said.
“MCAs are becoming terrorists. They are threatening county assembly speakers and governors who have opposed their demands…they are holding them at ransom.”
He challenged the Senate and civil society to put county assembly members in the spotlight for abuse of office and resources.
“The demands to create ward offices complete with office managers, secretary, messengers, cars and drivers amount to intimidation and abuse of office. The question now is who will tame the tamer?” Mr Wamwangi told a public forum organised by the Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (Kara) at a Nairobi hotel.
Mr Wamwangi said ward offices were already manned by administrators.
The Transitional Authority said it is consulting the Treasury with a view to creating the ward development fund to be administered by ward administrators in collaboration with MCAs.
“I have told them that the demand for cars, messengers and other things is not acceptable. All guns are now trained on me and the Authority but we will not budge,” he said.
The County Government Act, 2012 gives the Transition Authority power to authorise creation of new units of devolution. Any offices created must be through the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and with the approval of the Authority.
The Act establishes the ward administrators who are in charge of implementing the county executive directives.
MCAs are also accused of manipulating county executives who are ultimately responsible for financial dealings at the devolved level.
“I have one case where the MCAs threatened the speaker with impeachment to get a trip to Israel where they spent Sh30 million. They told the speaker that some Sh30 million was lying idle and risks being returned to the Treasury; he had to authorise the trip,” Mr Wamwangi said.
He asked assembly leaders and the county executives to stick to the law and stand their ground even with the threats, saying those who authorise illegal expenditure would be held to account.
The Authority is considering a national forum that will bring together senators, governors, MCAs, county women representatives and MPs to debate the ongoing supremacy battles and turf wars, Mr Wamwangi said.
Teething problems
He said the current stand-off between MPs and senators on the one hand and governors and senators on the other was hurting service delivery at the county level.
Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki downplayed the differences, saying misunderstanding on who should do what roles were bound to come up with implementation of the new system of government.
“What you see are teething problems of any new system. We have no major differences because the Constitution clearly sets out the roles, with that of the Senate being to protect the interest of counties,” he said while addressing the Kara discussion.
MPs, Senators, governors and MCAs have been accused of demanding fat salaries and perks as the public wage bill, now estimated at Sh458 billion, kept rising, eating into development expenditure.
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