A deputy governor narrated to MPs the harrowing humiliation they have to put up with under their bosses for lack of defined roles in the county government.
Nandi Deputy Governor Yulita Mitei recounted how more often than not some of them are not informed of county government meetings just to ensure they are given total blackout.
As part of the humiliation parade, she said roles they would have performed are delegated to spouses of the county governors, county secretaries or county executive committee members; rendering them mere “flower girls”.
In other instances, some are denied official vehicles while those lucky to have assigned vehicles are denied fuel for the same.
Ms Mitei said that about 90 per cent of the 47 deputy governors have real budgetary allocations to run their offices.
Appearing before the Senate Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations committee on Wednesday, she said some county bosses view the DG seat as an unnecessary appendage yet they campaigned together.
Another DG told the committee chaired by Wajir Senator Mohamed Abass how at one time goons were unleashed on him when he tried to attend a county Cabinet meeting without invitation after falling out with his boss.
The DGs said that only five of them have good working relationships with their bosses with others enduring nasty experiences yet the crafters of the 2010 Constitution envisaged teamwork between the two officers.
“During the General election we are elected jointly but when we come to office we can no longer work together well despite the role we played to come to office,” said Laikipia Deputy Governor Reuben Kamuri, who also doubles as the chairperson of the Deputy Governors Caucus.
“We need to fix the lacuna in the law in regard to functions of deputy governors once and for all. If an officer is not facilitated, how do we expect them to discharge their mandate?” posed Ms Mitei.
Lifting the lid on the uneasy relationship between the two top county officials, some of the DGs recounted how they are demeaned with some governors delegating duties they should have performed to the boss’s personal assistant.
The 11 DGs now want the Senate to push for amendment of the County Governments Act to have clearly defined roles with budgetary allocations and subsequently entrenched in law to end the perennial battles with their bosses.
Some of the proposals include appointing a chief officer to manage the affairs of the office of the DG, coordinate disaster risk management, plan and supervise the implementation of disaster management and response within the county.
Others include supervising the implementation of County government development projects and resolutions across all departments in the county, chairing all the county executive sub-committees as well as assisting the governor in the coordination and supervision of county government sectors.
Mr Kamuri said most counties have budgets for the office of the Governor yet the office of the deputy governor has no vote at all and are left at the mercy of their bosses.
“The issue at hand is about dignifying the office of the deputy governor and not about competing with governors. It is about ensuring that there is a clear-cut role for the office so that we have uniformity, not a few working well while others are blacklisted,” he said.
“Confusion comes in when a governor delegates the roles of the office to other officers, diluting or demeaning the office of the DG. Inasmuch as we cannot legislate good manners, there are DGs who have gone for six months without phone calls from their bosses or any assignments,” he added.
Siaya Deputy Governor William Oduol said the elephant in the room is the need to have budgets to run their offices.
“Some of us don’t even have access to petty cash. It should be done in a way that governors don’t feel threatened. We understand they are our bosses and we are not in competition,” he said.
Nyandarua Deputy Governor John Mathara said some governors don’t assign their deputies work, leaving them with nothing to do.
“We have much we can offer if given a chance. If governors don’t allow us to work, then we will be earning salaries for doing nothing,” he said.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka argued that a majority of the deputy governors are under siege, calling on the Senate to push for legislation defining particular responsibilities and an independent budget to the office of the deputy governor to cushion them against frustrations by governors.
“What do you do when you have a governor who does not listen to their deputy and in some instances feels like he does not need his deputy? We must come up with legislation to secure the dignity of the deputy governor’s office. If not, then we do away with the office,” said Mr Onyonka.
Bungoma Senator David Wakoli also empathised with the Deputy Governors, saying there are scenarios where CECs even bully the deputy governors and a governor sends a personal assistant to represent him in a function instead of a Deputy Governor.
“We must have bare minimum in terms of responsibilities for the office of the deputy governor and be in tandem with attendant budgetary provisions. We will not allow deputy governors to be reduced into choir masters of the governors. We are not going to allow only titles to be there but functions and money must be attached,” he said.
West Pokot Deputy Governor Prof Grace Cheserek said there is need for their functions to be clearly spelt out with a budget ceiling and some controls to enable them better serve Kenyans.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Deputy Governor Prof Grace Cheserek during a past function in the county on February 6, 2024.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“It is not about who is working well with their bosses or not. We need uniformity so that if a deputy governor in Bungoma is working well with her boss, it is also the same in other counties. It does not make sense for only five deputy governors to have a good working relationship with their bosses while the rest are suffering,” said Bungoma Deputy Governor Janefer Mbatiany.
Nonetheless, nominated senators Catherine Mumma and Peris Tobiko argued that some of the problems the DGs are dealing with are due to clash of personalities and they are not sure whether they can legislate personalities.
“We are dealing with issues of working relationships more than legislation. Some deputy governors have good working relations with their bosses and we should learn what they are doing right,” said Ms Mumma.
