Governors' wars take a different turn as Jubilee accused of 'agenda'.

[Ab-Titchaz]

JUBILEE WANTS NINE GOVERNORS OUT - RUTTO

The Council of Governors Chairman Isaac Rutto has claimed that the Jubilee government is engineering impeachment of nine governors and replace them with 'puppets'. Following last week's impeachment of Embu Governor Martin Wambora by the Senate, Rutto yesterday took to his twitter handle to allege a plot by Jubilee, of which he is a member.

"So, #Narok, #Kirui, #Kisumu, #Bungoma, #Bomet, #TanaRiver, #Kiambu,#Wajir, #Embu #Governors to be impeached? Is Jubilee politically suicidal?," Rutto twitted. "What #JubileeSenate has started is prelude to chaos.

Getting rid of people's Governors to replace with sycophants? #Devolution at crossroads. "There must be genuine political will to protect #devolution by the Jubilee government.

Lets not throw away the baby with the bathwater," he said. Rutto's tweets were countered by Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen who accused Rutto of ignorance.

"The fact that u imagine Senate voted by acclamation means u dont understand our Constitution and standing orders. It seems it is the #*JubileeeSenate -vs-the Courts and Wanainchi. #Devolution," he tweeted.

Murkomen added: "any elected leader who condones corruption will be voted out by the people The sooner MCAs act the better.

In Wambora impeachment Senate voted as follows:83%YES 2% NO 2% Abstained & 13% Absent. how then can IsaacRutoGov say some people were used?" The governors' body will meanwhile today move to Supreme Court to challenge the senate' decision to impeach Wambora.

Rutto said they would seek an interpretation of the law on the senate's role on impeachment. Addressing the press at his Tumoi home in Chepalungu on Saturday, Rutto accused the senate of over what he termed as failure to follow the due constitutional process in reaching at its decision to kick out the Embu governor.

"We want to seek the guidance of whether the senate have powers to summon the governors and the standards which should be met in order for the senate to impeach governors," said Rutto.

The Bomet Governor said it is sad that the senate did not allow the governor to defend himself over the allegations levelled against him hence the decision was void.

"If such move is not interpreted early enough, it will cripple the operation of counties by allowing senate to impeach governors whenever they feel so," said Rutto Rutto said the senate ought to have forwarded its report to relevant authorities to look at it before making a conclusive decision rather rushing into ‘ejecting' him"The manner in which the governor was impeached is shocking.

He was not neither given time to explain himself nor to justify himself over the allegations made against him and we wonder if this is the way they want the county governments operated that is why we are moving to the court on Monday," said the chairman.

He added the voting process was not even genuine and they should have done on secret ballot. "There were much shouting and that clearly shows that the whole process was malicious. The senate seemed to have had a hidden agenda in the manner in which they impeached the Embu governor and they it failed to honour the court's order on the matter," he said.

He added: "The allegations levelled of misappropriation of county funds are unsubstantiated and did not warrant his impeachment since the roles of the senate and the governors are well stipulated with regards to usage and control of funds in the counties.

"The governor said they have already written to the attorney general, the senate and the constitution for implementation of the constitution seeking to get a clear definition of the role of senate in management of the county governments' funds.

He claimed that the senate was being used to undermine the county governments functioning as it was overstepping its mandates on oversight role. Ruto said the senate did not have any powers to summon the governors on the management of funds since they were only accountable to the residents and not the senate.

The Bomet governor said they are aware that senate has lined up 11 other governors with a view of impeaching them. He expressed fears that if such precedence is continue, the County Assemblies will start attacking governors in a bid to protect their self –interests.

"Such decisions may make the deputy governors to work in cahoots with county assemblies as a way of removing the governors hence they automatic take up the position without much struggles," said Rutto. -

See more at: JUBILEE WANTS NINE GOVERNORS OUT - RUTTO | The Star

 

[Kabaridi]

in case you are not aware, ilichukua msimamo huu wa wananchi na kumtoa mamlakani gavana was embu kwa tuhuma za ufisadi. ask me kama ugatuzi inafanya kazi. it is working. wakati huu hakuna atakaye kimbilia chama kujaribu kujiponya. sijui nini unasema ugatuzi inakuwa sarbotaged. when the winds of change starts, inayofuata vilio.

