Following their election into office for the remainder of the 13th Parliament, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ (CPAC) and his CPISFC counterpart, Godfrey Osotsi, lamented the massive loss of public funds at the hands of certain Governors and County officials. The committees conducted their elections after the Senate leadership dissolved and reconstituted all committees, following the recent rapprochement between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga
Senate watchdog committees are now calling for the immediate prosecution of corrupt County Governors and officials, as well as the recovery of looted public funds. This comes as the two Senate oversight bodies—the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and the County Public Investments and Special Funds Committee (CPISFC)—announced plans to develop a ranking system for Governors based on strict governance and accountability criteria.
Following their election into office for the remainder of the 13th Parliament, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ (CPAC) and his CPISFC counterpart, Godfrey Osotsi, lamented the massive loss of public funds at the hands of certain Governors and County officials. The committees conducted their elections after the Senate leadership dissolved and reconstituted all committees, following the recent rapprochement between President William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Stung by a High Court ruling requiring Parliament to review and consider all audit reports within three months of receipt from the Office of the Auditor General, Kajwang’ now proposes introducing an omnibus motion to address the 47 County Executive Reports. Speaking after his unanimous election, a visibly elated Kajwang’ emphasised that the Constitution mandates Parliament to consider and take appropriate action on audit reports within three months.
“We will bring one motion for discussion, consolidating all reports into a single debate. The House Business Committee will be urged to allocate at least a week for deliberation. We will then make general recommendations and direct CPAC to summon Governors for specific accountability measures,” stated Kajwang’.
He continued, “Senators will have the opportunity to scrutinise the reports and guide us. The House will instruct us on actions, whether to investigate or even recommend arrests of certain Governors. CPAC will then implement these resolutions by summoning individual Governors as necessary.”
Kajwang’ further declared that his committee would be relentless in tackling corruption in County governments, vowing not to be swayed by dubious opinion polls.
“We will go after the thieves in the counties. We will be ruthless with corrupt Governors and County officials. We will not be influenced by questionable opinion surveys,” he asserted.
In a departure from past practices, Kajwang’ announced that his committee would collaborate with the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) to develop a ranking system for Governors based on Own Source Revenue (OSR), human resource management, and development track records.
“We will establish a structured ranking system for Counties and their Governors, evaluating them on revenue generation, development, and human resource management,” Kajwang’ added.
However, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna disagreed, arguing that the watchdog committee itself should be responsible for developing the ranking criteria.
“This committee has the capacity to rank Governors. We will replace Infotrak and ensure a credible system that does not rely on organisations lacking direct engagement with audit reports or County assessments,” said Sifuna.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Enock Wambua (Kitui), a committee member, urged his colleagues to prioritise the audit reports of sitting Governors.
“We must hold current Governors accountable before they leave office. Focusing on past reports might leave no time for addressing present concerns,” Wambua insisted.
Vihiga Senator Osotsi stated that Parliament would seek a review of the court ruling requiring audit report reviews within six months, arguing that the timeframe was impractical.
“It is unrealistic for Parliament and County Assemblies to scrutinise reports within such a short period. The High Court ruling on this matter was unfair, and Parliament must seek a review to ensure its oversight role is not impeded,” said Osotsi.
He further revealed that the committee had over 1,000 reports to examine and promised to lead a fair and balanced review process, ensuring accountability without bias.
Osotsi noted that his committee had already scrutinised audit reports of 80 water companies and had begun reviewing those of public hospitals at the County level. He reaffirmed their commitment to auditing all relevant institutions to ensure prudent expenditure of public funds.
Additionally, he highlighted the issue of unremitted County and defunct local authority pension funds amounting to Sh80 billion, which remains unresolved.
Meanwhile, Migori Senator Eddy Oketch, newly elected Vice Chair of CPISFC, urged members across the political divide to work together to clear the backlog of pending reports before embarking on new assignments, with their key mandate being the proper utilisation of County funds.
