Turkana governor says he will sack 'stingy' officials for not giving people cash
Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomurukai.
Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has sparked a debate among his county staff after accusing them of being selfish and not generous to the people they serve.
On Thursday, the governor described himself as a very generous person, just days after Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei challenged him at the Senate committee hearing for handing out Sh1,000 notes to residents at funerals.
"I am a very generous governor... I want when we are together, without looting public funds, let's use recurrent funds to help people," said Mr Lomorukai.
He was speaking to four new county executives, Dr Joseph Epem (Health), Benson Lokwang (Roads), Wiljustus Lopeyok (Education) and Roseline Aite (Commerce), as well as county lawyer Ruth Emanikor, after they were sworn in by Principal Magistrate Charles Mayamba at the county headquarters in Lodwar.
He said he had carefully assessed the new county officials' propensity to be generous with their money before settling on them.
"The people who have joined my cabinet are people I assessed and know. Benson, take up the position and be generous to the people and also deliver on your docket. Dr Epem, if you see a poor lady passing in front of you give her water and food. Don't be like those people I have removed in my cabinet who have been too selfish," Mr Lomorukai said.
Without naming names, he said some of those he had replaced, whose presence as top county officials had made no impact in the community, would not cry out that they were being sacked because they hadn't even helped the vulnerable.
The governor said he had been quiet for two years and it was time to crack the whip.
"If you are stingy and don't share with the people what you have or you oppress junior employees by not giving them their dues, you will go home and be replaced by those who want to serve the public."
He said it didn't make sense that junior county officials would emulate him by giving generously in villages for political support, yet some senior officials, who are chief officers or in charge of sub-counties with access to resources, could not even buy goats worth Sh5,000 for a small group of youths to feast on and feel satisfied.
"I have done my research well and I am coming for chief officers. I know those who are with the people and performing the responsibilities. Those neglecting their duties and are stingy will be replaced between January and March," Mr Lomorukai said.
He said about 714,000 people are currently in dire need of food due to the prolonged drought.
"We budgeted Sh550 million for relief food that was appropriated by the County Assembly. No shilling will be misappropriated or a grain will go to county officials. Each household will receive a bag of maize. We will also procure 10,000 cartoons of cooking oil, a milestone from the previous happenings. We want to deal with the issues of hunger once and for all," the governor said.
He flagged off lorries carrying 27,000 bags of maize from the National Cereals and Produce Board stores in Lodwar, and personally followed them to Turkana North and Kibish Sub-County near the border of Kenya and Ethiopia to supervise the distribution and ensure that the bags reached the intended beneficiaries.
As a long-term solution, he said that his administration was putting a lot of money into irrigation to reduce overdependence on relief food.
"We want to ensure that every year we produce over 350,000 bags [of maize] to make the county food secure," Mr Lomorukai said.
The governor's comments have elicited mixed reactions from locals, with some praising him and others accusing him of encouraging embezzlement of public funds.
Mr Kevin Lokaale said that the governor was encouraging embezzlement of public funds.
"The governor should have instead encouraged senior officials to focus on development. You are telling county employees to give out money to the public, where will the money come from?" Mr Lokaale asked, noting that the move will negatively affect the development agenda of the devolved unit.
Mr Moses Lokato on the other hand said that Mr Lomorukai is generally a generous leader.
"The governor is a giver. Those opposing his generosity are the envious ones who do not give to others," he said.
Statistically, the county, which has received more than Sh100 billion in equitable revenue share, has an absolute poverty rate of 79.4 percent.
This means that about eight out of every 10 people in Turkana are poor and unable to meet basic needs such as food, shelter, safe drinking water, education and healthcare.
