Ward reps boycott special session

Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka and Senators tour the Uasin Gishu County Assembly in Eldoret. The senate will hold it's first sitting in Eldoret at the Uasin Gishu County Assembly. 24-09-2018. [PHOTO: KEVIN TUNOI/STANDARD]

Twenty-five out of 39 MCAs boycotted a special sitting organised by senators in the county assembly on Wednesday.

The session was attended by 13 senators among them Majority Whip Susan Kihika, Minority Whip Mutula Kilonzo Jr and Kiprotich Cherargei, the host senator.

Leader of Majority David Koech, Minority Leader Eliud Kirongo and Deputy Speaker Wilson Sang led the boycott to protest Mr Cherargei’s presence.

“We will not attend a sitting that is also attended by Cherargei. He has been undermining the authority of MCAs at the grassroots, accusing us of sleeping with the (county) executive,” claimed Mr Koech. 

The ward reps accused the senator of skipping a recent event that was attended by Deputy President William Ruto. 

Cherargei dismissed the accusations and said it was unfortunate that the MCAs missed the opportunity to discuss issues affecting the county with the senators.

Biased allocation

Those present discussed a range of issues including the tea and coffee industries, separation of powers between the executive and county assembly, and corruption.

Terik MCA Osborn Komen asked Senate to address alleged biased resource allocation to the wards while Chepkunyuk MCA Paul Sanga advised the senators to reject Treasury’s proposal to reduce county allocations by Sh9 billion.