Why four Nairobi County executives risk impeachment
Four Nairobi County executives risk being impeached by MCAs for persistently ignoring assembly committee invites and summons.
This comes after the MCAs on Wednesday recommended that the implicated cabinet executives be censured and prosecuted for their failures to honour invitations and summons in line with Sections 18 and 34 of the County Assemblies Powers and Privileges Act, 2017.
The executives who have been adversely mentioned by a county assembly select committee on Implementation have been put on notice for their behaviour.
The CECs are Finance and Economic Planning CEC Allan Igambi, Roads and Infrastructure executive Mohammed Dagane, Environment and Natural Resource CEC Larry Wambua and Lands executive Charles Kerich, who is also the acting Health Services CEC.
IGNORING INVITES
The executives are accused of failing to honour invitation to appear before the select committee – whose mandate is to scrutinize resolutions of the county assembly including adopted committee reports, petitions and undertakings given by county executives – and even subsequent summons.
“The assembly strongly censures the five county executives for persistently and willfully ignoring invites for committee meetings, including summons, having been duly summoned to appear before the committee on October 31 and failing without sufficient cause….,” read the report tabled by the Committee’s chair and minority leader Elias Otieno.
The Kileleshwa MCA said that the report was unanimously passed by the assembly and it is up to Governor Mike Sonko to implement it, saying that if the county executives are not equal to the task they have been given they must be shown the door and the governor to recruit other people who can work for people of Nairobi and respect summons.
SUSPENSIONS
“It is only in Nairobi where the only person who is known is the governor. He has delegated duties to the department heads yet they ignore the summons. If there is any query at the Assembly, it is up to the CEC to come and respond and not the governor,” he said.
The committee has also rapped the executive for its frequent transfer and suspension of managerial officers and sector representatives.
The committee noted that the constant transfer and suspension is affecting the general performance of the sector and the implementation of sector resolutions.