By ERIC JUMA
Siaya County Assembly Speaker George Okode has dismissed claims that the assembly was responsible for scrapping projects prioritised in municipal budgets, saying the county executive removes some of the proposals to comply with budget ceilings.
Okode said the assembly only advises the executive, through the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Finance, to address budgetary gaps that could jeopardise approval, particularly where proposed expenditure exceeds the prescribed ceilings.
He said the executive subsequently drops some projects and returns a balanced budget for approval.
“If you look at our assembly reports, we have not declined to purchase waste management equipment that you had prioritised in the budget for the municipalities. We only advised them to ensure the budget complies with the ceilings,” Okode said.
Addressing Siaya Municipality stakeholders, the Speaker maintained that the executive sometimes removes the projects unilaterally to balance the budget.
“For sure, the problem is not on our side as an assembly. Though you may think it is the assembly doing so, it is the cabinet that saw no need for the projects. Even if the respective CECM tries to justify the importance of the items, his position can be overruled by the majority in the cabinet,” he said.
Flanked by Lands Executive Neto Adhola, Lands Chief Officer Joseph Mboha, Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Silvester Madialo and Urban Director George Obare, Okode said the matter could be resolved through a joint meeting involving the county executive, assembly and affected municipal departments.
“We want the assembly, the executive and the municipal boards to meet and present their cases on why they need the waste management equipment and machines whose budgets were scrapped. This will enable the executive to understand their necessity and approve funding,” he said.
Okode said he was committed to supporting initiatives aimed at promoting the growth of Siaya, Bondo and Ugunja municipalities.
“As an assembly, we are committed to addressing the challenges threatening the economic growth of the municipalities. That is why the meeting, which is yet to be convened, will be key to addressing the shortcomings that derail their operations,” he added.
The Speaker was responding to concerns raised by municipal boards over the removal of some projects from their budgets before the documents are presented to the assembly for approval.
The concerns came a day after gubernatorial aspirant David Ochieng used his resources to clear garbage in Bondo town using equipment similar to that which the Bondo Municipality had requested in its budget but which was subsequently scrapped.
Okode said the participation of municipal boards in the proposed meeting would be important because of their experience in running the urban centres.
He singled out the Trade Department, under which waste management falls, saying it lacked a policy framework for recruiting cleaners and had delegated the responsibility to the municipalities.
The Speaker urged municipal leaders to document challenges affecting their operations, including governance, financial management and budgeting. He also encouraged them to study best practices from other municipalities to inform discussions on how to improve service delivery and economic performance.
“Before we go to the next budget, we must address impediments that thwart the operations of the municipalities, with a view to fixing them,” he said.
“Unless we fix them now, the next regime may not bother addressing the existing challenges but instead focus on the roads it promised the public and the number of supporters it pledged to employ. The municipalities may not matter much to them; they may only be concerned with filling positions left vacant after the expiry of contracts,” Okode said.
He warned that laxity and a lack of interest could prevent the challenges from being resolved, urging stakeholders to seize the opportunity to agree on practical solutions.
“This is the best time to do it, and we will do it right at a meeting while looking each other in the eye,” he said.
Meanwhile, Madialo faulted the municipalities for seeking the transfer of additional functions from the county government despite lacking the capacity to manage some of them.
He said several services currently run by the Siaya County Government, including early childhood development education (ECDE), hospitals, roads and markets, were located within municipal jurisdictions.
However, he said transferring responsibility for such functions would require the county departments concerned to determine which services could be devolved, alongside the resources needed to support them.
“Several roles run by the County Government of Siaya, including ECDE, hospitals, roads and markets, are hosted in the municipalities. In the event of a transfer of functions, the department will decide what to give you and the resources required. However, that is not easy to achieve because technical capacity is still lacking,” Madialo said.
He questioned whether the municipal boards were prepared to oversee hospitals within their jurisdictions.
“Do you sincerely want to suggest that you can supervise hospitals in your municipalities?” he asked.
Madialo also challenged board members to take their responsibilities seriously, saying some attended meetings irregularly despite being expected to participate in municipal governance and operations. The meeting was also attended by municipal managers Phillip Mbindyo of Bondo, Linet Oyola of Siaya and Fredrick Ochieng of Ugunja.
