Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o has been listed as public enemy number one by the Council of Governors (CoG).

CoG Chair and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, on Monday, June 16, revealed that the Governors’ caucus will petition both Houses of Parliament to seek her removal, terming her the biggest stumbling block to devolution and county operations.

Furthermore, Abdullahi accused her of being hard-headed and unreasonable in the way she approves funds for counties, claiming that county staff are forced to travel from as far as Wajir, the county represented by the CoG Chair, to queue at her offices for approvals that could otherwise be done online.

In a strongly worded statement, Abdullahi asserted that the governors want the Controller of Budget removed if she does not change and begin acting in support of county governments, voicing their dissatisfaction with what he termed incessant bottlenecks.

An image of the Council of Governors at a past presser

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“The Controller has become difficult. She has become intransigent. She has become unreasonable, and she is taking the county governments through hell to access money,” he stated.

“It is unacceptable. The biggest threat to devolution is the Controller of Budget. We want to be told whether we are serious as a country about devolution. Why is it so difficult for counties to access the monies that have been appropriated for them?” Abdullahi posited.

The governor gave an example of how the CoB was supposedly holding up the disbursement of up to Ksh130 million in bursaries in his county of Wajir. Abdullahi cited that this was despite the funds needing to be disbursed by June 30.

According to Governor Abdullahi, there are millions of children in the 47 counties who may not undertake examinations for the mid-term break at the end of June, or who may not return for the second term in August if authorisation to spend funds on bursaries is not granted.

As per law, the CoB is mandated by the Constitution to oversee the implementation of national and county governments' budgets by approving withdrawals from public funds.

As such, even after budgetary allocation, Nyakang’o holds the final keys as the actual release of funds requires her explicit approval.

The process for the removal of the Controller of Budget (CoB) from office in Kenya is a detailed one, enshrined in Article 251 of the Constitution of Kenya and further elaborated in the Controller of Budget Act.

A CoB can be removed on various grounds, such as serious violation of the Constitution or any other law, gross misconduct, physical or mental incapacity, incompetence, and bankruptcy.

Any person who desires the removal of the Controller of Budget on any of the stated grounds must present a petition to the National Assembly. The petition must set out the alleged facts constituting the ground for removal.

Upon receipt, the National Assembly considers the petition. If the National Assembly is satisfied that the petition discloses a valid ground for removal, it will send the petition to the President.

Upon receiving the petition from the National Assembly, the President may suspend the Controller of Budget from office pending the outcome of the complaint. Afterwards, the President is required to appoint a tribunal to investigate the charges.

In its investigations, the tribunal conducts hearings, gathers evidence, and allows the Controller of Budget an opportunity to be heard and defend against the allegations. It then reports on the facts and makes a binding recommendation to the President.

The President must then act in accordance with the tribunal's recommendation within thirty days of receiving the report. If the tribunal recommends removal, the President will remove the Controller of Budget from office. If it recommends against removal, the Controller of Budget will resume their duties.

Council of governors chair Ahmed Abdullahi during a past address. PHOTO/ Courtesy.