A section of Mandera MCAs has called on the executive to balance resource allocation to ensure equitable funds distribution.
Speaking in Mandera town yesterday, the MCAs said wards have different dynamics and one-size-fits-all can't be applied when allocating funds.
“We have got bigger and smaller wards. It doesn’t make sense for the executive to allocate the same amount to the wards without considering the vastness, poverty index and population,” Guticha MCA Mohamed Ibrahim said.
Mandera county has 30 wards. The executive allocated Sh20 million to the wards this financial year.
Ibrahim said Guticha has not had a single road project in the last two financial years, saying this has hurt the population that suffers especially when it rains.
"Roads like Guticha-Olla, Guticha-Lanqura and Guticha-Qoqai-Takaba are always completely cut-off," he said.
Trucking water to most remote villages during drought is difficult, he said.
“We don’t want to see imbalances in terms of resource allocation. This is what is happening and it has to change,” the ward rep said.
Marothiley MCA Abdullahi Yunis said by working closely with the executive, the assembly will keep the executive in check to ensure prudent use of resources.
During his State of the County address two months ago, Governor Ali Roba promised to work closely with the MCAs to ensure that the needs of respective wards are met.
Projects must be approved by both residents and leaders, he said.
The executive and legislature, which had been at odds for almost two years, have established a good working relationship. Wrangles that were the order of the day appear to becoming becoming a thing of the past.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
