Without three months' allowances, it's a miserable Christmas for Makueni MCAs

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana

As millions of Kenyans take a break today to celebrate Christmas, the story is very different for Makueni Members of the County Assembly as they spend the day minus three months’ pay.

The 47 MCAs, and by extension assembly employees, have now gone without salaries for two months and allowances for three months.

The affected employees include Speaker Stephen Ngelu, 100 permanent and pensionable staffers and 150 casuals.

This is as a result of disagreements between the county executive led by Governor Kivutha Kibwana and the county assembly.

For the first half of the 2014-2015 financial year, both the executive and the assembly have been operating on what is known in financial circles as vote on account.

FREEZE ACCOUNTS

This came about after the two sides disagreed sharply on the budget proposals, with the executive accusing the assembly of demanding sums far above the approved allocations by the Controller of Budget.

The assembly was and is still demanding to be allocated Sh913 million over and above the Sh356 million recommended by the Controller of Budget. Prof Kibwana stood his ground and rejected their demands, following which the MCAs impeached him in an effort to have their say on the budget.

The stalemate led to the executive using powers bestowed on it to freeze the assembly’s accounts, effectively paralysing its operations.

A move by the assembly to have this reversed failed after the Judiciary upheld the executive’s decision.

As a result, the MCAs have now found themselves on the receiving end, with word going round that auctioneers are breathing down their necks demanding payment of money advanced to the assembly legislators as loans and other forms of credit.

Attempts by the now “remorseful” MCAs to engage the executive in resolving the stalemate collapsed when the latter declined to yield to their demands. They had selectively sought the passing of the budget so they could get their salaries but maintain the status quo on the other matters.

Kibwana has insisted the law on the budget must be followed.

“The MCAs should sink by themselves rather than wanting to go down with others,” he said.

“They must stick to the budget guidelines given by the Controller of Budget, otherwise there can be no talks short of this route,” declared a source close to the governor’s office.

Kibwana is on record saying any efforts at dialogue now is a complete waste of time, in reference to the awaited decision on the petition to have the county government dissolved.

Earlier in the month, a national and county governments’ meeting resolved that a commission be set up to investigate a petition by Makueni voters to send the governor and MCAs home.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission later gave President Uhuru Kenyatta the green light to form an independent commission after it finalised authentication of 51,005 signatures from the electorate, who petitioned the President to suspend the county government.