Governor Wanga skips Senate watchdog committee again

For the second time in quick succession, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga failed to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee, where she was expected to account for her administration’s expenditure in the 2024/2025 financial year.

The governor, due to face the watchdog committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, was conspicuously absent, despite prior notice, including a public poster circulated by the senator announcing her scheduled appearance on Wednesday.

Just a day earlier, Ms Wanga had been in Nairobi, appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources. There, she addressed legislators on the utilisation of funds under the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action programme.

She later shared photographs of the session, noting that discussions had centred on successes, challenges, and critical lessons drawn from the programme’s implementation.

However, when members of Mr Kajwang’s committee convened the following day, her seat remained empty. Her absence comes amid calls by the Council of Governors urging its members to boycott Senate appearances, citing allegations of intimidation, harassment and extortion.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed shared images of a high-level ODM meeting attended by senior party officials, including party leader Oburu Oginga and Ms Wanga in her capacity as chairperson.

The Suna East MP indicated the meeting was convened to assess preparedness for the party’s Special National Delegates Conference, suggesting that political obligations may have taken precedence over Senate scrutiny.

The Council of Governors has maintained that the committee is being used as a tool for political witch-hunts rather than legitimate oversight, openly defying directives from Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to appear and account for public expenditure.

Mr Kajwang, however, expressed frustration, noting that several pressing issues remained unanswered.

Among them is Homa Bay’s ballooning wage bill, which stands at 54 percent, well above the 35 per cent ceiling set by the Public Finance Management (PFM) Regulations, 2015. He further cited concerns raised by audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which flagged the county for allegedly harbouring ghost workers.

“This was a substantive discussion at our last meeting with the governor. We expected her to tell us what measures she has taken to address ghost workers and the spiralling wage bill,” Mr Kajwang said.

The committee is also seeking clarity on pending bills exceeding Sh1.5 billion, some dating back more than a year. Mr Kajwang warned that settling these debts could inject much-needed lifeblood into the local economy, benefitting contractors and suppliers alike.

“If released, the funds would stimulate the local economy. It is unfortunate that these debts have remained unpaid for over a year,” he said.

Emergency centre 

Equally troubling, senators had hoped to receive an explanation for delays in completing a Sh200 million accident and emergency centre, whose construction began in March 2023. This stands in stark contrast to a Sh800 million county headquarters project, initiated a year later but already completed and operational.

“Do we need a grand headquarters for current and future governors, or a hospital for children and women in dire need of healthcare?” Mr Kajwang posed.

Further questions linger over the slow implementation of development initiatives, including the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Programme, which received grants to uplift informal settlements in the region.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has indicated that the project is not progressing in line with its original plan. She also reported that Homa Bay derives more revenue from hospitals than from any other sector, yet, according to Mr Kajwang, these funds are not being reinvested into the health facilities to sustain service delivery.

“We wanted assurance that revenue collected from hospitals is ploughed back to guarantee quality healthcare in Homa Bay County,” he said.

Additional concerns relate to past audit queries, including stalled operations at the Kigoto maize milling plant and challenges facing county aggregation and industrial parks.

Senators had expected Ms Wanga to honour the summons and defend her administration’s record on devolution and public finance management. In contrast, Mr Kajwang recalled, former governor Cyprian Awiti consistently complied with such calls.

He cited one instance in which Mr Awiti appeared before the committee shortly after being discharged from hospital.

“He understood that this was not a favour to the people of Homa Bay, but part of his job description. I hope Governor Wanga will draw lessons from her predecessor,” he said.

The Senate has now set March 30, 2026 as the new date for the governor’s appearance.

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