Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has finally conceded MCA’s demands and allocated Sh. 90 million for bursary funds.
Waiguru at the same time has allocated Sh160 million ward development fund
“Every member of the county assembly will now have Sh 8 million to use at the project of their choice in consultation with their electorate, she said.
The refusal to give bursary by the governor in the past was not taken well by the members of the county assembly with some even threatening to institute a motion to impeach her.
The issue escalated when some county officials including the deputy governor Peter Ndambiri accused MCAs of using bursary money to advance their political mileage.
Kirinyaga woman rep Wangui Ngirici was recently quoted as asking Waiguru to swallow her pride and dialogue with MCAs to end the stalemate over bursary funds in the county.
Waiguru was speaking shortly after assenting to the county supplementary appropriation Bill at the County headquarters in Kutus.
She said the assembly allocated enough money for the Health department amounting to Sh 1,811,250,115.
The money will go towards hiring of the casual workers and other services required at the health facilities at the county.
“We have set aside Sh 90 million for the procurement of drugs for our people and from now on I don’t want to hear of patients complaining of poor services,” she demanded.
Finance and economic planning was the second highest beneficiary with Sh.387 million with Agriculture getting Sh.300 million, money which will go to assisting the farmers in avocado and poultry farming.
The programme is expected to be generating income within the next three years when the trees mature.
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has also assisted the County with 1000 early maturing avocado seedlings.
An enraged Waiguru said she was aware that her political detractors were out to disrupt her development record. “Let us not play politics with people’s health, I urge them to stay away from our health institutions and let the people of Kirinyaga get the services they deserve.”
She said as from now, Union members who have taken the county to court, will be required to make their own arrangements upon receiving their salaries
“We have stopped remittance of dues to doctors Union’s, as a retaliatory measure for allegedly sabotaging my leadership,” she said.
She claimed the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Union (KMPDU), by asking medics in her county to strike would mean that her administration will no longer deduct the medic’s Union dues.
“I will from now hence forth be paying all the medics their full salaries and it will be upon them to make their own arrangements on how the Union will be getting its dues, “an agitated Waiguru said.
“It is unreasonable for the employees to bite the very finger that fed them, am I wrong in stopping their deductions?” she quipped amid cheers from her audience.
“Am disturbed by the manner in which the KMPDU reacted over the recent filthy situation in our medical care facilities but what they did not tell Kenyans was that some of their members were saboteurs who were rocking the boat from within,” she said.
She said stringent measures will be put in place and from now henceforth a special monitoring Unit on daily basis will ensure any slight shortcoming was addressed within the shortest time possible.
“A special truck has also been budgeted for which main task will be to collect the medical waste from all our facilities and transport the filth to the incinerator for disposal,’’ she said.
“Some elected leaders in this county are fighting us after declining to give them tenders for the supply of the hospital equipment, next time they try this I will name them,” Waiguru said.
Purity Wangechi and Duncan Mwenda