 

[Dhuks]

The only blot in the whole impeachment process is that court orders were ignored.

 

[mfianchi]

Siasa kweli siasa,sasa tumeona wanasiasa wanavyojipendelea wenyewe yaani Rutto haoni ufisadi wote unaofanywa na magava wenzake,magava huko maskani kwao wana nguvu kuliko hata UK na wamekuwa madikteta wakubwa,wanafuja fedha ya umma bila kujali.Wakati mwingine naona hizi katiba hazimsaidia wanjiku bali ni kwa ajili ya wanasiasa.nahofia haya yanayotokea Kenya hata TZ yatatokea tu na hii rasmu mpya ya katiba,uhuru kuzidi mpaka kwa sisi waafrika inakuwa ni maafa na majanga kwa taifa

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Siasa kweli siasa,sasa tumeona wanasiasa wanavyojipendelea wenyewe yaani Rutto haoni ufisadi wote unaofanywa na magava wenzake,magava huko maskani kwao wana nguvu kuliko hata UK na wamekuwa madikteta wakubwa,wanafuja fedha ya umma bila kujali.Wakati mwingine naona hizi katiba hazimsaidia wanjiku bali ni kwa ajili ya wanasiasa.nahofia haya yanayotokea Kenya hata TZ yatatokea tu na hii rasmu mpya ya katiba,uhuru kuzidi mpaka kwa sisi waafrika inakuwa ni maafa na majanga kwa taifa

Kamanda, soma na hii hapa....

Governors spend Sh1bn on travel in three months, Controller of Budget say

The Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo. [PHOTO: STANDARD/FILE]
By MOSES MICHIRA

NAIROBI, KENYA: Governors spent more than Sh1 billion on travel in a period of three months, a report by the Controller of Budget has said.


The allegations of the extravagance could kick off a storm in the management of devolved resources, while raising fresh fears about priorities in the counties.

The travel costs, according to Agnes Odhiambo, the Controller of Budget, included air tickets for international travel for governors, county executive committees and members of county assemblies.

While the report does not reveal the nature of trips the county officials made during the period, the total spend is way above the Sh872 million that governors allocated to development projects.

A further Sh242 million was used for conferences, while Sh161 million went to training. The shocking revelations have been made by an audit of the actual expenditure in the 47 counties between July and September last year.

During the period, members of the county assemblies earned more than Sh473 million in sitting allowances in addition to their hefty salaries.

Ms Odhiambo warned in her report that the expenditure on sitting allowances was unsustainable.

"The office (Controller of Budget) recommends that sitting allowances for MCAs need to be rationalised as this expenditure may not be sustainable, given the already escalating wage bill nationally," Ms Odhiambo said in her report.

Machakos, Kiambu and Laikipia counties have spent the highest amounts on travel-related expenses at Sh52 million, Sh46.7 million and Sh46.6 million respectively, while Nakuru had the biggest allocation on food, put together as conferences, hospitality and catering.

NEW WORKERS

Salaries and wages for county staff were the single largest expense in all the regions, with the wage bill expected to grow exponentially following the recruitment of new workers and adoption of employees seconded from the national government.

More than Sh7 billion was spent on paying salaries and allowances, while Sh4.9 billion was used for operations and maintenance. A soaring wage bill has been a major concern especially for the National Government, prompting concerns from local and international agencies.

Counties that have only been in existence for ten months have been confronted with the same problem, which economists observe would deny resources to productive sectors.


Odhiambo has also expressed reservations about the nature of expenses and accountability because some counties were operating several bank accounts.
The use of multiple bank accounts made it difficult to track all expenditures and, as a result, reconciling the revenues and expenses could not be accurately executed.

Standard Digital News - Kenya : Governors spend Sh1bn on travel in three months, Controller of Budget say

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Governors fight for survival in row with Senate

In Summary

• The governors had declined earlier summonses with Isaac Rutto saying that they could only be "consulted" by the senators, not summoned
• Their filings come in the wake of Friday's impeachment of Embu Governor Martin Wambora by the Senate

Governors on Monday launched a fightback against the Senate and County Assemblies in the wake of the impeachment of one of them last week.

