Governors to appeal High Court decision on oversight

Council of Governors Finance Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya

A ruling that allows the Senate to summon and question governors over county expenditure undermines devolution, the Council of Governors (CoG) has said.

As a result, the county bosses are now planning to appeal the High Court ruling that gave the Senate oversight powers.

In a statement, CoG Finance Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said the decision disregarded Government structures.

"It is unfortunate that the High Court gave the ruling without sufficient knowledge of what constitutes an oversight role. Counties are just but a replicate of the national government," he said. Mr Oparanya argued that if governors are to be summoned by the Senate, then the President also needs an oversight body to be answerable to.

"At the end of the day we all need to be accountable," he said.

The court's decision was persuaded by the Supreme Court advisory opinion of 2013 in which it recognised the financial and administrative functions of the two levels of government (national and county governments) hence emphasising the pivotal role Senate plays in counties' development.

Though the High Court acknowledged that the Senate does not have extensive legislative powers like the National Assembly, Justice George Odunga, who gave the ruling, said he based his decision on the grounds that the Senate stands as the Constitution's safeguard for the principle of devolved governance.

Oparanya, however, differed saying that Parliament is mandated to create laws that should accommodate devolution. "That is the whole responsibility of the the Senate and the National Assembly," he said.

He said the Senate's decisions have been causing hiccups in developmental projects in the counties.

He said county funds should be disbursed monthly instead of quarterly as stipulated in the Public Service Management Act, which has led to some counties failing to receive their May and June allocations.