Governor Chepkwony clashes with area legislators over budget

Kericho governor Paul Chepkwony. (Photo: File)

The county budget row has gone a notch higher after Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot and Kipkelion West Member of Parliament (MP) Hillary Koskei sided with Members of County Assembly (MCAs).

43 MCAs out of 47 on Wednesday voted to reject Governor Paul Chepkwony memorandum over the Sh7.18 billion budget

Chepkwony, has since declined to sign the county’s Appropriation Bill until a total of Sh83M to fund a suit against the British Government over historical injustices against members of the Kipsigis and the Talai clan is factored in the budget.

The governor also requires an additional Sh141M for the construction of a specialized eye center in conjunction with Egypt’s Alexandria University. 

But speaking in Kipkelion Coffee Mill, Cheruiyot and Koskei waded into the matter to apply political pressure on the governor to back down.

“Even President Uhuru Kenyatta cannot refuse to sign the Appropriation Bill because the bill means that the Members of Parliament (MPs) and senators have met and agreed on how public funds have to be shared out,” said Cheruiyot.

The Senator therefore reminded Chepkwony that the devolution system should be modelled out of the National Government’s order and procedure.

“If Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) have met and decided how the county’s revenue allocation is to be shared to fund development projects it’s the people’s voice. I support the MCAs in their oversight role to ensure public funds are spent prudently,” said Cheruiyot.

Koskei, claimed that there were no tangible project on the ground since devolution as he asked the MCAs not to relent into their fight to compel Governor Chepkwony to focus on implementing basic projects before focusing on the “fancy” ones.

“Governor Chepkwony should be ashamed of his memorandum to the county Assembly because there is nothing to write home about in his tenure in office,” said the Kipkelion West MP.

Hezron Kipngeno, the County Assembly’s leader of majority revealed that they had knocked out the Sh83M the governor required to fund the suit against the British government over historical injustices based on Kharim Khans’s opinion. 

“During his last visit to the county, Mr Khan stated clearly at the Kericho Teachers Training College hall that the county’s suit was time bared and the best we can get is an apology from the British government,” said Kipngeno. 

The Chilchila MCA argued the fact is was what led the Assembly to save the county’s funds from being wasted on a suit which will be ultimately thrown out of the British high court. 

Kapsoit MCA, Paul Chirchir pointed out that contrary to Chepkwony’s claims, the Assembly had complied with the Public Finance Management Act and they had not interfered with more than one per cent of the budget ceiling. 

“The governor should re-read the constitution to thoroughly understand it. If Chepkwony feels overwhelmed by a governor’s responsibilities, he should resign,” he said.

Tebesonic MCA Nancy Kimetto called on Chepkwony to sign the appropriation bill into law immediately and learn to embrace dialogue with the Assembly. 

“The governor shouldn’t cause development projects to stall by the failure to immediately sign the Appropriation Bill into law,” she said. 

Kunyak MCA Daniel Rono said the governor has decided to hit back since the assembly had struck off Sh600M which he required for the construction of the county governor’s official residence.

“We declined to factor in the amount since its equal to what the roads department got for infrastructural development. Chepkwony should understand that the governor’s residence is not a priority to Kericho residents,” he said.