TANA RIVER, Kenya, June 4 – Members of the Tana River County Assembly and staff have reportedly gone without salaries for three months, raising concerns over the assembly’s financial management and triggering tensions between the legislative and executive arms of the county government.
Sources familiar with the matter say MCAs and assembly staff have not received their salaries for March and April and risk missing their May pay as well, sparking unrest among workers and lawmakers.
The salary delays are said to have fueled internal disputes within the assembly, with some MCAs reportedly threatening to impeach Speaker Osman Galole over the handling of the crisis. The speaker has also faced criticism from some members over claims that he has shielded assembly officials from scrutiny regarding the management of assembly finances.
At the centre of the standoff are allegations that the County Assembly sought additional funding through a supplementary budget to address the salary shortfall. Sources claim the assembly leadership pushed for the reallocation of funds from various development and special-purpose programmes, including donor-funded projects, to meet recurrent expenditure needs.
It is alleged that Governor Dhadho Godhana’s administration raised concerns after identifying proposed reallocations involving funds earmarked for development programmes, including climate resilience and disaster management projects. The executive is said to have rejected several attempts to move the funds.
Sources further indicate that the governor later convened consultations with members of the County Assembly in an effort to resolve the impasse, which had contributed to delays in the approval of a supplementary budget.
The unfolding dispute has raised several questions, including how funds initially allocated for assembly operations and staff salaries were utilised, the extent of oversight within the assembly, and whether independent agencies may need to investigate the matter.
Neither the County Assembly leadership nor the county executive had publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication.
The controversy is likely to intensify calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of county finances, particularly as employees and elected leaders await payment of their outstanding salaries.
