Governors wade through turbulent waters

By The Counties Team

NAIROBI, KENYA: Many parts of Kenya have only deprivation since independence and hopes were high for them with the ushering in of devolution.

But less than a year after the advent of county governments , disillusionment seems to be creeping in.

And many governors across the country are quicly realising that the job of county boss is turning out to be a nightmare.

They have been fronted by many problems among them demonstrations over increased tax rates as some endure public humiliation. Embu governor Martin Wambora and his deputy Dorothy Nditi made history as the first county bosses to be impeached.

The two were impeached over corruption allegations but have vowed to challenge their impeachment in court.

In Nairobi, Governor Dr Evans Kidero is under pressure to apologise to Women Representative Rachel Shebesh and the womenfolk for allegedly slapping Shebesh.

His neighbor William Kabogo, the Governor of Kiambu is also under pressure to apologise to Thika Central MP Alice Ng’ang’a and the womenfolk for allegedly saying that women over 35 years should marry before they seek for leadership positions.

Machakos governor Alfred Mutua is fighting his own battle with Senator Johnstone Muthama and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

It is said the war is about who among the three is the Kamba kingpin. Some MPs in the region are backing Mutua to take over the Kamba leadership mantle.

Still in Machakos, traders are up in arms about the high taxes introduced by the county government. They have moved to court to challenge the implementation of the County Financial Bill.

Kakamega Governor Dr Wycliffe Oparanya is at odds with his county assembly members who have vowed to impeach him if he does not work closely with them. County residents are also not happy with the introduction of chicken tax.

 Marsabit Governor Ukur Yattani is dealing with insecurity and threats that his government will be taken over by the national government over his inability to contain insecurity.

Kwale and Embu Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) are reading from the old script of their predecessors in the county councils.

The MCAs have engaged in fistfights just like the councilors who had made it a habit of settling their differences through fights.

It is noteworthy that the MCAs have not been attending assembly sessions due to what they said is inadequate salary.

NYERI:  NDERITU GACHAGUA

Rebellious MPs, MCAS and defiant coffee farmers are giving Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua sleepless nights.

The six MPs have, in the past, avoided functions presided over by Mr Gachagua accusing him of bullying his policies through, without consulting them.  

Nyeri Coffee Co-operative Society leaders have now joined Mr Gachagua’s long list of detractors after the governor jumped into the milling and marketing of the produce, a lucrative sector that the former are reluctant to cede. The angry farmers have sued the governor and the county government over the issue. Some of the subsequent meetings arranged to reconcile the county government with the farmers have turned violent. NAKURU:   KINUTHIA MBUGUA

The first nine months in office for the former Administration Police Commandant have been turbulent.

His nominees for  various  executive positions were rejected  by the County  Assembly soon after coming to office.
Mbugua was forced to seek a truce with Members of the County Assembly following the intervention of Deputy President William Ruto. 

When the county government moved recently to demolish some kiosks in the county, Nakuru West MP Samuel Arama joined the traders and castigated the authority. The traders rebuilt the demolished structures within minutes to the chagrin of the county officials. NAIROBI: EVANS KIDERO

It has been a turbulent time in office for Kidero. One of the highlights of his days in office is the alleged slap, which has landed him in the corridors of justice. The governor’s woes do not seem to have an end in sight since he could be faced by another court case.

This is after Former Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu moved to the Court of Appeal seeking to reverse a judgment by the High Court which dismissed the petition challenging his election.

Court matters aside, Dr Kidero is facing discontent from some members of his party the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD). He has been accused of getting too close with the Jubilee Government. MERU:  PETER MUNYA

MPs from Meru, including Imenti North’s Rahim Dawood, Mpuru Aburi (Tigania East), Mithika Linturi (Igembe Central) and Women Representative Florence Kajuju are giving Munya sleepless nights and some have threatened to impeach him.

Dawood accuses him of using only one per cent of the county’s money on development while the rest was spent on entertainment and buying of flashy cars. The women rep was also heard swearing she would strip before the governor if they met, a traditional thing done by women to curse a person. The governor recently refused to share a platform with the women rep on a breakfast show in one of the media houses.

KIAMBU: WILLIAM KABOGO

His relationship with Kiambu MPs and most County Assembly members has remained frosty.

Out of the 12 MPs in the county, only two are on his side with the remaining 10 being his major critics. It started with the location of the county headquarters, which he moved to Thika against the will of many leaders. Later, the county assembly rejected the list of the County Executives he nominated. Recently he stoked controversy by making remarks that some viewed as sexist. This was seen as an attack against Thika Town MP Alice Ng’ang’a who is one of the governor’s fiercest critics and a single mother. Kakamega:  Wycliffe Oparanya

Oparanya had his work cut out following delays by the county assembly to pass crucial bills. The county assembly is yet to pass a single bill apart from the Appropriations Bill 2013. Oparanya blames the lack of dedication among the elected ward representatives to ensure that they deliver on their legislative mandate to enable the executive to implement its plans.

“There are several bills pending before the house that need approval before we can fully take off. The Finance bill is supposed to enable us to collect revenue to undertake development but we cannot do so because the assembly isn’t moving fast enough,” he says.

Additionally, Oparanya and Senator Boni Khalwale have been engaged in the most abrasive of relationships and have, on several occasions, clashed openly.

