Senate raises concerns over disputes between Executive and MCAs

The Senate has termed as
worrying the on-going fights and differences between the Executive and Members
of the County Assembly (MCAs) in different counties.

Through the Devolution Committee, it identified Kiambu, Kericho, Kisii, Migori and Busia as some of
the counties facing leadership disputes.

The committee also pointed
to the differences between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Nairobi
Governor Johnson Sakaja as some of the conflicts it plans to resolve in the
coming days.

According to the committee
chairman Mohammed Abass, the escalating disputes were affecting the spirit of
devolution.

He said that the committee
would visit all the affected counties so as to understand the problem and the
way forward.

“We are concerned by the
rising conflicts between national leaders and even between the executive and
the assembly and we are keen to resolve them,” he said.

Abass said that they had
managed to visit Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties where the differences of
leadership and boundaries respectively had been resolved.

The Wajir Senator at the
same time expressed the committee’s concern over the pending bills noting that
this could cripple service delivery.

He pointed to Nairobi and
Wajir where the pending bills stood at Ksh.100 billion and Ksh.5 billion
respectively, terming the figures as too high and questionable.

He wondered
how the figures rose to the current levels yet the counties had budgeted for
them but contractors had not been paid for years.

On her part,
the committee vice chairperson Catherine Muma welcomed the planned meeting by
the DP with the Meru elected leaders.

She said that
with the Meru conflict, both teams are ready to work together and that the
committee is keen to resolve the other disputes in the other counties.

The nominated
senator added that the pending bills were eroding investor confidence, noting
that hundreds of traders had lost their hard-earned cash.