Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has been stripped of some of his powers yet again after the county assembly transferred the management of ward development projects from his office to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
The assembly approved the transfer of the Sh1.3 billion-funded Ward Development Fund from the county government to NMS.
This comes after the assembly allocating the county assembly a paltry Sh6.4 billion with NMS controlling Sh27.1 billion of the county’s annual budget.
According to the Assembly Budget and Appropriation Chairman Mbatia, the fund will be placed under the public works department in NMS.
Mbatia said the fund could not be controlled under the office of the Governor since it cannot cost or raise bills of quantities or certificates since all engineers expected to undertake the projects are under the public works departments which is under NMS.
“I have never known why the fund has always been placed under the office of the governor as it was initially a sub-committee of the bigger public works committee. This is a function that we had to take where it is supposed to be as the money cannot be left there,” Mbatia said.
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The move continues to consolidate the NMS’s dominance in controlling the affairs of Nairobi county at the expense of Mike Sonko.
In the county’s budget for the financial year ending 30,2021, read last week, the Sh1.3 billion put aside for WDF as development expenditure while another Sh30 million as recurrent expenditure.
The MCAs accused the county executive of taking them back and forth regarding the money to fund ward development projects.
