Senators and governors continue supremacy battles over summons

Senate Financial Committee Chair Billow Kerrow when he met Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thuge at the KICC, Nairobi on January 28, 2014. Photo/BILLY MUTAI 

In Summary

• The committee had last week directed the council of governors to appear before them over a contentious report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo that accused the county chiefs 
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By NJERI RUGENE
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By JOHN NGIRACHU
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The rift between governors and senators widened on Tuesday after the county chiefs said they are not accountable to the lawmakers.

The governors took issue with senators who had summoned them to appear before their committee stating that they could only meet a Senate team as policy makers and not as accounting officers.

Council of Governors leaders Isaac Ruto and Ahmed Abdullahi last evening said the Senate’s Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs Committee appeared to have been misguided on the contentious issue of finances.

The committee had last week directed the council of governors to appear before them over a contentious report by the Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo that accused the county chiefs of spending money on salaries and other luxuries instead of development.

SNUBBED MEETING

On Monday, the Senate team chaired by Mandera’s Billow Kerrow then summoned Mr Ruto’s council but they did not turn up and senators interpreted it as a snub.

“No one can summon the council of governors collectively. We are not under investigation.  How can I as a governor give you a financial statement? There is a finance officer responsible for that. We can meet the Senators as policy makers,” said Mr Ruto on Tuesday night.

He added: “The Transitional Authority is in charge of finances. The Senators do not seem to be aware of that.”

However, he said, Mr Abdullahi, who chairs the Finance, Policy and Economic Affairs Committee of the council had written to the committee saying that governors would not meet the senators on Monday.

DISTINCT AND AUTONOMOUS

In a separate statement, Mr Abdullahi described the summons issued to the 10 governors by the Senate as “unnecessary and uncalled for” and took exception to the manner in which the House is dealing with them.

He said that while Parliament has the power to call for evidence, counties are distinct and autonomous from the national government.

“Under the Public Finance Management Act, the votes are managed by accounting officers and County Executive members who may be summoned by the county assemblies incase of concerns over financial discipline.”

The governors on the other hand asked the senators to know what is going on in their counties and “understand that budgets cannot be scrutinised by issuing summons to the council of governors.

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SERIOUS ISSUES

Like Mr Ruto, Mr Abdullahi suggested that county assemblies are better placed to question their respective counties’ accounting officers rather than governors meeting senators.

The statements could put the governors on a collision course with the Senate’s Finance, Commerce and Economic Affairs Committee, which is keen to meet the governors of 10 counties. Mr Kerrow said the team wants to meet the governors from 10 counties to discuss “ serious issues” raised by the budget report.

The Mandera Senator argued that the Senate has a right to oversee the use of the devolved funds and that they supplement the role played by the county assemblies.

He said the county assemblies seem to lack the capacity to check the excesses of governors and the executive.