Moiben MP Silah Tiren blames Parliament for delayed county development funding

Moiben MP Silah Tiren has blamed the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for delays in disbursing development funds to the counties.

The legislator said the cash woes that have led to the push for a plebiscite are the result of delays by PAC to approve audited county accounts.

"The chair of that committee has failed to table various reports for debate in Parliament. This is the main reason counties are not being given the funds on time," he said.

Mr Tiren told the Press in Eldoret that the National Assembly was yet to discuss and approve audited county accounts for the 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 financial years.

URGENT MOTIONS

Tiren, who blamed PAC chairman Ababu Namwamba for trying to frustrate the Jubilee government's 'devolution spirit', called on the Council of Governors to also stop criticising the Government regarding the county funds.

"Jubilee cannot be blamed for insufficient funding to the counties because the PAC committee's leadership has been sluggish in presenting relevant reports to facilitate resource disbursement," he said.

However, Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter blamed the parliamentary leadership, not committee chairpersons, for problems related to debating urgent motions, saying they had failed to schedule discussions on such issues.

SERIOUS PROBLEMS

"There are serious problems in the 11th Parliament that need addressing. Many MPs shy away from debating and giving logical contributions. Leadership is lacking here, resulting in a House that is far below par compared to the ninth and 10th parliaments," he said.

The MP claimed the current Parliament had done little to formulate proper policies compared to previous parliaments, and blamed its leadership for forcing issues on MPs.

He termed it propaganda for House patrons to state that PAC and accounts committee chairs had delayed budget issues yet they did not run programmes in Parliament.

"It is the responsibility of the majority leader and House business committee to determine which issues come first for debate," he explained.

The legislator said that the tyranny of numbers notion needed to be eradicated because it was misleading Kenyans, adding that MPs should be left to act independently when it comes to representing issues affecting the electorate.