Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) have called for their financial freedom from the county executive.
In a statement from the National Assembly’s committee on regional development, the MCAs, through their County Assembly Forum (CAF), stated that they had been reduced to beggars.
Represented by its Secretary General, Mwaura Chege, CAF advocated for county assemblies to manage their operational budgets, independent of county executives.
“We can’t access our funds unless the executive allows it; yet our budget is mostly operational, not for development projects. That’s the autonomy we’re asking for,” Mwaura said.
Strengthen devolution
CAF, while appearing before the regional development committee chaired by Sigor MP Peter Lochakapong, advocated for the adoption of the clauses in the proposed amendments to the Intergovernmental Relations Bill, 2024.
The meeting marked a pivotal moment in ongoing legislative efforts aimed at strengthening devolution and enhancing collaboration between national and county governments.
CAF indicated that its budgetary allocations should come directly from the National Treasury, bypassing the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance.
The move, they argue, would free county assemblies from the financial grip of the executive and ensure smoother legislative operations.
Committee Members concurred with CAF’s sentiments, with Mandera MP Kassim Umul Ker, drawing from her experience as a two-term MCA, highlighting the constant financial struggles MCAs face.
“MCAs are often helpless, waiting on executives for funding. They need their operational budgets to work effectively,” she noted.
Pay disparities
On her part, Embu MP Pamela Njoki Njeru described the situation as dire. She indicated that the same CECMs vetted by MCAs end up frustrating the legislators.
“MCAs are suffering. If they fall out with a governor or a CECM, everything stops. We need to break that cycle,” Njeru said.
“They are blocking assemblies from functioning while they’re supposed to be accountable to them,” she added.
Committee Vice-Chair Paul Abuor observed that the issue of executive control over finances is not unique to county assemblies, noting that even MPs lament whenever the executive holds the purse strings.
CAF, the umbrella body representing all 47 county assemblies, has played a central role in promoting legislative standards and inter-county collaboration since its founding in 2013.
However, unlike the Council of Governors (CoG), CAF lacks legal recognition, a gap the new Bill aims to address.
“CAF plays a critical oversight and consultative role in our devolved system. Legal recognition would institutionalise this role and restore balance between the legislative and executive arms at the county level,” Mwaura said.
He further highlighted disparities in remuneration and influence, noting that CECs now earn nearly three times what MCAs earn, despite initial parity at the start of devolution.
In February, the MCAs threatened to march to the State House to protest some of the frustrations they faced from county executive members and governors that impeded their oversight roles.
“CAF will play a key role in dictating national politics and leadership, there is no way 47 leaders can dictate what we will eat and drink and yet we put them there,” Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja said in February.
