Kitutu Chache North MP Mokaya Nyakundi has criticised Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) for submitting to governors amid the road crisis.

He noted with concern that the MCAs are abandoning their oversight roles and becoming submissive to governors, worsening the state of infrastructure across the country.

Speaking during the second reading of the Public Finance Management bill in the National Assembly on Thursday, June 19, 2025, Nyakundi said many MCAs had effectively surrendered their watchdog role, allowing county bosses to mismanage resources unchecked.

“Most of the MCAs have been made slaves of these governors,” Nyakundi said. “We’ve been complaining that counties are not constructing roads. When you go to the constituency, everyone is asking MPs to do the roads because governors are not doing their job, and MCAs won’t hold them to account.”

His comments come amid growing public outrage over poor roads in many counties; county road projects have either stalled or been poorly executed, citing political interference as a major factor, noting that the devolution model had been weakened by MCAs’ tendency to align with governors for personal gain.

Nyakundi said the proposed bill, which seeks to tighten financial oversight in county governments, would be meaningless if MCAs continued to serve the interests of governors rather than the public.

“This bill is a step in the right direction,” he said. “But it will mean nothing if our MCAs remain puppets.”

Nyakundi attributed the trend to weak oversight and called for urgent reforms to strengthen accountability at the grassroots.

He also decried the growing pressure on MPs to fix roads, a function devolved to counties, saying it was a direct result of leadership failure by governors and complacency among MCAs.

In Kitutu Chache North, residents have repeatedly protested over impassable roads, frustrations the MP linked to the breakdown in checks and balances at the county level.

Benjamin Langat, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ainamoi Constituency, backed his sentiments. “For a very long time, county assemblies have worked as appendages of county governments and have no independence. Because the moment you rely on the person you are overseeing to give you money, you will not be doing your job properly because they will be controlling you from behind through the financial disbursement,” he said.

In his bold remark, he urged the parliament to chip in and find a permanent solution to the menace and on the effectiveness of devolution and the role of MCAs in championing service delivery.