Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo has said the ongoing reforms in the county will be painful but necessary to improve services.
“I appeal to our people to be patient with us. We are doing a cleanup that will be painful but beneficial to mwananchi,” he said.
The governor has put county workers on notice, saying it will not be business as usual for ghost workers who receive salaries without working.
Guyo said his style of leadership is different from his predecessors and no one will be spared if they don’t deliver as expected.
The county boss said he will not entertain laziness on the grounds that he will need their support when he seeks re-election in 2027.
“My style of working is different from that of Governor Mohamed Kuti and Godana Doyo. I'm focused on the five years that voters gave me. It is either you work or leave,” Guyo said.
He said his administration will not support ghost workers, terming it a misuse of taxpayers’ funds.
“Is there a need to employ non-existent workers who receive salaries in the comfort of their homes?” Guyo posed.
Isiolo had previously been flagged for having a bloated wage bill, spending more on salaries and allowances than on development.
Governor Guyo said he will pay the pending arrears for 600 casual workers inherited from former Governor Kuti’s government but their services will no longer be needed after the payment.
“I have personally not employed any casual, but because they rendered services during the former regime and have not been paid, I will process their dues and then send them home,” Guyo said.
The governor said in the next three weeks, a supplementary budget will be tabled at the county assembly for the payment of the pending bills.
In June, before the August polls, casual workers had asked Kuti to pay them wages that had accumulated for months or they would sue the local government.
The workers from 10 county departments, including health, have not received their pay for between five months and one year.
In May they had boycotted work for two weeks but suspended the strike after the county government promised to pay them, only for officials to fail to do so.
The casuals said they were suffering because of delayed payments, with some saying they had been locked out of their houses over rent arrears.
They had expressed fears that their salaries might not be paid if a new governor takes over after the August elections.
Edited by A.N
