Nyamira county governor Amos Nyaribo has vowed to fight against graft saying he wants to premise his legacy on sweeping economic reforms.
In an interview with the Star, Nyaribo said he wants all cases being investigated by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission against some officers in the devolved unit will go on full throttle.
“I believe EACC is independent and would do its work. It has all my blessings to undertake its work independently as they were doing before‚” he said.
The commission is probing a string of cases in the devolved unit, among them the irregular recruitment of staff to various departments.
Being investigated is the recruitment of 63 staff in the Gender department.
At least six county public service board officials have since been taken to court and are facing abuse of office charges.
Some of the suspects are out on bail.
The county boss warned that all officers who misappropriate funds in his administration would be personally held accountable.
During the swearing-in, last week, he said Nyamira had for long been losing millions of shillings to ghost projects under the former administration.
Nyaribo described himself as a reformist who gets uneasy with those who want to privatise public resources.
He said he is keen to engage only those who mean well for the devolved unit.
Nyaribo said he is ready to exorcise the county of what he termed as ‘people who earn without working’.
“Ghost workers are often a pain in the neck and if not checked can eat what is meant for development,” he said.
He also extended an olive branch to his political foes, saying while he is not ready to hunt down and punish his foes and those who made his life unbearable during Nyagarama’s era, he will not wink at graft.
The governor is expected to undertake a payroll cleansing, a project he unsuccessfully tried while under his predecessor.
“It is something I have begun looking into and you will see the results as time progresses. I want Nyamira people to judge me by what I will do to spur development. There are some potholes ahead but we must measure up to the task to the task as well,” Nyaribo said.
He also defended the appointment of former West Mugirango MP James Gesami, as his deputy saying all Nyamira people want are not debates about age, but performance.
“If someone is a performer, what else should age be all about, let us all forge forward and get Nyamira where it should,” he said.
The county boss had a lukewarm relationship with his boss with cartels fighting him for his firm stance on graft.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
