Politics and policy
By GEORGE OMONDI, omondi@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
In Summary
- Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo has ordered counties that either breached guidelines set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) or internal budget limits, to immediately recover the money or prepare for sanctions.
Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo has directed
counties to recover any allowances that were irregularly paid out
between July and December 2014, setting up governors for another
showdown with members of county assemblies (MCAs).
Ms Odhiambo has ordered counties that either breached
guidelines set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) or
internal budget limits, to immediately recover the money or prepare for
sanctions.
The directive follows the budget controller’s
recent review of the administration of sitting and commuter allowances
that has unearthed extensive abuse.
“The findings show that some officers are paid
monthly commuter allowances despite having been assigned official
vehicles,” Ms Odhiambo says in the report that also requires counties to
adhere to SRC circulars on staff remunerations and benefits.
While the directive affects county executives as
well as the MCAs, it is the latter who have frequently used their
legislative and impeachment powers to defend their perks.
Half-year report compiled by Office of the
Controller of Budget (OCOB) indicates that 12 counties exceeded the
Sh124,000-a-month limit set by SRC as sitting allowances for each MCA.
The OCOB report shows that Uasin Gishu, headed by
Governor Jackson Mandago, tops the list of reckless spenders, having
paid its MCAs average sitting allowances of Sh312, 339 each in the
first half of the current fiscal year.
Kakamega (Sh134,700), Kirinyaga (Sh141,894), Kisii
(Sh148,699), Migori (Sh185,792), Nyandarua (Sh138,975) and Nyeri
(Sh146,389) also breached the set limit.
Others were Siaya (Sh142, 995), Taita Taveta (Sh124, 598), Trans Nzoia (Sh178,168), Turkana (Sh143,722) and Wajir (Sh126,958).
The report also shows that Turkana county assembly
spent Sh41.39 million on sitting allowances, exceeding its annual budget
allocation of Sh10 million by 413.9 per cent.
The counties spent Sh3.72 billion on foreign and
domestic travel in a spending spree that also benefited staff already
allocated county government vehicles.
The directive to recover money already paid out to the MCAs is particularly expected to rekindle the animosity with governors.
Corruption and differences over travel and sitting
allowances have been cited among the factors that led to a string of
impeachment motions against governors during the first months in office.
Similarly, poor counties lead the pack of heavy spenders in domestic
and foreign travels.
Turkana, which is among Kenya’s poorest regions,
for instance spent Sh241.9 million on this budget-line followed by Tana
River’s Sh183.94 million.
No comments :
Post a Comment