Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has sought the Senate's intervention to unlock the standoff between her and the County Assembly over the 2020-21 budget.
In a petition to Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, the embattled county chief implored on the speaker to direct house Committees of Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations and Finance and Budget to resolve the impasse.
"Kirinyaga County is facing an impasse on the passage of the Budget estimates for the financial year 2020-21. This impasse is attributed to the impeachment proceedings that were handled by the August House, " reads the letter dated July 13, 2020.
In the letter, the govenor accuses the county assembly of tweaking her estimates and making unlawful reallocations.
She says the assembly varied the departmental vote ceilings and varied staff salaries leading to significant job losses.
The money, she claimed, was reallocated to ward offices, county assembly complex headquarters, child care among others.
Last week, the ward representatives approved the Sh5.5 bilion budget, making several amendments to the estimates presented by the executive.
The MCAs reduced legal fees for the county Executive from Sh60 million to Sh17 million.
According to them, the money allocated to pay lawyers who represent the county government in various court cases is too much and it had to be slashed.
But Waiguru rejected the changes and sent a petition to the county speaker.
"I have since forwarded to the speaker of the Kirinyaga County Assembly a memorandum rejecting approved budget estimates and further I have written to the Controller of Budget requesting that she exercises her authority to allow the county to access funds for operations," reads the letter.
"Considering that the impasse is unlikely to be resolved immediately, I am requesting you urgently direct that Committees of Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations and Finance and Budget to assist in resolving this situation to allow Kirinyaga county get back to on delivering its mandate to residents," she appeals to Lusaka in the letter.
