The decision by national assembly to allocate Sh700 million to elected Senators has been termed as ‘ridiculous’ by Nyamira Governor John Nyagarama.
National Assembly speaker Justin Muturi had backed the allocation on Sunday saying it would help Senators execute their oversight role effectively.
However, Nyagarama noted that the move could threaten development in the local area since a number of them had expressed interests in the gubernatorial seat.
"It’s really ridiculous that the national assembly can award senators that amount of money. This is likely to impede development because many Senators have already expressed their interests to contest in the gubernatorial race," said Nyangarama.
"They will seize the opportunity to antagonise the current governors in the name of oversight," Nyagarama said.
The Nyamira county boss also said the funding would fuel early campaigns in the local areas, making it difficult for Governors to initiate projects.
"The money is quite a lot and this will trigger early campaigns by a number of Senators," stated the Governor.
"They will give us challenges in implementing some of our projects. It’s a bad decision and I don’t support it at all," he added.
He also said Senators were likely to us the money to fuel political competition between county assemblies and the executive wing leading to the derailing of crucial development activities.
"It’s not just early campaigns but we also expect our county assemblies to be compromised by Senators," claimed Nyangarama.
"We know of cases where MCAs have worked with Senators to fuel political tension in county governments. The decision is uncalled for and should be revoked," he added.
Among the Senators who have expressed their interests in Gubernatorial seat include Hassan Omar (Mombasa), Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu) and Kiraitu Murungi (Meru).