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| Speaker Ngelu: He is accused of running an alternative government |
By Martin Masai
Makueni County Government will collapse in a matter of days after a defiant County Assembly voted for salaries and allowances instead of approving the 2014/2015 budget.
In a swift response to the vote, Gov Kivutha Kibwana hit back, saying he will not approve the vote giving MCAs and The Executive and public servants perks without service delivery.
Kibwana says the government will close down shortly as a consequence and urgent residents to wholeheartedly support dissolution of the government. The vote, according to observers shows that the MCAs under Speaker Stephen Ngelu(Pictured) are more concerned with what they take home rather than what the government spends in service delivery.
The following is the entire response fromGov Kibwana:”Today I am at one of my lowest moments since March 27, 2013. The County Assembly had promised that it would pass the 2014/2015 Budget. Instead it passed a resolution to ensure both the Assembly and the Executive have salaries, allowances and operations expenses for another 3 months. That means for 8 months we are drawing salaries without doing 2014/2015 Development Projects since we have never agreed on what the projects are like in the other 46 counties which had problems only with the ceilings.The Water Budget that we have presented is yet to be discussed by the Assembly as promised. Apparently the Assembly is still waiting for the ceilings case supposed to be heard next on 20/2/15 to see whether they will get more money for themselves.
We have now run out of money to run the government. Soon we shall not afford to buy medicines and pay health and all other officers. We are literally being forced to close our county government.
I will not sign the resolution which gives us salaries and denies Wananchi development. Enough is enough. We no longer have justification to be in government since the Assembly will not pass a budget after 8 out of the 12 months of the budget cycle. When shall we design the projects, prepare bill of quantities, procure, and implement/ supervise, and commission/ handover to the people since we have only 4 months left in the financial year? During the 2013/2014 budget year, the budget was approved in November 13 and work started in March 14 nine months into the financial year.
Any body who had doubts about dissolution of the county government should now be at the forefront of supporting its termination . No doubt many forces are fighting us. This is the last straw which broke a camel’s back.
