Thirteen Kiambu MPs, led by Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah, have launched an attack on Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi over the location of a proposed Export Processing Zone (EPZ) promised by President William Ruto.
In a letter to Trade and Investment Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Miano, the MPs blamed the governor for the ministry's decision to gazette an EPZ in Murang'a.
According to the letter, the President had promised Kiambu leaders on October 27, 2023 that EPZs would be gazetted in Murang'a and Kiambu. However, only the Murang'a zone was gazetted on October 31 following efforts led by Murang'a Governor Irungu Kang'ata.
“We are now concerned that the Murang’a one has been gazetted but not the Kiambu one…we ask that you fast-track the gazetting of the Kiambu EPZ to avoid the inevitable loss of investors to Murang’a,” reads a letter signed by the 13 MPs.
The MPs accused Governor Wamatangi of frustrating the project and being uncooperative with both national and local leaders on projects such as the EPZ and affordable housing.
“Kindly downplay Wamatangi’s deliberate sabotage of the national projects in Kiambu as he pursues a narrow selfish agenda,” the letter addressed to the Cabinet Secretary reads.
The letter asks the CS to treat the matter as urgent and ensure that Kiambu does not lose investors.
But Governor Wamatangi told the Daily Nation on Thursday that the letter by a group of Kiambu parliamentarians was based on mischief and aimed at distracting people from his development agenda, insisting that the letter was in bad faith as the gazetting of the EPZ is set for this Friday.
"This is after they got wind that it will be gazetted tomorrow," Governor Wamatangi said.
The new development comes a few weeks after Governor Wamatangi was embroiled in a row with MP Ichung'wah and Charles Hinga, the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Public Works and Housing, over his failure to appoint municipal board members and managers, with the government complaining that it was on the verge of losing a Sh1.6 billion road infrastructure grant from the World Bank.
"Reference is made to our letter Ref. No. Mlpwhud/HUD/UD/14/1/Vol.VI/140 dated 18th May, 2023 outlining the Minimum Conditions (Mcs) for compliance prior to qualifying for Kenya Urban Support Programme Phase Two Funding. Further, kindly note that the Urban Areas and Cities Act 2011 amended in 2019, under Section 28, requires that a municipal manager be appointed for every municipality to implement the decisions and functions of the board," Mr Hinga said in a letter to Wamatangi dated October 3, 2023.
On Thursday, Wamatangi told the Daily Nation that the positions of board members and managers had already been advertised and would be filled soon.
