Nairobi County Governor, Johnson Sakaja, on Wednesday, blamed Members of Parliament and Senators for pushing Nairobi County to compensate select private firms while leaving out others.
During his appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget, Governor Sakaja emphasized that the legislators were meddling in county affairs and should be held responsible for part of the issues City Hall faces regarding pending bill payments.
Sakaja further implied that the legislators may have benefited from tenders awarded to certain contractors, which could explain their push to have these firms compensated.
“Now I am not the registrar of businesses, so I don't know beneficial ownership. But I will tell you, Senators and MPs actually push for certain businesses to be paid,” he stated
“That is true. Senators and MPs push for businesses to be paid, contractors to be paid, and lawyers to be paid, added Sakaja.
However, he declined to specify which lawmakers were involved in the push.
Further, the Governor stated that the county had allocated Ksh4.3 billion to settle its pending bills, but this amount has now been fully depleted.
“I will not mention names, because that is not why I am here. But there is, there always is that pressure. This week I have been telling people because they are panicking at the close of the financial year, that the 4.3 billion shillings we are spending are depleted,” stated Sakaja.
During the grilling session, Sakaja also highlighted that his county officials were under significant pressure from various sources.
Moreover, he emphasized that the executive arm of his government was more equipped to provide accountability for both the payment of pending bills and the management of waste collection in the city.
The Senate's scrutiny focused particularly on a waste collection tender issued by the now-defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services. As a result, the Senate has given City Hall a 14-day ultimatum to provide responses and clarification on this issue.
Following this grilling, the Senate issued a 14-day ultimatum to City Hall to respond and clarify on the matter.
