Kakamega MCAs want governor to work with Ruto

Members of the Kakamega County Assembly have urged Governor Fernandes Barasa to work with President William Ruto, claiming this would bring more development projects from the national government.

MCAs from the opposition side in the assembly said it was time to bury the hatchet now that the highly contested elections are over.

Led by Minority Leader David Ndakwa, they said leaders should focus on providing services.

Mr Ndakwa said MCAs from the Kenya Kwanza side, the minority in the assembly, were ready to work with and support the governor to achieve the promises he made to residents.

“As leaders, we must have the interest of our people first. We are always ready to work with the governor and we also urge him to work with the government of the day. Time for politics is over,” Mr Ndakwa said.

He said the opposition in the county had pledged to support the governor and he should reciprocate by supporting President Ruto.

President Ruto has pledged to work with leaders across the political divide to deliver the government’s development agenda.

In his first visit last Sunday to Nyanza, which overwhelmingly voted for his political rival Raila Odinga in the August elections, the President pledged to implement economic charters developed during his campaigns across all the 47 counties.

He asserted that no region would be left behind in development and that he would join hands with all elected leaders for that purpose.

Stalled projects

In Kakamega, key multimillion-shilling projects launched by the national government under former President Kenyatta and Dr Ruto have stalled, while some are proceeding at a snail’s pace.

Among them is the tarmacking of the 31km Lurambi-Navakholo-Musikoma road that links Kakamega and Bungoma counties, and the 23km Ibokolo-Shianda-Navakholo road launched by President Kenyatta and Dr Ruto in December 2016.

The Lurambi-Navakholo-Musikoma road was allocated Sh2 billion, while Ibokolo-Shianda-Navakholo was to cost Sh1.16 billion.

Others are upgrading and rehabilitating the Kakamega airstrip and reviving the troubled Mumias Sugar factory.

Addressing reporters in Butere, Mr Ndakwa said Governor Barasa should forget the differences he had with leaders from Kenya Kwanza during the campaign period and welcome everyone on board to help him in his development agenda.

“As for the county assembly, we shall collaborate with the governor to deliver the fruits of devolution across the county. We shall support him in allocating funds to development projects in all the 60 wards,” he said.

He said the assembly cannot work independently from the executive.

He added: “We are one government with two arms. For us to deliver, the two arms must consult and cooperate with each other.”

But his sentiments were opposed by assembly Deputy Speaker Bernard Shitiabayi, who claimed the opposition MCAs were attempting to get the governor into the Kenya Kwanza trap.

“We have our own government (Kakamega County) with our own governor to steer our development agenda. We don’t have to fall victim to the Kenya Kwanza administration to realise development,” Mr Shitiabayi said.

He argued that former governor Wycliffe Oparanya worked from the opposition under Mr Kenyatta’s administration but the county rose to a centre of excellence regarding development.

Meanwhile, Governor Barasa has promised to complete projects that Mr Oparanya started.

Some of them are a maize processing plant in Lugari, a tea factory in Shinyalu, and a milk plant in Malava. The others are the incomplete Bukhungu stadium and Kakamega County Teaching and Referral Hospital.