Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala has hit out at Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson and Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya over the move to shutdown Counties, with the decision to suspend non essential services in Counties announced on Wednesday. This is owing to the fact that Senate has for the 10th time failed to agree on the revenue allocation formula, leaving Counties without funds.
Speaking after Oparanya’s statement, Malala said the CoG chairperson has misused his democracy to interfere with the rights of the citizens of Kenya. He said it’s irresponsible for Oparanya to say that hospitals will be closed after the decision was made that County Health services will not permit any inpatient admissions and will only provide minimal outpatient services. “People shouldn’t misuse democracy to interfere with the rights of the citizens of Kenya,” he said.
He noted that nobody has the power to close down Counties, “You can’t say County governments are shutting down, it’s equivalent to saying the national government has no money so Kenya will shut down,” said Malala. However, the Council of Governors has refuted the idea that Oparanya was behind the decision to shut down Counties, saying it was a decision arrived at by the whole council. The revenue allocation impasse has shed light on the need for Counties to have more funds, with President Uhuru Kenyatta saying Kshs 50 billion will be allocated to Counties in the next financial year.