The governors filed two cases - one in the Supreme Court and the other in the High Court - seeking interpretation on how much evidence is required to impeach a governor. The second case is seeking to stop the Senate from summoning them. (READ: Governors in court over Wambora sacking)

Senators had summoned nine governors; Mr Ken Lusaka (Bungoma), Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Ahmed Abdullahi (Wajir), Kinuthia Mwangi (Nakuru), William Kabogo (Kiambu), Hussein Dado (Tana River), Julius Malombe (Kitui), Samuel Tunai (Narok) and Isaac Rutto (Bomet) to appear before the senate between Wednesday this week and Tuesday next week. (READ: Kidero faults Senate over Wambora sacking)

The governors had declined earlier summonses with Mr Rutto saying that they could only be "consulted" by the senators, not summoned.

The case in the Supreme Court seeks an advisory opinion whether a governor who is the subject of impeachment hearings has a right to get copies of the accusations made against him before the removal proceedings can start in the County Assemblies. They also want to know whether governors have a right to respond to the accusations.

"We want the Supreme Court to determine whether the Speaker of County Assembly has an obligation to inform a governor of allegations raised against him and whether the governor should be accorded an opportunity to respond to the allegations," said the governors in their petition drawn by the law firm of Manyonge Wanyama and Associates Advocates.

ACTS OF OTHERS

The governors argue that they cannot be removed from office for the acts of other public officers within the County Public Service. They also want an advisory opinion on who between them and County Accounting Officers should be answerable to the Senate. (EDITORIAL: Supremacy wars should not target governors)

"We also want an interpretation of gross violation, abuse of office, and gross misconduct in relation to the impeachment of a governor. We will also require the court to give us an opinion on what is the standard of proof for the Senate to be satisfied to remove a governor," said the council.

Their filings come in the wake of Friday's impeachment of Embu Governor Martin Wambora by the Senate a week after a similar Motion was passed by members of the Embu County Assembly. (RAED: History as first governor sacked)

In an earlier case, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga had formed a three-member bench to hear the petition filed by Mr Wambora before the Senate proceedings started. Now, the governors want to be enjoined in the case.

In a related case, the High Court certified as urgent the case seeking to stop the Senate to summon nine governors over their management of county finances.

Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi said that although the matter needed to be heard expeditiously the Senate needs to be given time to respond to the suit before granting an order to stop the summons.

The judge directed that the case be heard on Tuesday and that the Senate respond by the time of hearing.

The lawyer for the Council of Governors, Mr Peter Wanyama pleaded with the judge saying that if the court did not grant the order stopping the summons which begin tomorrow, the governors' case would be overtaken by events.

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Mr Wanyama said the summons were unconstitutional. He argued that accounting officers of a national or county public entity should be accountable to the National Assembly and the County Assembly respectively.

"The senate represents the counties to protect the interests of the counties and their governments, the senate can only exercise its powers to summon persons strictly when in line with the Constitution," said Mr Wanyama.

The embattled governors claim that the Senate should strive to maintain a balance between intruding in county governance and performing its national oversight over county finances.

They, however, acknowledge that the Senate has powers to scrutinise financial records for purposes of deciding on impeachment, intervention, suspension and developing a national legislation necessary for more prudent management of finances at the county level.

Governors fight for survival in row with Senate - Politics - nation.co.ke

 

[Ulukolokwitanga]

Nyie si mlitaka kuwa na ma-Governor kama Marekani,,, pay the bills don't complaint.

Controller wa budget yuko bias sana, hajaeleza hizo county zimekusanya kodi kiasi gani toka governors wameanza kufanya kazi. Huenda hayo matumizi yanatoakana na increased taxi revenues as results of governors' hard works.

 

[mfianchi]

Nyie si mlitaka kuwa na ma-Governor kama Marekani,,, pay the bills don't complaint.

Controller wa budget yuko bias sana, hajaeleza hizo county zimekusanya kodi kiasi gani toka governors wameanza kufanya kazi. Huenda hayo matumizi yanatoakana na increased taxi revenues as results of governors' hard works.

