The Council of Governors has lashed out at the county Assembly of Murang’a for not according Governor Mwangi Wa Iria a chance to defend himself over the allegations levelled against him.
In a statement signed on Friday by CoG chair Peter Munya, the governors said the county assembly breached the constitution and the County Governments Act for not according Wa Iria an opportunity to be heard.
The governors who had attended a retreat at Enashipai Resort in Naivasha, defended their beleaguered colleague saying since he was not accorded a chance to be heard by an impartial decision maker, his impeachment is null and void.
In the statement, the governors stated that they believe the allegations against Mwangi wa Iria are a result of the usual challenges that they are all experiencing in their counties, one of them being delayed disbursement of funds.
“We are informed that huge bills have accumulated most of which have arisen from the liabilities of the former local authorities; that the national Treasury has for over four months now failed to disburse development funds to the counties leading to more accumulated bills, among other challenges. These are not grounds for impeachment of an elected Governor at all,’ read part of the governors’ statement.
In addition, the governors have shown their concern over what they have termed as holding the functioning of county governments’ hostage by certain Members of County Assemblies.
“We are moving into another phase of implementation, the phase where we all settle, accept that we have faced certain difficulties and learn lessons from those and move forward for the sake of the people who have entrusted us with leadership positions.”
“I say this because as a Council we are concerned that there are certain Members of County Assemblies who have continued to hold the functioning of county governments’ hostage through blatant violation of institutions and procedures set down by the Constitution and devolution laws,” the statement stated.
On the other hand, the governors showed concern over the delayed disbursement of funds by the National Treasury saying they cannot deliver services such as paying county staff.