Mombasa governor candidate Hassan Omar during a past media briefing. [Photo/ kenya-today.com]
Mombasa governor aspirant Hassan Omar has dismissed his rival, Suleiman Shahbal’s remarks that he has no experience in business and thus cannot run the county.
But in a quick rejoinder, the Senator said he will engage experts in running the affairs of the county to strengthen his deficiencies.He added that electing a businessman as governor can hurt the county.“Being a governor requires a different set of skills from those of a company chief executive and chairman,” said Omar.“You cannot run a government without people who think for the government. I assessed all my competitors and knew where their strengths were and where their weaknesses were. I knew where I needed to fortify myself... The deficit on my part was evidently in finance,” said Omar on Saturday as quoted by The Star.Last Friday, Shahbal had dismissed his rival as someone unable to lead the county.He questioned Omar’s ability to create jobs as stated in his manifesto, saying the Senator has no experience in business.“My brother Hassan Omar who is vying for governor hasn’t created a single job in his life except for his maid at home who was even employed by his wife,” Shahbal said.“Now can that person have the capacity to create 30,000 jobs for Mombasa youth? This is dreaming, my friend. This is complete fantasy. He has no idea what he needs to do,” he told a section of Luo community members in Mombasa who endorsed his governorship bid.While responding to Shahbal’s remarks, Omar said a county isn’t a business enterprise whose aim is to make profit.“These are two different management systems. The guy has spent his time trying to deceive us about what we know,” noted Omar during a debate organised by NGO Human Rights Agenda for the county's five governor aspirants.He said individuals who wish to manage a county study government and public administration. People study business administration to manage a business, he added.The Senator stated that Shahbal's remarks should make residents suspect his motive of seeking governorship.“Shahbal is trying to tell us running a county is like running a bank. Counties don’t focus on profit. They focus on plugging the deficits and safety nets. When this guy comes to tell us a businessman can run a county, I can look at Donald Trump and say, yes, a businessman will ruin the county,” the Senator added.