Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has warned President William Ruto that his directive requiring counties to adopt the e-procurement system will lead to legal repercussions.
In a statement on his official X account on Monday, September 1, Ledama stated that, despite the president having good intentions in imposing the system on counties, forcing counties to use it goes beyond the powers of the national government.
According to Ledama, the directive will compel county governments to initiate costly court cases, which will consume county resources and delay development.
"With the utmost respect, Mr. President, County governments are constitutionally semi-autonomous. Article 219 clearly mandates that counties receive their equitable share of revenue without undue delay and without deduction," Ledama said.
"While the intent behind the e-procurement directive is understood, imposing it on counties exceeds the powers granted to the national government by the Constitution," he added.
Ledama expressed his support for the Council of Governors in opposing the directive, stressing that they have the constitutional right to defend the autonomy of counties and to demand mutual respect and proper consultation between the two levels of government.
He noted that the national government should refrain from interfering with county governments' roles to catalyse national unity and progress.
"The Council of Governors is right to firmly defend county autonomy and call for mutual respect and proper consultation in line with the law," Ledama stated.
"Respectfully, all levels of government must honour their constitutional limits to preserve Kenya’s unity and progress," he added.
On his part, President William Ruto stated that leaders opposed to the reforms on procurement platforms and anti-graft measures should quit their positions.
Speaking in Siaya on Sunday, August 31, he said that officials resisting reforms, such as the migration to the digital Electronic Government Procurement (eGP) system, are not willing to align with his development agenda.
“On e-procurement, there are a lot of people who are used to mischievous conduct when it comes to procurement. We have said that we will have e-procurement so that we can know how much something was bought for and is being sold at,” Ruto stated.
“I know that there is resistance from e-procurement and accounting officers who do not want that. That is why they are sponsoring headlines of how Mbadi spent billions in a non-working system," he added.
