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The Council of Governors (CoG) wants the Controller of Budget (CoB) to stick to her role of approving budgets, as opposed to auditing the devolved units.

In an escalation of differences between the two bodies, CoG also wants Dr Margaret Nyakang’o to disclose the people who allegedly have been threatening her from discharging her constitutional roles.

In a hard-hitting statement, the CoG Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs Committee chairperson, Fernandes Barasa, (Kakamega) told Nyakang’o to desist from assuming the role of the Auditor General and instead approve county budgets to enable speedy service delivery.

“We urge her to desist from assuming the role of the office of the Auditor-General and authorise the transfer of resources to counties, as enumerated in the Constitution under Article 228 (4). The article assigns the controller the mandate of overseeing the implementation of budgets of the National and County governments by authorising withdrawals from public funds under Articles 204, 206 and 207,” said Barasa.

Breaches of law

On Tuesday, Nyakang’o explained that she had rejected Sh3.2 billion requests from county chiefs for breaches of law, imprudent use of funds and for exceeding the threshold of administrative costs, among other reasons.

The move has irked county bosses, who say they are facing serious issues including delayed disbursement of the County Equitable Share, delayed remittance of county staff salaries and severe drought.

The CoG noted that there are staff in the counties, seconded from her office, to go through such documents.

“The Council of Governors’ attention is drawn to Press reports on the Controller of Budget rejecting county government requests worth Sh3 billion, highlighting issues outside her jurisdiction,” said Barasa.

According to him, the controller’s office continues to put unrealistic expectations on county governments, adding that critical activities could stall.

Barasa argued that CoB’s actions would not only affect the absorption of resources allocated to counties but also disrupt the services being rendered.

“It is a clear indication of ill-motives by the office of the controller, and or incompetence by her officials. This is also tantamount to wastage of public funds due to duplication of efforts that are ultimately rendered useless at the headquarters,” charged Barasa.

“The Controller has purported that she has been threatened by the Council of Governors, an allegation that utterly vilifies the efforts by County Governments to offer her office the necessary support.

Barasa argued that the CoB has, in each county, a Budget Coordinator who, among other duties, verifies the supporting documents for withdrawal of funds from the County Revenue Funds and processes all requisitions for Exchequer requests.

“We urge the Controller to utilize these officials to shorten the process of approval for withdrawal. The officials need to be proactive in eliminating mistakes and inconsistencies.”

During a session last week with the Senate County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee, chaired by Godfrey Osotsi (Vihiga), Nyakang’o claimed she had been threatened in her line of duty, especially by devolved units. Now the county bosses want her to attend a meeting and shed more light on the threats.

Air her grievances

“We wish to invite the Controller of Budget to a meeting with the Council of Governors Executive as well as the Finance Committee so that she airs her grievances on the threats issued, as well as the support required to unlock the ongoing stalemate between her office and county governments,” said Barasa.

Nyakang’o, in her session with senators, said her office can also delay in approving expenditure on foreign travel if it is not supported by the Ministry of Devolution.

In addition, she said there are frequent requests for standing imprests instead of replenishments, and without personal responsibility.