- Methu said this was the only way the oversight role of the ward representatives can be strengthened.
- He said it was unfortunate that the units have in most occasions been compromised by the executive.
County Assemblies may soon have financial autonomy if a new push by a section of senators receives goodwill from other members.
Nyandarua Senator John Methu has revealed that they are working on legislation that will see the legislative arms get direct funding from the Exchequer.
“We fully support the county assemblies in keeping the executive on checks and we are aware of the challenges they face in their course because they are on the mercies of the governors…that is why we are drafting some legislation,” Methu said.
He said the only way the constitutional oversight role of the ward representatives can be strengthened is to have the units have separate funding with an accounting officer.
Methu said it was unfortunate that the units have on most occasions found having been compromised at the expense of being yardsticks to the performance of the executive.
Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna echoed the sentiment saying they are going to fully support the MCAs having full independence over their monetary allocations.
Sifuna noted the mandate of the assemblies was similar duties to that Senate.
They were speaking during a County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) session in which the Transnzoia county assembly leadership appeared to answer audit queries raised by the auditor general.
There have been previous attempts by the Senate to amendments to the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 to give the MCAs financial freedom.
Former Treasury cabinet secretary Ukur Yatani, however, objected the move.
Currently, the assemblies rely on the goodwill of the executive to release the cash, a situation that has grounded operations of most assemblies that are at loggerheads with the executive.
“I don’t think I support that position because it will be infringing on the concept of devolution,” Yatani said during a past meeting with the Senate Finance and Budget Committee.
The CS, instead, proposed that the county assemblies should come up with their own laws to compel timely release of their funds, as captured in their budgets by the executives.
“The smarter way of doing this is just to ensure that in disbursement to the county assemblies, the executives give them priority. If laws can be made at that stage to enforce it, it could be better,” Yatani said.
MCAs have maintained that failure to get direct funding to run their operations has crippled their activities and at the same time renders them toothless and rubber stamps.