Governors-elect have seemingly started their new eras by ruffling a few feathers with their high swearing-in budget demands.
With the country still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic which ravaged the economy and a General Election which cost north of Ksh40 billion, the incoming governors planned to splash millions on their swearing-in events scheduled for Thursday, August 25.
The Controller of Budget, Mary Nyakang'o, however, declined to massage their egos and sent some of the county committees back to the drawing board after she deemed their requests exorbitant.
Nyakang'o noted that most of the approved requisitions totalled an average of Ksh1 million.
For instance, Nairobi county requested a total of Ksh20 million for swearing in governor-elect, Johnson Sakaja at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). Sakaja will be a first time governor who served as the county's senator for five years, from 2017 to 2022.
Nyeri county government requested up to Ksh5 million for the swearing in of its governor-elect, Mutahi Kahiga. The funds are expected to cater for 4,000 invited guests including Deputy president-elect Rigathi Gachagua who hails from Mathira constituency in the county.
Siaya county was allocated Ksh12.5 million for the swearing-in ceremony for governor-elect James Orengo.
According to the county secretary, Joseph Ogutu, the stipulated amount will cover all the preparations listed by the Assumption of the Office of the Governor Committee.
"The committee has been planning for their swearing-in for about one month and today we are ready for the swearing-in ceremony. The budget is quite modest if we look at the magnitude of the event," Ogutu spoke to the press at KMTC grounds on Wednesday, August 24.
Migori county, on the other hand, will be allocated Ksh5 million for the crowning of governor-elect Ochilo Ayacko. The county's secretary, Christopher Rosana intimated that the funds were adequate to cater for the reception preparations and the handing over of the instruments of power.
"All preparations are complete. Everything required from the ceremony is ready, right from instruments of power, to the sitting arrangement, to even reception preparations," Rosana stated.
For Kisii county, the planned Ksh57 million budget was reduced to Ksh3 million after governor-elect Simba Arati noted that he did not intend to spend the whole amount while his county residents were grappling with a myriad of issues.
Kirinyaga governor-elect, Anne Waiguru, who will be serving her second term requested Ksh250,000, the least amount tabled according to the Controller of Budget.
To avoid public scrutiny, the majority of county secretaries spearheading the ceremonies remained non-commital on the funds spent on the Thursday event.
