Namwamba: County ward reps should be watchdogs not bloodbounds

By Ababu Namwamba

As a legislator, and more so as head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), I intimately appreciate the value of accountability and individual political responsibility in the conduct of public affairs. Indeed accountability is a constitutional tenet. And a moral imperative. If you hold public office, this must inhere in your very soul. As spelt out in Article 73 of the Constitution, “…authority assigned to a State officer is a public trust to be exercised in a manner that…brings honour to the nation and dignity to the office, and promotes public confidence in the integrity of the office”. Article 226 (5) further enacts personal liability for financial misadventure.