Kenya: Governors have sharply reacted to accusations by Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo that they failed to spend development allocations for the first four months of devolution, terming the sentiments as propaganda.
Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo
Council of Governors chairman Isaac Ruto accused Ms Odhiambo of being used by forces within the government that want to frustrate devolution by portraying county units as lacking capacity for development.
Mr Ruto said the allocations given to the counties by the Transition Authority did not include any funds for development, and questioned the report by Controller of Budget that governors failed to use the money for the vote.
“We were only given money specifically for salaries and other emoluments. There was not a single cent for development,” said Ruto.
He added: “It is shocking us that she can now resort to propaganda when within that period.”
Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke said Ms Odhiambo was driving a campaign to portray governors as incompetent and inept, wondering why she was misleading Kenyans that the county governments were not collecting as much revenue as their predecessors.
By Moses Njagih, The Standard
