Bungoma MCAs allied to Wangamati pass 'mock' budget

 

A section of Bungoma MCAs allied to Governor Wycliffe Wangamati on Wednesday 'passed' a mock 2021-22 budget in the absence of the speaker and other key assembly staff.

Cheptais MCA Jane Chebet, a member of the speaker's panel, presided over the sitting, which was conducted without a mace and hansard.

Members of staff stayed away.

"Being a member of the speaker's panel, I have the power to preside over today's sitting," Chebet said.

The 'budget' was unanimously 'passed' by the 32 MCAs present.

Speaker Emmanuel Situma together with MCAs who don't support Wangamati kept off the assembly premises.

The MCAs, who passed the 'budget', accused Situma and their colleagues of playing politics.

"The delay in passing the budget has paralysed operations in the county while a few individuals want to hold us to ransom," Mbakalo MCA Bethwel Mwambu lamented. 

There has been a budget stalemate after the county assembly staff last week on Wednesday locked MCAs out of the assembly, accusing them of playing politics with the money meant for their salaries.

This was after MCAs allied to Wangamati brought amendments opposed by the staff and anti-Wangamati MCAs.

The MCAs, who were to debate and vote on the budget in the afternoon, had to indefinitely postpone their sittings when they were barred from accessing the chambers. The budget had passed all other stages.

When they arrived for the session, all assembly staff members assembled and declined to open doors to the chambers. They neither provided services to the MCAs.

In the amendments, deputy Minority leader Bethwel Mwambu had proposed reducing money meant for hospital drugs and removing mortgages for assembly staff.

Mwambu had further proposed reducing the assembly money from the proposed Sh890 million to Sh790 million.

A member of staff, who sought anonymity, said a plan had been hatched to reduce money meant for the assembly to cripple its operations.

"You can't reduce money meant for our salaries and mortgages and expect us to sit back and support such an operation. This means it will reach a time when we will have no salaries," he said.

Last week, Situma defended the staffers' move to lock the chambers, saying it was within their right to picket.

He said the proposals were ill-informed, as they would cripple staff employment and assembly operations.

"You can't heal a deficit at the executive by taking money from the assembly. Each entity has its own ceilings," Situma said.    BY THE STAR