• Ngilu accuses speaker of blocking executive from accessing funds from Treasury
• But MCAs say the matter was dealt with by the assembly in accordance with the law
Image: MUSEMBI NZENGU
Kitui MCAs have defended their speaker George Ndotto, saying Governor Charity Ngilu sued him merely to whip up public sympathy in a county budget row.
On Monday through lawyer Morris Kimuli, Ngilu filed a suit at the Kitui High Court seeking orders to force Ndotto to release a statutory letter that would allow the executive access devolved funds.
According to the suit papers, the speaker’s failure to communicate the assembly's decision regarding the 2019-20 approved budget made it difficult for the executive to access funds from Treasury to pay staff and undertake projects.
When the suit came up for mention on Wednesday, judge Lilian Mutende ordered the case to resume on July 26 to give Ndotto time to file his response.
Ndotto is represented by lawyer Apollo Muinde who requested time to file a reply.
Kitui MCAs led by majority leader Peter Kilonzo on Tuesday evening called a press conference to defend Ndotto.
Kilonzo said in a statement that the suit was not justified as the matter had been dealt with by the assembly in accordance with the law.
“In our view, we as the assembly take this as an act of merely whipping public sympathy and the misuse of taxes for unnecessary litigation,” he said.
Kilonzo said the statutory budget letter had nothing whatsoever to do with the unpaid June salaries.
He said a team of MCAs last week visited the office of Controller of Budget and was shocked to learn that salaries for the financial year 2018-2019 had been fully released.
The statement said after MCAs passed the 2019-20 budget for the Kitui government on June 28, the contentious statutory letter by the clerk of the assembly was subsequently submitted in the normal manner to the county treasury on Tuesday, July 2.
“While on a visit to the CoB on Wednesday, July 10, 2019, the speaker of assembly Hon George Ndotto accompanied by a team of MCAs was advised to resubmit the same vote on account under his own signature as per the PFMA. This was promptly done on Thursday, July 11, 2019 in good faith,” the majority leader said.
But according to papers filed in court, Ngilu sued after the Controller of Budget wrote to the Kitui finance executive advising that the CoB could only authorise the release of funds after it is furnished with the letter from Ndotto as required by the law.
Ngilu’s lawyer said that the failure on the part of Ndotto to carry out his administrative duty was unreasonable and unfair to the residents of Kitui county.