Governor Mutua tussle with Machakos MCAs persists

The tussle between Machakos MCAs and their Governor Alfred Mutua continued as the two parties exchanged blame over several issues affecting the county.

Machakos MCAs are now accusing Mutua of making false claims over funds set aside for purchasing water tanks.

They rubbished the allegations that money meant to buy the tanks for churches and the elderly were diverted for their own travel expenses.

Led by Majority Leader Mark Muendo and Deputy Speaker Paul Museku, the county leaders instead accused their Governor of undermining them.

According to them, no one can transfer funds from one arm of the county government to another because the Assembly and Governor’s office are independent.

They added that the Commission of Revenue Allocation even sets a limit for their budget.

During a meeting of over 30 MCAs to address challenges they are facing, they also alluded to Mutua using their opponents, who lost in the 2017 elections, to fight them.

They dismissed accusations of ignoring the Governor’s office and further claimed that Mutua is looking for excuses to replace them.

On the issue of County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), the county leaders accused the Executive of disregarding the original plan as suggested by electorates and choosing what would suit individuals.

The biggest hitch is that the CIDP must be reviewed by the County Executive Committees (CECm) before the assembly can approve.

However, the Machakos County Assembly leadership insists that the CECm are in office illegally as they were never vetted and were illegally appointed.

The Assembly has requested the Governor to de-gazette them so as to enable them finalise the report. On his part, Governor Alfred Mutua maintained that the MCAs ignored official letters written to them on the matters raised.

“Whenever I plan to visit their wards I call and send them official letters but they decline… I am left with no alternative but to request Machakos residents to choose leaders who will act as a link between for better service delivery to wananchi,” he said.

Mutua also said that the move to refuse to assent to the CIDP funds is derailing development.

This comes only a day after the Machakos County Commissioner Abdullahi Galgalo held talks with the County Assembly leadership, MCAs, and the Speaker.

He urged them to set aside their political differences for the benefit of Machakos residents.