The new political dispensation envisaged by the Building Bridges Initiative should secure the office of the county assembly speaker to safeguard devolution, according to a former speaker.
Gordon Ogola, the former Migori speaker said the BBI had overlooked the office of county speaker, and this is its main loophole.
“For one to be a speaker of the assembly, qualification is not specific. Currently anybody who can be a member of the assembly can take the seat,” Ogola, who is an advocate of the High Court, said.
Equally, the removal of a speaker through impeachment is not well defined. Lack of due process has undermined devolution, he said.
“This has seen MCAs and the assembly susceptible to manipulation from the county executive wing, thus undermining their oversight role,” the first Migori speaker said.
He was impeached by MCAs after the onset of devolution in 2013 and failed to get ODM nomination in 2017 to vie for the Migori senator's seat.
He cautioned that the clamour for the creation of ward development funds, may negate the effect of devolution.
“Members of both national and county assemblies should only work on oversight and legislation. Development should not be included,” Ogola said.
To avoid overwhelming the office of the Auditor General, the best way to audit county cash should be established, he said.
“The auditor works on all government departments, all 47 county governments and 290 constituencies. The huge number of wards will be a headache to the Auditor General,” he said.
The lawyer supported the proposed change of the Constitution through BBI.
- mwaniki fm