K N WESUTSA & Co LAW CHAMBERS ADVOCATES COAST BUS BUILDING, GROUND FLR, N. W KUNDU OPP. EQUITY BANK, KAKAMEGA, BOX 1000, MUMIAS Email: nkundu2000@yahoo wesu.nigel@gmail TEL: 0722-857205 DATE: 9th day of July 2014 To: The County Secretary, County Government of Kakamega, Kakamega. RE: PETITION ON BEHALF OF BUNGE LA HAKI, USAWA NA MAENDELEO Reference is made to the above matter. Kindly direct your attention to the following: 1. That under Section 88 (1) of the County Government Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) citizens are accorded the right to petition a County Government on any matter under its responsibility; 1. That under Section 89 thereof a County Government has the corresponding duty to expeditiously respond to such a petition. 1. That under Section 96 (1) of the Act as read conjunctively with provisions to Article 35 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘the Constitution’) a citizens have the fundamental freedom to access information in the domain of a County Government upon request; 1. That under provisions to Article 174 (a) , (c) and (d) the objects of devolution are the promotion of democratic and accountable exercise of power; giving of powers of self- governance to the citizens and enhancing of the participation of the citizens in the exercise of the powers of the Government which includes the making of decisions affecting them; and recognition of the right of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their development; 1. That under Article 201 (a) of the Constitution one of the guiding principles with respect to public finance is that there ought to be openness, accountability and public participation in matters surrounding finances. Bunge La Haki, Usawa Na Maendeleo (hereinafter to be referred to as ‘Bunge’) is a political watchdog organization dedicated to fighting for social justice by keenly and objectively criticizing and scrutinizing programmes and policies initiated by both the National and County Governments, more so where public finances are involved as they belong to the tax payers. Bunge operates from Mumias town in the sub-county of Mumias West in the County of Kakamega. By a letter dated the 24th day of June 2014 (and annexed hereto for your ease of reference) Bunge petitioned the Mumias West Sub-county Administrator with a raft of issues they wanted tackled but no acknowledgment has been forthcoming from the said office. Bunge is of the opinion that your office is the right entity to direct this petition to as its occupier by virtue of Section 44 (3) of the Act is the head of the County Public Service under which offices of the Sub-county and Ward Administrators fall. The issues Bunge would like to raise with you involve the Mumias Central Ward which is within the sub-county of Mumias West. These issues are: 1. Public Participation and Lack of Information as concerns Ward programmes The Offices of the Sub-county and Ward Administrators are created under Sections 50 (1) and 51 (1) of the Act respectively. The functions of these offices inter alia are co-ordination, management and supervision of the following in their areas of jurisdiction: 1. Development of policies and plans; 2. Developmental activities intended to empower the community; 3. Delivery of services; and 4. Citizen participation in connection with the above. Public participation of activities under the County is covered under Section 87 of the Act with regard being given to the following principles: 1. Timely access to information; 2. Reasonable access to the process of formulating and implementing policies including approval of development proposals, projects and budgets; 3. Promotion of public-private partnerships in order to encourage direct dialogue and concerted action on sustainable development; 4. A balance in the roles and obligations of county governments and non-state actors in decision-making processes to promote shared responsibility and partnership and to provide complementary authority and oversight; 5. Recognition and promotion of the reciprocal roles of non-state actors’ participation and governmental facilitation and oversight. The community in the Ward is literally in the dark as to the activities the County Government of Kakamega in their area. Developmental activities taking place without their input as demanded by the Constitution. This is not necessarily to say that the developments being undertaken by the County Government of Kakamega in the Ward are unwelcome. However, without consulting the persons for whose benefit these developments are intended for, the Government runs the risk of ending up with projects not approved by the community. The office of the Sub-county administrator has been deaf to the pleas of the community about being appraised of the goings-on in the Ward. Residents of the Ward who have had occasion to interact with or come across these officers describe them as haughty and pompous. It would have been expected that your officers would make use of the modalities and platforms for citizen participation as provided for under Section 91 of the Act which provide for the manner in which policies and plans of the Government can be spread across the Ward. 1. Funds earmarked for projects within the Ward The Ward residents are entitled to access information showing the amounts of moneys being spent on various projects within the Ward. It is vital that the residents get to know the total amount of moneys factored for the Ward and the amounts spent so far. In this way the residents will be able to play their critical role in the monitoring of public expenditure. 1. Budgetary compilation and allocation The residents truly expected to be co- opted into budget making process. They have the right to participate in the drawing up of the budget. This ensures that funds are prudently utilized and that waste of the same is avoided. But it is quite unfortunate that the public has never been invited to engage in the making of the budget for the Ward. 1. Procurement of goods and services The law calls for an invitation of bids for projects which are to be financed with the tax payers’ moneys. The invitation has to be advertised prominently within the Ward and beyond so that a broader spectrum of the citizenry of the Republic of Kenya can participate in the process. It is to be expected that the advertisement will have all the minimum requirements necessary to enable one to participate in the bid. The vetting panel to examine the bids and the manner in which successful bidders will be selected should also be disclosed. Procurement of goods and services in the Ward severely falls short of the legal threshold. It is a mystery as to how goods and services are procured. It is only well connected individuals who invariably provide these goods and services. It is not known how they qualify to offer the same. 1. Formation of Ward committees Another interesting aspect in the Ward is the total mystery surrounding formation of committees. It appears that there is a cartel that selects people to be part of the committees. At the very minimum the positions of the committees have to be advertised so that citizens from all walks of life can be considered. A lot of factors have to be taken into play when forming these committees: gender, religion, age, residential area within the Ward, education, etc. Having outlined the above we are instructed to demand the following information which is squarely within your domain: 1. The total amount of moneys released for various projects within the Ward since the formation of the County Government of Kakamega to date; 2. The specific projects connected with the funds released to the Ward; 3. The level of completion of these projects; 4. The identification of the persons, companies, organizations, etc who have been awarded the projects; 5. The advertisements, if any, inviting bids for the project; 6. Minutes showing the criteria used to select the bidders awarded the projects; 7. The total number of Ward committees; 8. The names of persons making up membership of each committee; 9. The criteria used in picking up persons making up membership of each committee; 10. The budget of the Ward for the financial years 2013/2014 and 2014/2015; 11. The total funds allotted to the office of the Member of the County Assembly of Kakamega for the Mumias Central Ward for the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15 12. The manner in which the funds alluded to under paragraph 11 supra have been spent We are further instructed to demand the above information from you within 7 days from service upon you of this Petition and failure to abide by the same shall lead to Bunge moving the courts of law for access to the information sought. Yours respectfully, K.N WESUTSA & Co ADVOCATES FOR THE PETITIONERS cc. 1. Clerk to the County Assembly of Kakamega. 2. Sub-County Administrator of Mumias West. 3. Office of the Member of County Assembly for Mumias Central Ward 4. Deputy County Commissioner
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 10:17:34 +0000
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