Mvita Mp Abdulswamad Nassir has called for strengthening of independence of county assemblies to enable them play the oversight role effectively.

Speaking during the official opening of the county assemblies sports association (CASA) games in Mombasa, Nassir said there is a need to relook at the public finance management act to ensure county assemblies are indepent.

" We need to relook at the public finance management act to ensure that assemblies are totally independent, and independence and autonomy can only come when people are going to be independent and to be autonomous financially as well" said Nasir.

Adding " What is going on currenttly in our counties that our finance CECs determine how the funds are spent, I think that is not the spirit of devolution. The spirit of devolution is to ensure the executive is kept on check and we can only keep the executive on check only if at all the assemblies are going to be independent."

Nassir who is also eyeing the Mombasa Governor seat called for the introduction of the ward developement fund to develope the wards.

"This is something that some of us are entrenching in our manifestos. We need a ward developement fund, even if an MCA does not agree with the governor that does not mean that people from his ward do not benefit from develepoment projects" he charged.

On his part  County Assembly Forum (CAF) secretary-general Kipkirui Chepkuon accussed some Governors of arm-twisting county assemblies thus compromising their oversight role.

"We are going to call out the executives that are stifling the county assemblies in due course because they are contributing to the failure in oversight and members welfare" said Chepkuon.