Kaka nia ya kuanzisha ofisi za magavana ni nzuri sana ,lengo likiwa kumletea maendeleo mwanachi kwa karibu badala ya kutegemea serikali kuu,nafikiri magavana wa Marekani wameonyesha mfano,na ndio maana hatujasikia wamekuja huku kwenye mbuga za Masai Mara kuja kutalii kinyume na magavana wetu ambao ni mafisadi wanaojaribu kutumia kila fursa kutengeneza fedha haramu kwa kuwaibia wale walio wachagua.Ni wakati wa seneti kukaza nati na pia bunge /controller kufuatilia hizo safari ,si ajabu utakuta gavana na wapambe wao wanadai wamesafir kwenda China kumbe wameishia Arusha wa kila raha.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Uhuru backs MPs in row with Judiciary

PHOTO | VINCENT AYIMBA President Uhuru Kenyatta dances with Stacy Kotut of Sosiot Secondary School in Kericho before presiding over the annual meeting for Belgut Women's Empowerment Organisation on February 21, 2014.

[h=3]In Summary[/h]

• Country edges closer to a crisis as top organs of state fight for supremacy
• President accuses judges of interfering with Parliament after court stopped Wambora's sacking
• Lawmakers in fresh attempt to pass punitive legislation against Judiciary and county bosses
• He told governors to stop playing politics and account to the public for the funds placed under their guard as he declared the Judiciary cannot isolate itself from Parliament and the Executive.
• Senators Charles Keter, Kithure Kindiki, Kipchumba Murkomen, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and Sotik MP Joyce Laboso vowed to deal with rogue governors and judges who they claimed were conspiring to stop Parliament from playing its watchdog role.

President Kenyatta on Friday sided with Parliament in its war against governors and the Judiciary and asked the two institutions to drop their hard-line positions.

Speaking after the ground for the attack on the Judiciary and the devolved governments had been set by senators and MPs, the president said the three arms of the government should respect each other and work together to place the country on a development path.

He told governors to stop playing politics and account to the public for the funds placed under their guard as he declared the Judiciary cannot isolate itself from Parliament and the Executive.

"Kenya is being ruined not by the ordinary people but by leaders. Instead of sitting down to consult and come up with amicable solutions, we are full of politics," he said.

"As a governor, you are not law unto yourself. Even I as the President of the Republic of Kenya, I am accountable to all Kenyans."

And he chided the Judiciary for seeking refugee in the doctrine of separation of powers among the arms of government and asked judges and magistrates to stop preventing both the Senate and the National Assembly from carrying out their constitutional duties.

"Separation of powers does not mean we are independent from each other. The Executive alone cannot serve Kenyans, the legislature alone cannot serve Kenyans and the Judiciary on its own cannot serve Kenyans. We are interdependent. One arm should not stop another from performing its duties," he said.

END THE WAR

The President was speaking in Kericho Town during the annual general meeting of Belgut Women Empowerment organisation.

Senators Charles Keter, Kithure Kindiki, Kipchumba Murkomen, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and Sotik MP Joyce Laboso vowed to deal with rogue governors and judges who they claimed were conspiring to stop Parliament from playing its watchdog role.

But Commission for Implementation of the Constitution boss Charles Nyachae urged President Kenyatta to meet heads of the Judiciary and Parliament to end the war, which might lead to anarchy.

"As a commission we recognise that inevitably there will be jurisdictional conflicts between the three arms of the government. There will be need for restrain as each level exercise its powers to ensure that it does not interfere with the exercise of another organ's power," said Mr Nyachae.

He said individuals or institutions that believe court order was obtained irregularly or does not properly articulate the law should apply for review of the court decision.

The Senate and National Assembly, which were hitherto involved in supremacy wars, have cast their differences aside and united in their attack against governors whom they accuse of acting like "small presidents", and judges who they claim are shielding county bosses from being questioned over plunder of public funds.

They have accused the Judiciary of "assisting impunity, corruption, theft, and irresponsible use of public resources by governors".

The war was triggered by the decision of the Senate to give nod to the move by the Embu County Assembly to impeach Governor Martin Nyagah Wambora.

The High Court sitting in Kirinyaga, however, overturned the decision and reinstated Mr Wambora on grounds that court orders were ignored in the process.

President Kenyatta said it was wrong for governors to turn down summons from the Senate with the assistance of the Judiciary.

Uhuru backs MPs in row with Judiciary - News - nation.co.ke