State to blame for Sh2.8tn investment rebound - Mutua

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua during the Maendeleo Chap Chap movement convention at the Bomas of Kenya on Thursday
Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua during the Maendeleo Chap Chap movement convention at the Bomas of Kenya on Thursday

Bureaucracy in government is to blame for the delay in realising meaningful investment in Machakos county since the investors’ conference in 2013, Governor Alfred Mutua has said.

The conference was attended by business magnates from various countries and President Uhuru Kenyatta.

During the launch of Maendeleo Chap Chap movement on Thursday, Mutua said the county signed MoUs worth Sh2.8 trillion with the investors,

but bureaucracy has delayed the projects.

“Investors who have been waiting for land in Machakos left. Some went to Rwanda, South Africa, Angola and others to Uganda, where they were allocated land to build factories, hotels and malls. Here, land offices are still doing paper work in an unending and frustrating process,” he said.

Mutua plans countrywide tours to popularise his party. The governor, according to those handling his diary, will engage the youth and ordinary citizens during the tour. He is expected to visit the Rift valley, Coast, Nyanza, Western and Northeastern.

At the party’s launch, Mutua said his primary goal is to fight poverty by empowering people for them to be productive. He said he will provide a conducive environment for business for all stratum in society.

“All along, tribalism has been institutionalised by the political elite to their advantage while majority of Kenyans wallow in poverty and squalor,” the governor said.

Maendeleo Chap Chap is seen as his political vehicle in 2017. Though elected on the Wiper ticket in 2013, Mutua has fallen out with party leader

Kalonzo Musyoka.

The new party has intensified Ukambani supremacy battles, with one camp allied to Mutua and the other to Kalonzo.

Mutua said time has come for a paradigm shift in politics where leaders should be accountable to the people .

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