Members of the Nairobi County Assembly (MCAs) have given Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration 24 hours to release Sh282.8 million in accumulated allowances owed to the assembly.

The legislators, led by their House leadership, expressed frustration on Tuesday, accusing the executive’s finance department of withholding the funds and deliberately obstructing their oversight responsibilities.

Led by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, the MCAs revealed that many of them have fallen into financial distress, with some forced to borrow money due to unpaid arrears.

“Mr Speaker, the health of the ward reps is at stake because the executive has failed to pay for their insurance, and no explanation has been given,” Imwatok said.

Imwatok provided a breakdown of the Sh282.8 million, which includes various unpaid allowances such as Sh58.9 million in domestic allowances, Sh20.4 million in office imprest, and Sh9.6 million in imprest for county staff.

Money for trips

Other outstanding payments include Sh38.8 million for the County Assemblies Sports Association (CASA), Sh28.2 million for Laptrust, Sh65.9 million for October salaries, Sh11.8 million for ward staff salaries, Sh14.4 million for hotel expenses, Sh4.5 million for air tickets, Sh7.8 million for legal services, and Sh4.6 million for insurance.

Imwatok, who is the Makongeni Ward rep, accused the executive of sabotaging legislative processes and called for a “kamukunji” (informal meeting) to discuss the matter.

“I seek that we hold a kamukunji on Wednesday morning to address this issue. Members are suffering because they’ve had to borrow money for trips, yet none of these allowances have been paid. If not, I propose we adjourn the afternoon session to discuss this matter,” he said.

The MCAs alleged that the executive had received Sh3.3 billion from the exchequer in October alone, and approximately Sh9.6 billion has been allocated for the 2024-2025 financial year, further intensifying their frustration over the unpaid funds.