Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana on Wednesday evening, September 16, criticised senators for blaming the council of governors and the presidency in their failed attempt to resolve a dispute on the revenue sharing formula stalemate.
During Senate proceedings on Wednesday, senators expressed their anger after the COG chairperson Wycliffe Oparanya ordered governors to shut down hospitals over the cash crunch facing counties.
Responding to the senators, however, Kibwana indicated that the senators were solely to blame for the stalemate.
"Several County Employees have come to me after their rental premises were padlocked. Senators continue to draw their salaries and sitting allowances. How are they defending devolution?
"For three months senate has denied Counties funds for development and salaries. Can Mutula run a county as Governor without funds for three months?" Kibwana questioned.
Makueni senator, Mutula Kilonzo Jr had threatened Kibwana with impeachment if he followed Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya's orders.
"I want to tell my governor Kivutha Kibwana, if you close level 4 hospitals in Makueni, we will impeach you. It is an impeachable offence for any governor to take instructions from another governor and shutdown hospitals," Kilonzo stated.
One after the other, the senators stood and expressed their displeasure with the COG, terming Oparanya as incompetent.
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula indicated that it was a clear abuse of power saying that the council of governors was not the employer of any county governors.
"Governors cannot even send a sweeper on compulsory leave. We have seen the chair of CoG overplaying himself with powers he doesn’t have, abusing senators as he wishes," Wetangula said.
"I want to stand here and urge members to take great exception of this reckless misadventure by the CoG chair and remind him that he should bring his governors to order in respect of accountability," he added.
Earlier, Oparanya announced that all county services from Thursday would be paralysed.
He stated that health facilities in the counties would not permit any new inpatient admissions.
County employees were further issued a two-week-leave.
The only way the problem would be sorted, Oparanya stated, is if the National Treasury released funds for running operations.
