The Nairobi County Assembly has been dealt a blow after Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto declared the gazettement of the Supplementary Appropriations Act 2020 irregular.
The Act, which was gazetted on April 27, provided for transfer of Sh15 billion to the Mohamed Badi-led Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) for the running of the ceded county functions, namely planning, transport, health, public works and ancillary services.
This was in line with the Deed of Transfer of Functions signed between the national and county governments. The deal took effect in March 2020.
Mr Ogeto has said the gazettement was unlawful. He said Speaker Beatrice Elachi did not commit the Bill to the Committee of the Whole House before signing it. He said the County Assembly did not vote on the Bill as required by section 24 (5) of the County Governments Act.
He urged the Government Printer to revoke the Nairobi County Supplementary Appropriations Act, 2020.
“As the Bill was not assented to in either ways contemplated by the law, it is our considered guidance that the purported Appropriations Act, 2020 was not lawful and proper as the said Act did not exist in the first place. The said publication is therefore a nullity and ought to be rectified appropriately,” read a letter addressed to the Office of Nairobi Governor, Mike Sonko.
It was copied to Attorney General, Paul Kihara and Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakang’o.
The stalemate between Governor Sonko and the County Assembly started after the Nairobi County Assembly, in a special sitting on April 3, approved the Supplementary Estimates and Appropriations Bill allocating NMS Sh15 billion to run four departments - health, transport and public works, utilities and ancillary, planning, and development services - ceded to the national government.
The assembly had also allocated a Sh1.02 billion emergency fund to NMS to fight the spread of Covid-19. The assembly had slashed about Sh203 million from the budget of the Office of the Governor to kick-start NMS operations.
