Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo has criticised the government over what he says is the failure to adequately fund counties and protect devolved functions, particularly road infrastructure.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Monday, Maanzo opposed the Roads Amendment Bill, arguing that it seeks to return functions that have already been devolved to the national government.
“The Constitution recognises national roads and county roads, and therefore, whatever belongs to the county should be devolved,” the senator said.
He accused the government of failing to fully implement devolution by denying counties adequate funding, saying poor roads were a problem across the country.
“Unfortunately, this government has completely failed to implement devolution. Devolution has been denied money,” he said.
Maanzo said counties, including Makueni, lack sufficient resources to improve roads, while questioning the management and procurement of road projects.
“The biggest problem is how these roads are procured. It's a really, really big problem as to how the roads are procured and how the whole matter works and runs,” he said.
He called for counties to receive sufficient funding while governors are subjected to stronger oversight to ensure resources are used appropriately.
“Give the governor sufficient funds, but also check the governor properly,” Maanzo said.
He said county assemblies and the Senate have a responsibility to monitor the use of public funds, while the Auditor-General and anti-corruption agencies should act on evidence of misuse.
Maanzo also criticised delays in auditing county accounts, saying current governors are sometimes required to respond to issues arising from the administrations of their predecessors.
He argued that stronger oversight was necessary to prevent public funds from being lost through inflated or fictitious projects.
“Unfortunately, there has been a lot of stealing from government. That's why you need to elect members who can oversight government properly,” he said.
Maanzo said county assemblies should exercise their oversight powers, including initiating impeachment proceedings where necessary, while Parliament should hold the national government accountable.
His comments come amid renewed scrutiny of the state of roads in Homa Bay County after the Linda Mwananchi caravan encountered roadblocks and was forced to use alternative routes on Sunday.
Footage from the tour showing the condition of roads in parts of the county sparked an online outcry, with some Kenyans comparing the roads to those in Afghanistan and Yemen.
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga acknowledged the poor condition of roads in Suba, saying residents were suffering from years of inadequate development.
“I’ve seen they are laughing at us that Homa Bay looks like Yemen because of the nature of our roads in Suba. They don’t understand the pain we are feeling,” she said.
Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo also rejected attempts to describe the affected roads as merely feeder roads.
“Most of our roads are bad in Suba South and North. Let us stop cheating people by saying those are feeder roads,” she said.
Odhiambo called for accelerated development in the region, saying: “Subas are Kenyans too. We need accelerated development here.”