Newly sworn in Lamu County Governor Issa Timamy has vowed to enhance public service delivery in all sectors which he stated have suffered neglect under the tenure of his predecessor Fahim Twaha.
Speaking during his inauguration ceremony held Thursday at Mkunguni square in Lamu Fort, Timamy who is making a comeback after losing his seat in the 2017 elections hailed his comeback as a vote of confidence from the Lamu electorate on his socio economic agenda.
He stated that despite edging out Fahim Twaha by an 8,000 vote margin, his election will seek to be more responsive in addressing the concerns of all Lamu residents, regardless of ethnic or religious creed.
“My administration will seek to improve the quality of life for all Lamu residents regardless of whether they voted for me or not,” he stated.
The governor further stated that his administration would take a new direction in addressing issues especially in healthcare and education which he stated have been on the decline since he left office in 2017.
“It will no longer be business as usual especially in sectors such as agriculture and tourism that have been on the downward spiral,” he said revealing that chief on his agenda would be the revival of the Lamu Cultural Festival later in November this year.
Timamy said that plans were already underway to make changes within the Lamu municipality which he blamed for the current declining state of cleanliness in Lamu Old town.
He further threw a spanner in the works by pledging that he would be making changes within the health sector by addressing the poor state of service at the county’s main referral hospital within the next three months.
“Lamu residents should call me to account if there are no changes in service delivery at our level 5 hospital,” he said.
Timamy downplayed the outgoing Governor’s tenure stating that Lamu’s development track record has stagnated since 2017.
The comeback governor promised to work with other elected leaders to achieve development and service delivery for all Lamu residents.
Elected leaders present at the inauguration included two term Lamu West MP Stanley Muthama, Lamu East MP Captain Ruweida Obo, Senator Josephat Githuku, Lamu Woman Representative Muthoni Marubu and all the elected MCAs.
“My time away from government has been one of self-reflection and it is my pledge that I will work closely with the national government in addressing socio economic issues affecting Lamu residents,” he said.
On her part Lamu East MP Captain Ruweida Obo urged the governor to address the state of joblessness in Lamu which she stated was staggering.
She called on the governor to work towards creating an environment in which different industries thrive, in order to employ hundreds of youths who do not have jobs despite a boom in infrastructure investment.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Lamu West MP Stanley Muthama who hailed the Governor’s comeback as a vote of confidence by the electorate to deliver on his election pledges.
He further stated that the time for politics had ceased and called on politicians to work towards delivering for Lamu people.
Newly elected Senator Josephat Githuku promised to actively play his role in advocating for Lamu County to have its budgetary allocation increased in a bid to enable the coastal county be at par with the rest of the country in terms of development.
By Amenya Ochieng
