Members of the County Assemblies across the country have now called off their three-month strike to pave the way for the Senate to investigate their grievances.
Through the Association of Members of County Assemblies (AMCA), they have agreed to resume their plenaries in the assembly awaiting recommendations by the Senate.
In May, members of 35 county assemblies downed tools to agitate for a review of their salaries from the current Sh86,000 to the previous Sh165,000 which was slashed by SRC.
The association accused the County Assembly Forum (CAF) that is composed of Speakers of misleading the SRC on the issue of their salaries and ward fund.
According to the association Secretary-General Stanley Karanja, their meeting with the Senate two weeks ago had borne fruits and hence the need to call off the strike.
He said that the leaders of AMCA had met the Deputy President, COG chair and the Committee of Devolution in the Senate to discuss the grievances.
“After consultations, we have decided to call off our strike and continue with our plenaries as we wait for the report from the Senate,” he said.
The Naivasha East MCA was however quick to warn that the association would not hesitate to call for another strike if their demands were not met.
He noted that it was becoming near impossible for MCAs to conduct their duty of oversight due to low funding by the counties.
“We are not calling for a salary increase but for SRC to recall its directive to have our salaries slashed as this is against the law and immoral,” he said.
Addressing the press in Naivasha, Karanja pointed an accusing finger at the County Assembly Forum for allegedly backstabbing them as they defended their salaries.
“The Association of Members of County Assemblies will from now henceforth review the salaries of the Speakers who are earning Sh644,000 from Sh265,000,” he promised.
Lakeview MCA Alex Mbugua admitted that it had been agonizing time for county assemblies following the standoff which had adversely affected budgetary allocation.
“The county assembly is the defender of devolution and we thank the Senate for intervening on this issue that has adversely affected service delivery,” he said.
This was echoed by his Viwandani counterpart Mwangi Muraya who said that they had hope and belief that the Senate would address the grievances of MCAs.
“We shall resume our role of oversight as we wait for the Senate’s report but we shall not hesitate to down tools if our grievances are not addressed,” he said.
