John Mruttu moves to woo MCAs
Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu at a past event. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | FILE
What you need to know:
- Mrs Ruth Ilao said there are about seven elected MCAs who are scheming on how to extort money from the governor in exchange for the loyalty
- Addressing the press last week in Mwatate, the governor denied responsibility for any bad performance, wastage and mismanagement of public resources by his officers
Troubled Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu has moved to mend fences with the county assembly members days after he survived an impeachment motion.
Last week, Mr Mruttu hosted nominated women MCAs to dinner at the Voi Wildlife Lodge to defuse the growing tension caused by a notice of motion to impeach him.
Mrs Ruth Ilao said they agreed to meet the governor in order to iron out their differences and denied allegations of soliciting favours from the governor.
“These demands were made by some elected colleagues, some of them who have not done anything in their wards,” she said.
She said there are about seven elected MCAs who are scheming on how to extort money from the governor in exchange for the loyalty.
“It is the elected members who vetted the county executive with questionable characters and recommended their names for appointment and if there is any blame on the governor, they too should be held accountable,” she said.
IMPEACHMENT MOTION
Speaking separately, Mwatate ward representative Arresmus Mwarabu said impeachment is not as easy as his colleagues think it is.
“It could have been easy if the mover of the motion had documentary evidence to convince us that there is a grave problem and that the governor needs to go,” he said.
He cautioned that those who seek to eject the governor must know what it would mean for the county.
“If he (governor) is being let down by his staff, let him forward the names to us and we will act swiftly because this county is bigger than and individual,” he said.
Addressing the press last week in Mwatate, the governor denied responsibility for any bad performance, wastage and mismanagement of public resources by his officers.
“The governor will not be held responsible for the mistakes of CEC members; everyone must carry his or her own cross,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwarabu, who chairs the Budget committee said they rejected a Sh30 million proposal for buying vehicles.
The committee said that the county government has bought and inherited vehicles from the defunct local authorities and new purchase would only put unnecessary pressure on the budget.
