Central MCAs demand more inclusion in county financial plans

Nyeri County Assembly Speaker John Kaguchia.

Ward representatives in Central Kenya want to have a bigger say in financial planning at the county level.

Speaking yesterday in Nyeri at a forum to share their views, the MCAs said county assemblies should be allowed to make financial decisions that are independent of the county executive.

The ward reps were making their views known through their County Assembly Forum (CAF) ahead of the final report to be prepared by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) team.

They also proposed that the minimum sharable revenue that should go to county governments be set at 45 per cent of the total national allocation.

“We want the BBI team to propose full financial  autonomy for county assemblies so as to  separate powers between them and the Executive,” said CAF Secretary General Samuel Kipkurui.

The ward representatives further said that they want to be recognised more in the ongoing BBI campaigns.

“Our members are concerned that they are not being given a chance to take part in the BBI campaigns,” said CAF chairman Ndegwa Wahome.

Nyeri County Assembly Speaker John Kaguchia said the proposal of “one man one vote” is important to Central region in order to ensure proper representation.

“If the independence of the assemblies is not considered, we will think twice when the document comes to the assemblies,” Mr Kaguchia said.

Central regions is comprised of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kiambu and Kirinyaga counties.

Meanwhile, a section of Nairobi Jubilee MCAs plan to hold parallel BBI meetings ahead of the major Nairobi BBI rally.

The MCAs yesterday announced that they have already identified Roysambu as the venue for their first meeting next week.

Led by Nairobi County Assembly majority leader Charles Thuo, the ward legislators said the rallies are meant to ensure they reach as many people as possible.

“We are not trying to clash with the BBI rallies organisers. Our meetings will take a different approach. We will be holding them in town halls as opposed to open grounds. We invite all the city leaders to join us,” said Mr Thuo.

The MCAs also moved to assure the public that there was no leadership vacuum in Nairobi County.

They said they were keeping the Executive in check to avoid an interruption in service delivery.

Validation hearings

“Sonko is our governor and those calling for his impeachment should be informed that operations are going on smoothly,” said Maringo Hamza ward MCA, Mark Ndungu.

The announcement by the ward legislators comes on the back of another announcement by the BBI taskforce that it will start validation hearings tomorrow at the Kenya International Convention Centre (KICC).

In a statement, the taskforce invited diverse groups to attend the hearings.

“These meetings will welcome all citizens, civil society, faith-based organizations, cultural leaders, the private sector among others,” read the statement in part.

The taskforce said the KICC meetings will be followed by other meetings in different regions on dates to be communicated later.