This archive report was first published on 13 July 2020.
Published on July 13, 2020, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Waiguru is seeking the intervention of the Controller of Budget and the Senate to resolve the budget stalemate with the county assembly.
The stalemate has already started to ground county operations to a standstill, with the Executive and Legislature at odds over the FY 2020/2021 budget.
According to Waiguru, the county assembly submitted a new budget with a variation of over 30 percent, contrary to the requirement of Regulation 37(1) of the Public Finance (County Government) Regulations 2015, which limits the assembly's variations to 1 percent of the ceilings.
Waiguru has refused to approve the specific alterations made by the MCAs, citing unacceptable changes such as moving Sh300 million meant for salaries of health workers to construction of ward offices.
“Assembly removed Ksh. 20 million meant for payment of casual workers’ wages who are critical in cleaning our environment and our health facilities especially during this time as we deal with Covid-19 virus,” Waiguru said.
The governor has also expressed concern over the removal of Sh14.6 million for ambulances’ fuel, water bills, and oxygen for hospitals, which she says will paralyze operations in the critical health sector.
Waiguru has been at odds with the MCAs, who recently sought to impeach her, but was saved by the Senate. She has now called on the Jubilee Party to help her rein in the rogue ward reps.
