Raila decries MCAs' appetite for perks and wrangles

African Union envoy Raila Odinga with Kisumu governor Anyang' Nyong'o during a meeting with ODM delegates at Posta grounds in Kisumu on December 7th 2018. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

ODM leader Raila Odinga has once again reprimanded members of the County Assemblies for being preoccupied with unnecessary trips where they draw huge allowances.

He told them that devolution should not be an 'intrinsic motivation' to make quick riches but an opening to work for the electorates and to initiate viable development projects.

''These are some of the reasons why we want changes to made in the law to redefine the devolved functions properly so that we ensure fiscal discipline,'' Raila said

Raila spoke amid building rows in most of the assemblies in Nyanza that undermined their smooth operations.

Homa Bay County assembly is currently embroiled in leadership tussles after Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo was impeached.

Siaya County MCAs are divided after they recently shot down governor Cornel Rasanga's supplementary budget.

In Kisumu County, Raila himself had to intervene to stem feuds at the assembly after members threatened to impeach the speaker Onyango Oloo over election committees.

''The assemblies are not meant to fight for seats but to play an oversight role. But it is unfortunate they have been turned into theaters of absurd,'' Raila claimed.

He also expressed discontent that governors were rooting for an increase in allocation of development vote to the counties, but spending very little on development projects.

''It is sad that only 30 percent of the counties development votes is reserved for development while seventy percent was spent on recurrent expenditure. This means that even if we increase the vote to 45 percent, without proper structures in place, it would just be a waste of resources and utilities,” Raila asserted.