President Uhuru Kenyatta shortchanged Kilifi county leaders on the appointment of the Controller of Budget, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya has said.
Speaking at Karisa Maitha Grounds on Thursday, Baya said had promised them that he would appoint Stephen Masha to the post.
On Tuesday, the President nominated Margaret Nyakango to become the new Controller of Budget following the expiry of the term of Agnes Odhiambo in August.
Masha is the deputy controller of budget and has been acting since Odhiambo's term ended.
“We lobbied for this position to the highest office in the land. We did this not because Masha does not have qualification but because we know he is the right candidate for the job. No one knows this office better than Masha. He has served in the office of the Controller of Budget since it was created,” Baya said.
He was distributing football material worth Sh800,000 to local teams.
The MP said leaders from the county led by Governor Amason Kingi met the President to lobby for the position and that Uhuru expressed confidence in Masha.
“The President assured us that he will implement our request and he said to prove that he has confidence in him he made him the acting Controller of Budget. After getting the assurance we had no doubt about the matter until we saw a different person appointed to the position,” Baya said.
Baya said Masha missed the position because leaders from the region do not speak in one voice.
“The president took advantage of our disunity and gave the position to another region. As a region, we do not have the political capital to get such a plum position. We as leaders have never been united in fronting our issues to the President and this has always been our greatest undoing.”
Ganze MP Teddy Mwambire supported Baya's claims.
Mwambire said leaders from the region have been disrespected because of the way they carry themselves politically.
“When we asked why things changed, we were told that they had to pick a lady so as to balance with the appointment of the Auditor-General. This is not the first time we are being short-changed. The same happened to Jacinta Mwatela at the Central Bank of Kenya and Stanley Chai at KPA,” Mwambire said.
He blamed some lawmakers for playing divide and rule, something he said has affected many development projects in the county.
“The President called for a meeting with all Coast leaders at State House IN Mombasa. Some MPs did not attend and that demonstrated how divided we are. This has made us very vulnerable to manipulation. Some leaders move from office to office to block some projects to certain constituencies on the pretext that leaders from those constituencies do not support their preferred leader. As leaders, we have overexposed our disunity as the Mijikenda nation."
edited by peter obuya
