The Senate is pushing for amendments to the law that will clearly define the roles of deputy governors in a bid to end persistent power struggles in counties.
The Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, chaired by Wajir Senator Mohamed Abass, has proposed changes to the County Governments Act requiring governors to assign specific responsibilities to their deputies.
“The County Governments Act, Cap 265, be amended to impose a mandatory requirement on the Governor to assign specific responsibilities to the Deputy Governor,” the committee report states.
Currently, Section 32(3) of the Act merely states that a governor may assign duties, a loophole that has seen some deputies handed substantive portfolios while others remain idle.
Senators argue that the lack of consistency has wasted resources, undermined service delivery, and left deputies earning hefty salaries with little to show.
“Owing to the fact that the Office of the Deputy Governor is financed by public resources, there must be a deliberate assignment of responsibilities to ensure optimal utilization,” the report notes.
The committee acknowledged that while some counties have given deputies CEC-level portfolios, making this compulsory could raise accountability issues since deputies are constitutionally mandated to act as governors in the absence of the county boss.
The push to amend the law follows a petition by Japheth Makokha, Executive Director of Tripple The Impact CBO, who argued that some governors deliberately sideline their deputies to protect their own political influence.
“This usually comes at the expense of the citizens who need the bringing of development closer to them through effective and efficient service delivery,” Makokha told senators.
Disputes between governors and deputies have become common in recent years, including high-profile fallouts such as Siaya’s William Oduol and Governor James Orengo, Kisii’s Robert Monda and Governor Simba Arati, and the impeachment of former Machakos Deputy Governor Bernard Kiala.
