The County Assembly Forum (CAF), which coordinates 47 county assemblies, has been given until the end of June to establish a legal framework for its operations or risk losing access to public funding.
The Senate County Public Accounts Committee raised concerns that county assemblies continue paying subscriptions to the forum despite it not being established under any law, terming the practice irregular and unlawful.
CAF and the Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT), an association of county assembly clerks, have now been ordered to develop a legal framework within three months, starting March 31, 2026; failure to which all payments from county assemblies will be stopped.
The directive follows concerns raised by the Office of the Auditor General over annual subscriptions paid to the two organisations despite their lack of legal foundation.
In a report on the Auditor General’s reports for county assemblies for the 2024/25 financial year, the Senate County Public Accounts Committee acknowledged that CAF and SOCATT play a role in promoting coordination and capacity building among county assemblies. However, it stressed that public funds must only be used in accordance with the law.
While moving debate on the report, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang said the two organisations must comply within the set timeline or risk losing all financial support from county assemblies.
“Failure to anchor the operations within the provided timeframe will mean that all payments to the two organisations should cease,” he said.
The committee established that several county assemblies continued making annual subscriptions to CAF and SOCATT even though the entities are not created under the Constitution or any Act of Parliament.
“These bodies are not established by any Act of Parliament or the Constitution,” the committee said, describing the payments as irregular and unlawful.
Auditors found that some county assemblies spend up to Sh2.75 million annually on subscriptions to the two organisations, raising concerns over accountability and prudent use of public resources.
The committee said the spending goes against Section 149(1)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act and Article 201(d) of the Constitution, which requires that public funds be used only for authorised purposes.
Senators further directed county assembly service boards to immediately halt the payments until a proper legal framework is put in place.
“The irregular payments should be stopped immediately until a legislative framework is developed,” the committee said.
Despite the concerns, the committee recognised the role CAF has played since the start of devolution. The forum has been coordinating county assemblies, promoting legislative excellence, supporting financial autonomy, and enhancing collaboration among assemblies.
It also works to strengthen the legislative and oversight capacity of Members of County Assemblies, coordinates annual legislative summits and engages civil society organisations on governance, civic participation and gender-related programmes.
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