Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has finally bowed to pressure and allocated the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Sh3.5 Billion.
According to a local blog, the embattled governor reportedly signed off the funds in a supplementary budget for the financial year that ends in June.
Consequently, this has to pass through the approval of the County Assembly to make it official.
This move comes days after the National Treasury announced that it would allocate Sh27.9 billion to the NMS for the financial year 2020/2021. The NMS is also set to receive an additional Sh1.5 billion for the renewal of projects in Mukuru Slums.
Read: NMS Gets Ksh26 Billion For Its Operations From National Government
The allocations are part of a number of proposed amendments, factoring NMS, presented to the National Assembly on May 14, 2020 by the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani.
NMS boss Major General Mohammed Abdallah Badi has been embroiled in wrangles with Governor Sonko leading to a push and pull. Both teams have leveled accusations of frustrations as well as trying to be in control.
About a month ago, the power wrangles got a notch higher after Sonko refused to sign a bill allocating the NMS Sh15 billion for operations.
According to Sonko, the Nairobi County Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2020 contravened provisions of the law and should be revised by the County Assembly.
Read Also: MCAs Threaten To Impeach Sonko Over Wrangles With NMS
“I do hereby refuse to assent to the bill for the reasons contained in the attached memorandum, and accordingly, I do hereby refer the bill back to the Assembly for consideration in accordance with section 24(3) (4) and (5) of the County Governments Act,” he said in a letter dated April 15.
The governor’s arguments indicated that the County Assembly irregularly transferred and allocated the monies in the bill, even to functions that were never transferred to NMS.
Further, on April 22, the embattled governor threatened to move to court to terminate the deed of transfer, saying that he had not read the document before signing.
Read Also: Governor Sonko Wins First Round In Tussle Against NMS’ Sh15 Billion Supplementary Budget
Consequently, on April 30, 2020 he wrote to the Solicitor General, to direct the Government Printer to nullify the purported Act through a corrigendum. He argued that the bill had been published unlawfully thus was not a force of law.
“The said Bill was sneaked to the Government Printer by unknown people notwithstanding the fact that the Office of the Governor had alerted the Government Printer that the Bill had not completed the necessary legislative process,” Sonko said.
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