By Martin Masai
Governor Wavinya Ndeti’s administration is facing its most formidable political challenge yet after a widening standoff with the Machakos County Assembly left critical budget business hanging in the balance.
What initially appeared to be a routine dispute over committee leadership has now evolved into a full-scale confrontation over control of the county’s finances, with MCAs questioning billions of shillings in proposed expenditure and Assembly committees increasingly unwilling to advance the Governor’s agenda without detailed scrutiny.
The latest sign of the deadlock came through a special issue of the Kenya Gazette by Speaker Anne Kiusya revoking an earlier notice she had used to that convene a special sitting of the County Assembly on May 29.
While the gazette notice simply cancelled the sitting, sources within the Assembly say the elephant invasions the room is unresolved issues that centre largely on numbers, budget processing and growing mistrust between the Executive and the Assembly.
At the heart of the crisis is the absence of a substantive Chairperson of the Budget and Appropriations Committee which cannot be resolved because of a pending court case.
The term of former chairperson Dominic Ndambuki expired, leaving one of the Assembly’s most powerful committees without leadership. Attempts to elect a replacement have stalled amid broader political battles within the House.
Without a Budget Committee chairperson, the Assembly lacks the officer legally responsible for steering budget reports and recommendations through the legislative process. The vacuum has complicated consideration of both the county’s main budget and a contentious supplementary budget proposal.
Sources familiar with the dispute told The Anchor that opposition to the supplementary budget has become the real battleground.
According to several MCAs, the Executive is seeking to increase the county’s budget from approximately Ksh15 billion to nearly Ksh18 billion through a supplementary budget, despite concerns over revenue projections.
Particularly contentious is a proposal by the County Executive to revise its Own Source Revenue target upwards to over Ksh 5 billion.
Critics argue that the county has yet to attain its existing Ksh4 billion revenue target, making the new projections difficult to justify.
“We suspect that the extra Ksh3 billion being sought in the supplementary budget to bridge the current Ksh15 billion budget and push it to Ksh18 billion is budgeted corruption. A clear explanation must be given before we begin the approval process,” said an MCA who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The allegations have heightened suspicion within the Assembly and hardened resistance to the Executive’s financial proposals.
The Governor’s difficulties are compounded by the composition of the House Business Committee, the powerful organ that determines what business reaches the floor of the Assembly and when.
The fifteen-member committee is chaired by Speaker Anne Kiusya and consists of seven members aligned to each side of the political divide.
In practice, this means the Speaker holds the decisive vote whenever the committee is split.
Assembly sources say the Speaker has consistently sided with members opposed to the Governor’s agenda whenever voting deadlocks occur.
“The Speaker who bears the tie-breaking vote casts it with the opposition, making it difficult for Wavinya to push through any unconvincing policy, budget or legislation,” said an Assembly official who is not authorized to speak publicly on House affairs.
The result is a political reality that has dramatically altered the balance of power in Machakos.
For much of her tenure, Governor Wavinya enjoyed a cooperative Assembly that approved most Executive proposals with little resistance. Today, however, she faces a legislature increasingly determined to exercise its oversight mandate and challenge Executive decisions.
The Assembly’s resistance comes at a particularly sensitive time as counties across the country race to conclude budget processes ahead of statutory deadlines.
Any prolonged delay risks disrupting development programmes, procurement plans and implementation schedules for the coming financial year.
The standoff has also exposed the extent of the Governor’s deteriorating relationship with sections of the Assembly, including MCAs who were once considered political allies.
What is now unfolding in Machakos is no longer merely a disagreement over committee positions or procedural motions. It is a contest over who controls the county’s financial agenda, how public funds are allocated and whether the Executive can still command enough support within the Assembly to govern effectively.
For Governor Wavinya, the challenge is no longer just winning votes on the floor of the House. It is rebuilding confidence among legislators who now appear determined to subject every major policy and budget proposal to unprecedented scrutiny.
Unless a political compromise emerges soon, the current stalemate threatens to transform Machakos’ budget process from a legislative exercise into the county’s next major political crisis.
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