Governors have agreed to stop honouring summons from the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC), accusing the committee of intimidating and humiliating them during oversight sessions.
The decision was announced during the ongoing Governors’ Retreat, where the Council of Governors (CoG) said some Senate committees have crossed the line while questioning county bosses.
In a statement, the council has asserted that governors often feel disrespected and embarrassed in front of others during these hearings.
“The Council of Governors is deeply concerned about the conduct of certain Senate committees, which at times intimidate and humiliate governors during such sessions,” its statement said.
As part of the agreement, they also offered to testify once a year to the Senate Public Investment Committee, a move that they claim would usher order and justice into the process.
They added that repeated summons to appear create problems for counties because accountability talks become confrontations instead of constructive conversations.
The activities that CPAC does include looking at reports published by the Auditor-General while at the same time pressuring county governments over how they spend their money. Governors are among leaders being asked to respond to queries, budget deficits, and questionable spending in counties.
Recent hearings have caught public attention, warranting debate about the dramatic encounters between senators and governors.
In the recent past, the county of Bungoma has been in the news limelight after it came into the public’s attention that the county spent 3.6 million Kenyan shillings lighting a Christmas tree in September last year. The senators wondered why the county spent the money before the actual holiday, but for Bungoma Senator Kenneth Lusaka, the county government presented a hurdle when it argued that the county spent the money before he became governor.
Another incident concerned the alleged exit of Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki from an audit meeting, where the committee threatened to act.
Garissa county governor Nathif Jama has also been threatened with action in case he fails to turn up before the committee to clarify certain audit queries.
This standoff marks a new chapter in the burgeoning conflict between the governors and the Senate regarding county supervision.
