Waiguru’s deputy offers to oversee mediation in county budget standoff
Githinji Mwangi
Kirinyaga deputy governor Peter Ndambiri has offered to mediate the standoff between his boss, governor Anne Waiguru and MCAs over the county budget.
Ndambiri, who has been at loggerheads with Waiguru said the impasse over the budget proposals threatened to paralyse operations in the county if not resolved urgently.
“Instead of running to the Senate, she should give me that opportunity to resolve the stalemate with the MCAs, the county assembly needs just to be respected, the governor should climb down from the ivory tower she is currently leaving in,” Ndambiri told reporters in Mwea constituency.
The deputy governor spoke a day after the High Court issued temporary orders suspending the implementation of the Kirinyaga County Appropriation Bill.
No withdrawals
High Court judge Justice Weldon Korir ordered the Speaker of the County Assembly Anthony Gathumbi not to authorize any withdrawals from the county revenue fund until a matter filed in court challenging the budget estimate and appropriation bill is heard and determined.
Justice Korir also directed the Controller of Budget (CoB) not to authorize any withdrawals from the county revenue fund through the Integrated Financial Management System (Ifimis).
On June 30, the MCAs passed the Kirinyaga County appropriation bill, which is meant to authorise the release of money from the revenue fund towards the service of 2020/21 financial year as encapsulated in the 2020/21 budget.
The order now temporarily cripples the operations of the county government at least until the matter is heard and determined by the Court.
