Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu has ignited debate in the Senate after publicly opposing a directive by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) requiring county governments to construct official residences for governors.
Governor Irungu raised the objections while appearing before the Senate County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) to defend Laikipia County’s revenue and expenditure accounts for the 2024/25 financial year.
He argued that such expenditure was unjustified, especially for rural counties facing severe social and economic challenges.
The SRC had capped the cost of constructing governors’ residences at Sh50 million, but Irungu said the amount was inadequate and would still place an unnecessary financial burden on counties.
“Beyond the construction, the cost of maintaining such facilities is huge,” he said, noting that the residences would require guest houses, gardeners, security personnel, and domestic staff.
He also questioned the morality of prioritising such projects amid pressing community needs.
“There is a moral aspect to this. How do I spend Sh50 million to put up a mansion while women in some parts of Laikipia walk up to 20 kilometres to access water? How can I construct a mansion when women are giving birth in the bush?” Irungu asked, adding that he had no intention of building the residence.
However, Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu flagged the matter in her report, noting that Laikipia County had neither constructed nor budgeted for official residences for the Governor and Deputy Governor. This, she said, was contrary to an SRC circular dated May 20, 2019, which required all counties to commission official residences by June 30, 2022.
The Auditor-General further noted that in the absence of official residences, the Governor and Deputy Governor continued to receive monthly house allowances of Sh300,000 each—amounting to Sh3.6 million annually—an arrangement deemed irregular and contrary to SRC guidelines.
Defending the county’s position, Irungu insisted that counties should be allowed to set their own priorities.
“Rural counties should be given the freedom to decide what is best for them based on their needs. The most prudent thing is for the circular to be withdrawn,” he said, calling on the Senate to intervene.
His remarks drew reactions from Senators Enock Wambua and Okongo Omogeni during the meeting chaired by CPAC Vice Chairperson Johnes Mwaruma.
“You don’t intend to comply with the SRC circular?” Senator Wambua asked, arguing that the continued payment of house allowances was equally costly.
Senator Omogeni suggested that if counties were unwilling to construct the residences, then the SRC should consider withdrawing the directive altogether.
The committee agreed that the matter be escalated to the full Senate for debate and determination. Senator Omogeni proposed that the Council of Governors (CoG) develop a position paper to guide the Senate’s deliberations.
Governor Irungu committed to presenting the matter to the Council of Governors for consideration.