Controller of Budget proposes funding freeze for counties involved in prolonged leadership wrangles

Counties and public bodies engulfed in prolonged leadership wrangles could soon face a funding freeze if a proposal by Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o is adopted.

Appearing before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Nyakang’o urged Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to suspend funds to institutions that have failed to resolve internal disputes within three months.

Nyakang’o said the Treasury has the legal authority to stop disbursing money under the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, where wrangles continue unchecked. She said continued funding of dysfunctional institutions undermines accountability and effective use of public money.

“The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury can invoke his powers under the PFM Act to stop funding to entities with wrangles that extend beyond three months,” she told the committee.

She further called on Parliament to pass laws that would offer clear guidelines on how funds should be managed when state agencies or devolved units fall into crisis.

“The Controller of Budget is concerned about the accountability of public funds in entities experiencing leadership and operational crises,” she said.

Her comments were sparked by the ongoing leadership crisis in the Nyamira County Assembly, where deep divisions have created two parallel factions, each claiming to be legitimate.

Both camps have their own speaker, clerk and assembly service board, leading to complete institutional paralysis.

The result is a chaotic standoff: one group operates from the official county assembly buildings while the other sits at a gazetted ward office.

This has disrupted not just legislative duties but also critical communication with oversight bodies like the Controller of Budget.

“There are two factions with separate leadership structures—including speakers, clerks and assembly service boards—leading to confusion, legal uncertainty and an inability of the county assembly to fulfil its constitutional mandate,” reads a report from the Senate mediation team.

Nyakang’o said her office continues to receive official letters from both factions, further complicating decision-making on fund approvals and oversight.

“The contestation of the office of the speaker has the dire consequence of affecting all other county assembly service structures. It is imperative to determine who the legitimate speaker is,” she said.

The Senate committee backed her proposal, warning that the Nyamira stalemate has stalled service delivery and made public funds vulnerable to abuse. The senators said financial sanctions may be the only way to compel compliance and restore order.

Under Article 225 of the Constitution, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary can suspend funding to public institutions found in persistent breach of the law, but the cut must not exceed 50 per cent and cannot last more than 60 days without Parliament’s approval.

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Nyakang’o stressed that without bold action, more counties and agencies could fall into similar chaos, eroding the integrity of public finance management across the country.