Eight Elgeyo Marakwet chief officers who were suspended last November over laxity have lost their jobs after the governor advertised their positions.
Governor Alex Tolgos says contracts for those he had suspended expire at the end of this month, hence the fresh recruitment.
The governor says, however, that the suspended officers could reapply but he "will not tolerate lazy officers".
Tolgos stated, “We have a job to do for our people and all staff must deliver on their mandate at all levels.”
The eight were sent home after contractors complained they were not being paid. The governor was angered by the non-payment, "yet there was money set aside for that".
The officers were blamed for failing to utilise Sh600 million budgeted funds.
Those sent home were Jeremiah Chengwony (Finance), Caroline Magut (Youth, Sports and Gender), Ishmael Chelang’a (Health), Titus Ayabei (ICT and Public Service), John Cheboi (Roads), Netty Jemutai (Tourism), Pius Cheserek (Agriculture) and Boaz Changach (Water).
Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, who has been at loggerheads with the county boss over management of county affairs, said the governor should hire effective officers who will serve the public with dedication.
“We have adequate resources in Elgeyo Marakwet and what we need are good managers for the benefit of our people,” Murkomen said.
He said the county should deal with wastage of public resources that had led to poor service delivery.
The senator also wants the county to remove ghost workers from its payroll.
Two months ago, Murkomen clashed with Tolgos after he (Tolgos) complained that the county was receiving inadequate funding. He has said that if the allocation was not increased from the current Sh5.6 billion, he would demand the dissolution of the county and its handover to the national government.
“We have no shortage of funds in our county. The problem we have is a shortage of wise leadership with the ability to utilise the resources we have,” the senator said.
(Edited by Rosemary Wamochie)
