Changes to the County Governments Act

County Governments (Amendment) (No.2) Bill, 2017

The objective of the Bill is to amend the County Governments Act to provide for the procedure for the disposal of a report of a Commission of Inquiry established under Article 192(2) of the Constitution of Kenya and to provide for the termination of a suspension of a county government under Article 192(4) of the Constitution.

Procedure of Disposal of a Report of a Commission of Inquiry

The Bill proposes that the Commission shall inquire into the matters before it within three months of its appointment and report on the facts and submit its recommendations to the President.

If the Commission does not give a recommendation to suspend the county government, the President will submit to the Speaker of the Senate: the report and recommendations of the Commission and the petition for suspension of the county government.

However, if the Commission recommends county government suspension, the President shall submit to the Senate Speaker: one, a memorandum stating whether or not the President is satisfied that justiciable grounds exist for the suspension of the county government; two, report and recommendation of the Commission and three, petition of the county government suspension.

Where the President is satisfied that justifiable grounds exist for the suspension of the county government, the Speaker of the Senate shall submit those documents to the relevant Senate committee for consideration. In 14 days after reception of the documents, the committee shall consider the documents and give recommendations to the Senate on whether or not the Senate should authorize the suspension of the county government.

Authorization by the Senate to suspend a county government shall be a resolution adopted in line with Article 122 and Article 123. Where the Senate authorizes suspension, the President, via a notice in the Gazette, shall suspend the county government for a period not exceeding 90 days or until the suspension is terminated earlier by the Senate in line with Article 192(4) of the Constitution.

If Commission does not recommend suspension, or the President is not satisfied that justifiable grounds exist, the Senate may consider any other recommendations proposed by the Commission and determine the way forward with regard to the recommendations.

Procedure of Termination of Suspension by the Senate

In line with Article 192(4) of the Constitution, the Senate, may at any time, terminate the suspension of a county government. Any Senate member may move a motion for termination of a county government suspension. After this, the Speaker of the Senate shall refer the proposed motion to the relevant Senate committee to consider the proposed termination of the county government suspension and to make recommendations as to whether or not the Senate should terminate the suspension. The committee will then report within 10 days of the referral of the proposed motion.

In considering the proposed termination, the committee is to invite representations from members of the public, the Interim County Management Board and any other relevant person. The proposed motion shall be moved upon tabling of the committee’s report.

If the motion is supported by a majority of all county delegations of the Senate, the suspension of the county government shall be terminated.

Upon termination, the Interim County Management Board shall be dissolved and the Governor, Deputy Governor, Members of the County Executive Committee, Speaker, members of the County Assembly shall resume their functions.

In conclusion, this Bill will ensure that the Senate will receive the report from the Commission of Inquiry and decide the way forward. This is important as the Senate has the responsibility to protect the interests of the counties and their governments. It streamlines the entire process to include the Senate. 

This article was written by
Sylvia Katua of Mzalendo Trust .
It was published on Nov. 27, 2017.