•Education and Finance executives accused of incompetence and misuse of funds
•Governor says the differences will be sorted out the usual way
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Nandi Governor Stephen Sang has defended 12 executives and senior officers facing impeachment over claims of incompetence and graft.
He admitted that MCAs had planned to impeach majority of his executives and senior staff but said the issues raised do not meet the threshold for impeachment.
“As much as the MCAs are within their mandate to sanction the executives, none of my officers will be impeached at the end of the day because there are no tangible issues against them,” Sang said.
The governor denied claims he was using the MCAs to sack some of the executives to avoid blame.
“I don’t need to go through the county assembly to send home the executives. In fact, a governor does not need a procedure to sack county executives,” he told the Star on Friday.
The governor said the impeachment threat was one of the "usual small fights" between MCAs and executives but the differences will be sorted out the usual way.
The Nandi county assembly has started the process of ejecting Education executive Valentine Chumo and her Finance counterpart Alfred Lagat over claims of incompetence and misuse of funds, among other accusations.
Three other senior officers, including two Finance and Planning chief officers, along with the head of the county supply chain have been suspended over the same allegations.
Also lined up are the Public Administration, Trade and Lands executives.
The governor denied claims of rampant graft in his administration. “There are many fake stories and propaganda aimed at justifying the flawed processes being carried out in the county assembly."
The county boss has run into trouble with some of his executives and senior officers over the claims of rampant graft and incompetence in his government.
Senator Samson Cherargei has accused the governor of incompetence.
The MCAs have vowed to go on with the impeachment.
“This House urges the county executive to suspend for six months the executive for Finance Alfred Lagat pursuant to Standing Order No 67 and for gross violation of Chapter 6 of the Constitution and Public Finance Management Act pending investigations,” a notice from the assembly read.
Chumo has moved to the High Court to stop her sacking.
There have been allegations that at least Sh100 million in the education department has been misused. The county assembly has approved the impeachment of Chumo for alleged graft, incompetence and high-handedness.
The county assembly Committee on Education chaired by Emmanuel Mengeech questioned Chumo over the loss of resources and materials meant for construction of ECDE centres. The executive was at a loss to explain why none of the 120 Early Childhood Development Education centres had been completed.
She could also not explain why thousands of bags of cement were unused.
Mengeech said there are only two months before the end of the 2018-19 financial year and the executive has nothing to show for the time.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)