NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 27 – The Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations has resolved to summon county governors to address a mounting governance crisis threatening the operations of municipal boards across the 47 devolved units.
This decision follows a damning testimony from Kisumu County municipal board chairpersons, who alerted the Senate to a total breakdown in the working relationship between their boards and the County Executive.
Led by Lordvick Otieno, the officials reported that their legal semi-autonomous status is being systematically undermined by centralized county control.
The chairpersons representing Maseno-Holo, Muhoroni-Chemelili, Kombewa-Bodi, Ahero-Awasi, Katitu-Pap Onditi, and Kisumu City alleged that their institutions have been reduced to mere agents of the executive.
Mr. Otieno detailed an environment where boards pass resolutions to manage local affairs but lack the statutory authority or liquidity to implement them, effectively leaving members as powerless observers of municipal activities.
This functional paralysis is reportedly driven by a strategy of financial starvation, where boards frequently receive only 30% to 40% of their approved budgetary allocations.
Essential operational costs, including electricity, water, and stationery, are often stripped from budgets by the county treasury, while municipal managers reportedly bypass their respective boards to coordinate directly with County Executive Committee members.
Despite the gravity of the testimony, the Senator Abbas Mohamed-led committee maintained that formal inquiries must be anchored in documented facts rather than verbal grievances.
Senators directed the chairpersons to return with a solid case built on specific evidence of breaches regarding the Urban Areas and Cities Act and the Public Finance Management Act.
