Queries on MCAs’ Sh18m Tanzania trips for training
Nyeri County Assembly during a past session. MCAs from the assembly were in Arusha Tanzania recently for a workshop. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Ward Reps from three counties spent Sh18m on foreign trips, yet they were trained by organisations based in Kenya.
Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi and Murang’a counties spent Sh18 million on allowances and travel for training sessions in Arusha, Tanzania, in the past two weeks.
The MCAs, who are currently attending a legislative summit in Mombasa, will also pocket nearly Sh10 million in allowances.
It is unclear why the county assemblies travelled to Tanzania to be trained by the Kenya-based Institute of Public Finance.
Nyeri Assembly Speaker John Kaguchia said the training was to equip the ward reps with financial skills for better decision making when scrutinising budget estimates.
“The training will assist our members come up with better resolutions while analysing and scrutinising documents prepared by the executive,” he said.
The spending is said to be within the law and is regulated by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Ward reps from Nyeri and Murang’a attended the sessions in two batches. The first group left on May 7 and returned on May 12, while the second departed on May 14 and returned on May 19.
On average, the 44 MCAs from Nyeri pocketed Sh165,000 each while those from Murang’a earned Sh85,000 each. During the trip, Magutu MCA Pauline Wanjira from Nyeri county was assaulted by her colleague after a heated exchange.
Kirimukuyu MCA Anthony Ndagita denied any involvement in the brawl at an Arusha hotel, denying reports that he was among ward reps attending the training.
In Tharaka-Nithi County, MCAs have been hopping from one country to another for benchmarking programmes, including a one-week tour of China two weeks ago.
