BONYO’S BONE: Governors running scared

Tonight, I pick a bone, and a big one with the 47 county governments of this nation.

The Council of Governors (CoG) is once again on a warpath. A road they know too well not to serve Kenyans better, but to silence accountability.

Their latest target is Margaret Nyakang’o, the Controller of Budget. A public servant doing exactly what the law requires her to do: guarding our money.

To hear CoG Chair Ahmed Abdullahi say that Nyakang’o is difficult, unreasonable, and the biggest threat to devolution, sounds like a joke taken too far.

No, Governor. The biggest threat to devolution is runaway corruption, ghost projects, inflated trips, and billions of shillings sitting idle while Kenyans go without medicine, water, and other basic offerings that should be a priority to county governments.

Article 228 of our Constitution gives the Controller of Budget the mandate to approve every coin withdrawn by counties and to make sure budgets are followed.

What the Controller of Budget is doing is not optional. It is law.

So, when Governors complain that CoB officers are delaying approvals, what they’re really saying is: we want a blank cheque. No questions asked. That, is dangerous.

Worse still, they now want to petition Parliament to send her home for refusing to rubber-stamp misuse of public funds. That again is outrageous.

These same Governors who can’t account for billions… now want to remove the very officer asking them to explain how they want to use the funds?

If you take a look at the Controller of Budget’s reports: year after year, they read like a horror story: unbudgeted projects, questionable payments, nonexistent procurements, and zero value for money.

And what do the Governors do in return? They play victim.

At a time when trust in public office and their holders is trotting towards a historical low day in, day out, the Controller of Budget and the Auditor General are among the last institutions standing tall. Dear Governors, you cannot hold a candle to this office.

That trust is not negotiable. Hands off the watchdog. Hands off the Controller of Budget.

If you want faster approvals, here’s a thought: clean your books, plan your budgets, and follow the law.

Because your job is not to fight oversight. Your job is to serve the people who elected you and whose taxes you spend. You must account for.

That’s my bone tonight.