Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi at a past function. Photo/ standardmedia.co.ke
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has asked the national government to allow his government to take over the management of the multi-billion shillings Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Scheme.Addressing residents at Kidutani grounds in Mwarakaya ward during the inspection of projects funded by his government, the governor said President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has failed when it comes to the management of the one million acre scheme, adding that he is well prepared government is ready to correct the mess on the ground if given the mandate to do so. The governor said that the project has turned ghostly despite the State having used Sh7 billion on the same.Kingi expressed confidence that the project will solve the problem of food shortage if he is allowed to manage it in a proper manner as he has done with county-funded projects since he took over leadership.“I want to tell President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee administration that I am ready to take over the management of the Galana-Kulalu irrigation project after they failed to manage it,” he said, as quoted by the Nation. The governor said it is unfortunate for the project to perform dismally yet the government has allocated it a lot of money in efforts to end hunger in different parts of the nation. He revealed that President Uhuru asked him and his Tana River counterpart Hussein Dado to set aside one million acres for the scheme only for it to be mismanaged at the end of the day.“Three years ago, the President called me and my Tana River counterpart Hussein Dado to Galana-Kulalu where he asked us to [provide] a one million-acre [piece of] land for a big agricultural project the national government wanted to undertake,” added the outspoken governor.Kingi further said that President Uhuru and his Deputy had good intentions when establishing the project but unfortunately its management has failed them.“Because the President assured us that the project would end food insecurity and that no Kenyan would be affected by hunger after its first harvest, I obliged but, unfortunately, the project is simply a white elephant. All the expectations we had on it have evaporated,” he said. Kingi assured the residents that the problem of food security will be a thing of the past once the President grants him the wish.