Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya wants the 15 per cent devolved funds allocation from Treasury to the 47 counties increased to 50 per cent.
According to him, this will enable the regional governments undertake more development projects for the betterment of the people.
The governor has vehemently opposed the proposed merger of counties saying it is a clear way of killing devolution which has proved to be working in the country.
He said the spirit of devolution is to enable regions chat their own development agenda to transform the lives of their people and that merging them will be retrogressive and undemocratic.
“Instead of merging counties which will be seriously retrogressive, we demand more funds allocation from Treasury to counties from the 15 per cent to 50 per cent. This will enable counties build more roads, more colleges, factories and other development projects,” he said on Wednesday.
The governor made the remarks at Kizibe Social Hall in Mkongani Ward, Matuga Sub-county where he distributed bursary cheques worth more than Sh3.5 million to universities, colleges and secondary school students.
Governor Mvurya said if Kwale County was merged with Mombasa, Taita Taveta and Kilifi counties as proposed, this will create problems for residents who will have to travel far away to seek services, like it was before devolution.
“We are happy as Kwale County and will not accept any merger. We get our services here such as ICU, blood from the Msambweni Referral Hospital blood bank which I opened recently, school and college bursaries and so on. How will these services and programmes be implemented in a merged block of counties?” he asked the people who in unison objected to the proposal.
The governor further condemned those seeking leadership by preaching tribalism saying they should be rejected by the electorate.
“If anybody seeking leadership comes around peddling tribalism, know clearly that such a person can never make a good leader and therefore, reject them,” he said.
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