A section of legislators from Taita Taveta county have backed Governor Granton Samboja's bid to have the county government dissolved by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Earlier this week, Samboja announced that he will be petitioning President Kenyatta to dissolve the devolved unit, over what he termed as harassment by Members of the Taita Taveta County Assembly.
Samboja claimed the ward representatives gashed the county budget making it difficult for his administration to actualise its mandate to the people.
“I have today decided, in accordance to the constitution, to call all county residents to petition President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the county of Taita Taveta to give us a fresh start,” he said as quoted by Capital FM.
Reacting to the announcement, area Senator Jones Mwaruma hit out the ward reps for frustrating the governor's effort to provide service to locals.
He said it is saddening to note that the legislators have decided to take such a route when they need to meet the needs of the people during their term in office.
“It is worrying that without public participation, the County Assembly submitted in its budget estimates to the County Executive development projects that failed to capture the most pressing development such as healthcare and food security that our county is grappling with.
"We hereby welcome the move by Governor Samboja of seeking help of our people in restoring order and dignity in the affairs of our County. We collectively support the governor’s petition of seeking the dissolution of the county; we salute this courageous move by the governor, and we call upon President Uhuru Kenyatta to set a precedent by forming a tribunal that will see the dissolution of the county,”said Mwaruma, as quoted by Capital FM.
Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako also pointed an accusing finger at the MCAs for engaging in sideshows when county projects have stalled.
The MCAs argued that the Sh5.6 billion budget for the 2019/20 financial year is unrealistic.
They asked the governor to make some changes to the budget before presenting the same for their approval.