Migori splashes millions on lavish Coast retreat

Migori Governor Okoth Obado has come under fire for organising a lavish retreat in Mombasa for over 50 staff including MCAs that gobbled up millions from county coffers.

The four-day training session at the four-star Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort comes at a time when counties are complaining of lack of funds with no allocation from the national government.

According to official communication from the county, the retreat was aimed at “finding a working formula between the county executive and the assembly, so that services are delivered effectively to the people of Migori”.

MCAs, both nominated and elected, chief officers, county executives, directors and county staff were among attendees.

Governor Obado and speaker Boaz Okoth were also present.

The Star has established that ex-Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro and former South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara were among the key speakers.

Ethuro confirmed to the Star that he had indeed attended the training but hailed it as 'a first of its kind'.

“It was impactful and I hope the attendees will use the shared experiences to transform and improve service delivery to the people of the county,” he said.

Pride Inn Paradise Resort charges Sh10,500 for half board, which consists of dinner, accommodation and breakfast. Another 4,000 is charged for conferencing, per person.

This means that Migori county staff spent at least Sh14,500 per day for each of its staff.

This translates to about Sh72,500 for five nights at the facility, per person, if they were all booked on standard rooms.

The figure could be more if some senior staff took VIP rooms.

This means that on accommodation alone, the county must have spent well over Sh3,625,000

However, this amount is exclusive of air tickets, per diems and payment for facilitators who came in as consultants.

The governor and speaker are also said to have travelled with their security detail, who include bodyguards, aides and personal assistants.

This means the figures could have been much higher.

Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko said the retreat was a means by the governor to ‘auction off’ MCAs not to perform their oversight role.

“Migori has no money to provide basic amenities. Hospitals, for instance, lack even basic medicine, but there is money to take MCAs to the coast to relax on the beach,” Ayacko protested.

Samuel Migore, the chairman of Migori Traders Association said the millions spent in Mombasa could turn around the fortunes of Migori's hospitality industry.

"We had devolved funds in Migori, now those funds have been ferried to Mombasa which is an insult to the county tourism and businesspeople. We have underutilised tourists attractions and an airstrip," he lamented.

By Wednesday evening, a number of staff were still booked in at the hotel and had plans to check out Thursday morning.

However, a number had checked out early Wednesday after the workshop closed.

Migori communications boss Nicholas Anyuor downplayed the criticism, saying the training was critical.

He defended the governor saying Migori county rarely has problems of salary delays

He said senior staff were trained by the National Treasury on understanding Integrated Financial Management Information System, e-procurement and good governance.

 “This was just a normal workshop that has been done by different counties, as one of the internal activities,” Anyuor stressed.

Anyuor said there were also key discussions on issues around auditing and the processes involved.

“The chief officers have specifically learnt a lot and are now better informed on matters procurement,” Anyuor added.

(edited by O. Owino)

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