BOMET: ISAAC RUTO

Things have not been rosy for the vocal chair of the council of governors. Traders and businesspeople recently took to the streets opposing increase in taxes and levies. Though Governor Isaac Ruto admitted there were errors and hiccups in the County Finance Bill, he blamed the MCAs for not conducting wide consultations with other stakeholders. Bomet Central MP, Ronald Tonui, has issued a three-month notice to Ruto to vacate the Constituency Development Fund’s offices that are currently being used as the county headquarters.

Governor Ruto has also clashed with members of National Assembly and senators from the region allied to the Deputy President William Ruto, who see the governor as undermining the DP. Vihiga: Moses Akaranga

Akaranga is finding it difficult to run the affairs of his county, perhaps because of the county assembly delaying the approval of crucial bills. The assembly is majorly composed of UDF members, who are allied to Musalia Mudavadi, the party and Amani Coalition leader. Akaranga belongs to Progressive Party of Kenya and is a major rival to Mudavadi in the county. The county assembly has invariably expressed its desire to frustrate Akaranga’s development agenda and only recently relaxed the position after the governor signed the ward development bill into law giving the MCAs money for their individual wards.

KILIFI: AMASON KINGI

His differences with local leaders threatens to undermine service delivery.

MPs Gideon Mung’aro of Kilifi North, Mustafa Idd (Kilifi South), William Kamoti (Rabai), Gunga Mwinga (Kaloleni), Harrison Kombe (Magarini), Peter Shehe (Ganze) and Dan Kazungu of Malindi have had unresolved differences with the governor since he was sworn in complaining that Mr Kingi does not consult them on development programmes.

When the governor launched a Sh1 billion programme to undertake projects within 100 days under the rapid results initiative (RRI), MPs attacked the governor for isolating them. Elgeyo Marakwet: Alex Tolgos

The governor is struggling with his government’s administration after his proposed list of chief officers was rejected by the county assembly.

The assembly rejected the nominees twice after it emerged that the executive had interfered with the recruitment exercise and compromised some constitutional procedures.

In a report tabled by the county assembly’s liaison committee chairperson Paul Suter, the MCAs adopted the report rejecting the COs and demanded that the vacancies be advertised afresh. MARSABIT: UKUR YATTANI

Marsabit has been experiencing armed tribal clashes since early last year making it hard for the county government to operate. The jubilee government recently threatened the county could be a target for suspension by invoking Article 192 (1) (a), which cites internal conflict as reasonable grounds for suspension of a county government.

NYANDARUA: WAITHAKA MWANGI

Nyandarua residents’ watchdog forum has accused the governor of appointing cronies to his office without following procedures. The governor has also been accused of flouting procurement rules in awarding a Sh20 million contract for renovation of his offices in Olkolau town and hiring of 15 graders to repair roads.

MACHAKOS: ALFRED MUTUA

Dr Alfred Mutua is embroiled in a tussle with Senator Johnson Muthama. Recently, Muthama told Machakos residents to boycott paying the new taxes by the county government. Representatives of traders in Machakos moved to court last week to challenge the implementation of the new tax laws.

NAROK: SAMUEL TUNAI

Tunai has faced opposition from a section of political leaders in the county who are unhappy with his administration. A section of leaders dissatisfied with his administration has accused the governor of side-lining sections of Maasai clans which did not vote for him.

MOMBASA: HASSAN ALI JOHO

Although Mr Joho controls the 45-member county assembly, Movement for Change led by his main political rival Mr Suleiman Shahbal, a prominent businessman, has vowed to oppose the entire Finance Bill in court following high taxes.

BARINGO:  BENJAMIN CHEBOI

The governor has been drawn into ongoing crises concerning the appointment of chief officers. The High court in Eldoret on Wednesday stopped the appointment of three chief officers after a section of stakeholders moved to court.

MIGORi: OKOTH OBADO

Obado is the only non-ODM governor serving in Nyanza.

Having been elected from a minority party (PDP), it has been an uphill task for him to operate with Members of County Assembly from ODM. Obado’s county government has not passed the Finance Bill and did not submit to the Controller of Budget a detailed expenditure report for analysis as required by the law. Nandi: CLEOPHAS LAGAT

There is disunity among county leaders caused by supremacy battles between Lagat and MCAs versus Senator Stephen Sang and women representative Zipporah Kering. At one point Nandi MCAs threatened to influence the electorate to recall Sang in what was perceived to be the senator’s lack of regard to the county chief. The MCAs recently suspended Trade executive Josiah Korir on allegations of graft but the governor’s office said the assembly had no authority to suspend him.

Turkana: Josephat Nanok

Nanok has come under sharp criticism for failing to put in place preventive measures to cushion locals from the annual cycle of hunger.

Area MPs led by Turkana South legislator James Lomenen accused the county government of sleeping on the job and failing to utilise devolved funds including the equalisation monies to give locals reprieve from hunger pangs.  They further claimed Sh75 million disbursed by the national government to the county to mitigate against effects of drought effects had been diverted. NYAMIRA: John Nyagarama

Nyamira Senator Kennedy Okongo has announced he would soon spearhead a move to impeach the governor over financial mismanagement.

Okongo says the governor has failed to use available funds for the intended development purposes. According to the Controller of Budget, the county that collected Sh13.3 million and received Sh277 million in exchequer issues during the first quarter of 2013-2014 financial year, spent Sh28.9 million on travel, Sh4.2 million on conferences and Sh3.2 million on training.