Senators, governors clash looms over new County Oversight Bill

Senators during a past plenary sitting. (Photo: X/Senate of Kenya)

By Lucy Mumbi
Monday, November 10, 2025

The Bill, sponsored by Narok Senator Ledama Olekina, seeks to create a framework for senators to oversee the allocation, collection, use, and management of public funds at the county level.

Tensions are rising between senators and governors over a new Bill that aims to give senators greater authority to track and influence how counties manage their finances.

The County Oversight and Accountability Bill, 2024, proposes setting up county oversight offices to monitor how billions of shillings sent from the national government are used, sparking fears of a clash over devolved powers.

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The Bill, sponsored by Narok Senator Ledama Olekina, seeks to create a framework for senators to oversee the allocation, collection, use, and management of public funds at the county level. It also proposes mechanisms for public participation and monitoring compliance with constitutional provisions and national laws on public finance.

If enacted, the legislation will strengthen the Senate’s role in guarding national government funds allocated to counties while ensuring citizens are involved in the annual budget-making process. County budgets will also be published for public scrutiny.

“These budgets are normally defined by the interests of each governor’s manifesto. This happens because we do not have a piece of legislation that directs clear public participation,” Senator Olekina said.

He argued that the absence of a legal framework guiding public engagement during county budget preparation has left citizens uninformed about the contents of these budgets.

“We had a big debate in Narok on what the Members of the County Assembly were calling ward development funds. Citizens did not understand what ward development funds were all about. People equated them with the National Government Constituencies Development Fund, where people get money to do projects but line their pockets in the process,” Olekina said.

He said the Bill will help citizens take part in the budget-making process by enabling them to understand and communicate their needs at the ward level.

The proposals include establishing county halls where governors and County Executive Committee Members for Finance can present manifestos, Finance Bills, or county budgets for public discussion.

“This Bill will ensure that public participation is done effectively so that citizens will not claim they do not know what is happening. The halls will also help senators meet their constituents, with the Bill clearly defining the oversight role of the Senate,” Olekina said.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna said the Bill will clarify how senators exercise oversight and accountability in line with Article 96(3) of the Constitution. He noted that discussions around public participation, particularly in the allocation of county resources, have shown that the current system is ineffective.

“I expected that, given recent judicial pronouncements, we would use the opportunity this Bill presents to expand and capture what the courts have said about the mandate of this Senate,” Sifuna said.

Sifuna added that oversight under the Bill would cover both the national revenue allocated to counties under the equitable share and the revenue generated locally by county governments.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang, who seconded the Bill, said that more than 12 years after devolution began, residents in counties still lack awareness of the budget cycle.

“There is a need to create avenues to facilitate public engagement in the budget-making process down to the ward level. If the governor wants to meet the people and the County Executive Committee Member for Finance wants to tell the people what needs to be done, where will they meet the people?” Kisang posed.