By Ally Jamah
Nairobi, Kenya: The Sh68 billion budget for the Devolution Ministry generated controversy in the Senate with some senators suggesting that it should have been allocated directly to counties.
They said they are against it being retained within the national government.
The debate was sparked by Kakamega Senator Dr Boni Khalwale who claimed that the money will be wasted in seminars and workshops, saying the matter should be left to governors. He claimed this ministry was “irrelevant” and would not add value to the critical process of devolution.
“That money should just be left to the governors to utilise in their projects. Keeping it in the Devolution Ministry would be a total waste,” he said.
Ministry misplaced
He claimed that had the Senate been allowed to participate in the vetting of Cabinet Secretaries, he would have voted against Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, claiming that she failed in her work at the Treasury when she was in charge of the Integrated Financial Management Information System (Ifmis).
“The Cabinet Secretary was in charge of Ifmis for five years but it has been unable to take off. The Ifmis that was put in place was ineffective since it didn’t capture spending but only focused on revenue,” he claimed.
On his part, Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula said setting up the ministry was “misplaced” adding the funds allocated to it could have been put to better use in the counties.
Starting point
“I have no problem with the Cabinet Secretary for Devolution. She is a dedicated lady. But why isn’t she talking to senators and governors? She knows Senate is the custodian and protector of devolution,” he said.
He added: “If we are to work together with the Executive on devolution, Senate is the starting point. Has she called a meeting between governors and senators to talk about defending devolution?”
But nominated Senator Chelule Liza and G G Kariuki (Laikipia) expressed opposition to what they termed as “unnecessarily antagonising” the Devolution Ministry.
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