Recently, a certain governor accurately but still mercilessly noted, there is no law against favoring traders over farmers in the purchase of cereals.
The statement revealed why certain laws are required to judge (penalize) non performance.
After IFMIS access points (= computers or networks) in the counties are sabotaged, the Treasury is not obliged by law to engage "Data Controllers to ensure access to data" as County CIO positions + functions are yet to be defined in our laws.
Note: county expenditure on travel, conferences, seminars, etc, can more than fund CRMs to enhance public participation.
The "Talk to the Senate" discussion and report addressed some of the issue noted in the link below https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/06/05/governors-treasury-to-blame-for-lack-of-public-participation-in-key_c1767945Due to lack of funds, most counties have been unable to comply with the mandatory public participation, leading to litigation against county governments.
"The Commission on Revenue Allocation has recommended, for the last two financial years, inclusion of funds for public participation in the equal share for county governments through the Division of Revenue Bill," Council of Governors chairman Josphat Nanok said yesterday.
The 47 county assemblies represented by the Society of Clerks at the Table last month requested the Senate to increase their Sh31 billion allocation by another Sh2.1 billion in the 2018-19 financial year starting July 1.
Of the sum, Sh225 million was to be spent on public participation activities.
The Public Participation Bill, 2018, seeks to provide a mechanism to facilitate effective and coordinated public participation.
"Public participation processes are different in all institutions and therefore the Bill recognizes these differences and designates responsible authorities for purposes of developing the specific guidelines and offering oversight for public participation," reads part of the Bill.
The governors also flagged poor connectivity in using the state's Integrated Finance Management and Information System (IFMIS) when carrying out transactions as a contributor to huge pending bills.
"Problems associated with the IFMIS and e-procurement systems have contributed to huge pending bills in counties and we hope they will be addressed for us to continue discharging our duties well," Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said.