Nairobi MCAs give Sakaja 24 hours to release Sh282 million unpaid allowances

Members of the Nairobi County Assembly (MCAs) have given Governor Johnson Sakaja's administration 24 hours to release Sh282.8 million in accumulated allowances owed to the assembly.

The legislators, led by their House leadership, expressed frustration on Tuesday, accusing the executive's finance department of withholding the funds and deliberately obstructing their oversight responsibilities.

Led by Majority Leader Peter Imwatok, the MCAs revealed that many of them have fallen into financial distress, with some forced to borrow money due to unpaid arrears.

"Mr Speaker, the health of the ward reps is at stake because the executive has failed to pay for their insurance, and no explanation has been given," Imwatok said.

Imwatok provided a breakdown of the Sh282.8 million, which includes various unpaid allowances such as Sh58.9 million in domestic allowances, Sh20.4 million in office imprest, and Sh9.6 million in imprest for county staff.

Other outstanding payments include Sh38.8 million for the County Assemblies Sports Association (CASA), Sh28.2 million for Laptrust, Sh65.9 million for October salaries, Sh11.8 million for ward staff salaries, Sh14.4 million for hotel expenses, Sh4.5 million for air tickets, Sh7.8 million for legal services, and Sh4.6 million for insurance.

Imwatok, who is the Makongeni Ward rep, accused the executive of sabotaging legislative processes and called for a "kamukunji" (informal meeting) to discuss the matter.

"I seek that we hold a kamukunji on Wednesday morning to address this issue. Members are suffering because they've had to borrow money for trips, yet none of these allowances have been paid. If not, I propose we adjourn the afternoon session to discuss this matter," he said.

The MCAs alleged that the executive had received Sh3.3 billion from the exchequer in October alone, and approximately Sh9.6 billion has been allocated for the 2024-2025 financial year, further intensifying their frustration over the unpaid funds.

The delay in payments has even affected the office of the Speaker, with Imwatok highlighting that the House cannot even afford travel tickets for the Speaker.

"It's an embarrassment that the head of the House has to borrow money. MCAs must decide if things should continue this way. What's going on in this county?" Imwatok wondered.

Nairobi West MCA Rex Omolleh painted a bleak picture, stating that some ward reps cannot afford fuel for their vehicles.

"We've been using our own money for committee sittings and report writing. Some members are even borrowing money just to meet their transport expenses," he said.

County Assembly Speaker Kennedy Ng'ondi informed the House that his office had done its part by writing to the executive regarding the matter.

"I'm requesting the Majority Leader to continue pursuing this issue. My office and the office of the clerk have already written to the executive, and that's as far as we can go," he said.

In response, the MCAs issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Charles Kerich, the CEC for Finance, to release the funds owed to the assembly.

"It's time for action. We're giving the executive 24 hours to release these funds without further delay," Imwatok said.

Attempts to reach Kerich were unsuccessful as he did not respond to queries by the time of publishing this story.