Why Senators want Governors to have 'designate' Deputies

Senators want governors to have a designate deputy governor serving in the executive. [Photo: Courtesy]

Senators want all county chiefs to have a designate deputy governor serving in the executive to avoid a crisis in case the office holder is impeached or resigns.

Members of the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee yesterday agreed with a proposal that seeks to make it mandatory for governors to identify an individual in their respective County Executive committees, who would take over when their deputies are away.

Committee chairman Kiprotich Cherargey (Nandi) said it was important to have a top official in the county administration on standby to forestall the dilemma that has been faced by some governors.

“Our constitution is silent on the matter and as a committee we need to find ways of filling any vacancies that occur in the county administration very quickly, so that the work of governors is not affected if their deputies are not in office,” said Mr Cherargey.

This was in reaction to proposals being pushed by Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr (Makueni), who wants the Impeachment Procedure Bill 2016 to address the gap in the law when it comes to deputy governors.

While making submissions before the committee yesterday, Mr Mutula, said the designate deputy governor would also act in the capacity of the office holder whenever the top two county bosses were away.