Kirinyaga County is sickly and requires urgent measures put place to salvage it from imminent “death “area MCAs have claimed.
The MCAs further claimed the Interns working at the county hired to replace the sacked medics last year were unqualified and offering services which were endangering the lives of patients.
“Our hospitals are in such a pathetic situation and we cannot stand aside and watch as Wanjiku continues being denied health care when we have an insensitive county government in place,” the MCAs roared in unison.
The MCAs have also demanded that the County Executive hand over the KEMRI land title to the County Assembly for onward handing over to the Institute with immediate effect.
Led by Assembly Majority Leader Kamau Murango the MCAs also told Governor Anne Waiguru to disclose to them the nature of the MOU she has been talking about over the Sh 15 billion project with KEMRI.
“The previous regime under governor Joseph Ndathi issued KEMRI with the title deed and concluded with the construction of a Sh 60 million perimeter wall be undertaken only for governor Waiguru to change the goal posts and came up with the new demands leading to the stalling of the mega project,”Murango told the press this morning.
The MCAs told Waiguru to ensure the MOU she was talking about was also tabled at the Assembly since up to this moment the matter appeared as her personal interest and not the reflection of the wishes of the area residents.
During the interview, the MCAs further accused Waiguru of being defiant to the Head of State by failing to comply with his recent directive that the KEMRI matter be sorted out within a week.
“When president Uhuru Kenyatta visited Mwea a month ago he asked Waiguru to ensure the KEMRI land title deed was resolved within a week but to date, nothing has been done meaning the governor is not only defiant to the Head of State but to this Assembly,” said Baptista Kanga, the Wamumu MCA.
The full Assembly comprising of the 33 MCAs, 20 of whom are the elected ones and 13 nominated said they resolved in one accord that unless Waiguru handed the said title deed to KEMRI or surrender it to the House immediately, they will have no alternative than to commence her impeachment process.
The governor was further accused of having some hidden agenda over the 100 acre KEMRI land which she has not been disclosing.
“We have had enough of Waiguru’s red tape bureaucratic mode of operation and her time is up for it is either the releasing of the document immediately or get impeached, “Murango warned.
Murango who has been Waiguru’s ardent supporter said the MCAs will no longer allow the County Executive to divide and rule them again as has been the case since 2017.
The MCAs have also given notice to the CEC for Finance Moses Migwi to prepare to appear before the assembly to explain why bursary money had not been released to the needy children during the two consecutive financial years despite the budget for the purpose having been passed as required.
The assembly Budget Committee chairman David Mathenge said the governor had promised Sh 4.5 million for the bursary for each of the 20 wards in Kirinyaga for this term but nothing had been forthcoming.
“Initially we passed Sh 70 million for the fund, the following year Sh 90 million and this year a similar amount was passed yet our needy children have not benefited so far,” Mathenge said.
A case filled by one Leonard Kuria over the same KEMRI land is coming for a ruling this Friday after he applied to withdraw the matter at the Kerugoya Environment and Land court citing the interests of the larger public as the reason.
Kuria, it was alleged, had been enticed to go to court to stop the mega project claiming the interests of Kirinyaga people had not been considered before the land was transferred to the Institute.
By Irungu Mwangi
