Senate bans use of Governors and MCAs images on public projects

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti when she commissioned the Mbiuni Market Borehole Water Reticulation Project in Machakos County. [@Wavinya_Ndeti, X]

The Senate has prohibited Governors and Members of County Assemblies from branding public projects and government vehicles with messages that seek to promote individual identities.

The Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, in its report, contends that branding public projects and vehicles with individual names or images is personalization of public resources, creating the impression of individual ownership.

The Committee Chaired by Wajir Senator Sheikh Abbas says that such practices by Governors, Members of County Assemblies and any other public officers are unethical and in contravention of the Constitution, the Public Service (Values and Principles) Act, the Public Officer Ethics Act and the Leadership and Integrity Act.

“Using public funds to brand projects and vehicles with the names or images of public officers amounts to misuse of public resources and goes against the principles of transparency and prudent financial management as set out in public finance management laws,” says the report.

The Senate Committee emphasizes the need to discourage Governors, Members of County Assembly and county officials from branding public projects with their identities, arguing that proper addressing and naming of county infrastructure needs to be implemented.

The committee now wants the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Office of the Auditor-General, and the Controller of Budget to enforce strict compliance with constitutional and statutory provisions governing integrity, accountability, and the proper use of public resources.

“These oversight institutions should enhance monitoring, issue clear advisories to public officers on the proper use of public funds, conduct audits and investigations and take appropriate disciplinary action against misuse of public funds for personal branding,” says the report.

Governor Kimani Wamatangi flagging of a truck loaded with medical drugs after he launched a Sh100 million universal healthcare program in Kiambu county. [File, Standard]

The directive of the Senate Committee follows a petition by Laban Omusundi, an activist based at the Senate, concerning the matter of branding public projects and county vehicles with images of Governors and Members of County Assembly.

According to the petitioner, all County-funded projects across all 47 Counties are adorned with portraits, images and names of Governors and Members of County Assemblies, as if the projects were funded by them and not taxpayers.

Omusundi argues that these political elites in the Counties have been allowed to massage their political egos and use spaces of public-funded projects to advertise and brand themselves for personal political course without checks and balances.

 “Article 231 (4) of the Constitution disallows the portrait of any individual on the currency.  Why should politicians be allowed to brand taxpayers' funded projects with their respective portraits, images, or names?” said Omusundi.

The petitioner told the Senate that it was high time to reject this self-aggrandizement by using taxpayers’ funds to brand political elites' portraits, images, or names to perpetuate personal political egos contrary to Article 75(1) of the Constitution of Kenya.