• Sossion MCA and minority leader Jacob Edum fired the first salvo when he accused deputy speaker Daniel Nyausi of doublespeak.
• Others who opposed the bond were Veronicah Iknyua (Nanyuki), Irene Wachuka, Catherine Kibue and Catherine Nyawira (nominated).
Image: FILE
Laikipia MCAs on Tuesday exchanged harsh words as rival camps called each other traitors over the Sh1.16 billion infrastructural bond presented by Governor Ndiritu Muriithi.
Sossion MCA and minority leader Jacob Edum fired the first salvo when he accused deputy speaker Daniel Nyausi of doublespeak.
“Initially members were mobilised into some hotel rooms to be urged to support the bond in which you vehemently opposed and today you are here supporting it. I personally oppose it,” Edum said.
Others who opposed the bond were Veronicah Iknyua (Nanyuki), and nominated MCAs Irene Wachuka, Catherine Kibue and Catherine Nyawira.
The assembly still approved the proposal tabled by the budget and appropriations committee chairman Stephen Kamau after a heated debate that lasted hours.
In July, Governor Muriithi faulted the assembly for failing to approve the bond while passing the 2021-2022 budget.
Muriithi said the law was clear that the assembly could not originate the County Fiscal Strategy Paper and the financial estimates. He said the law allows the assembly to consider the estimates and make amendments whose extent was dictated by the law.
“The executive will continue engaging members of the county assembly, citizens among other stakeholders on items of the budget that are of public interest which includes but not limited to the infrastructure bond issuance,” Muriithi said in a statement.
The previous week, the county assembly approved a Sh8.1 billion budget presented by the local administration but rejected the bond.
The budget and appropriations committee chairperson presented the 2021-2022 budget. Members said that approving the bond would only burden residents, considering that it was borrowed money.
“The Sh1.16 billion infrastructural bond would have been paid in a period of seven years whereby the county government would pay back Sh950 million extra money,” Ndiritu said.
The county administration would get Sh5.1 billion in equitable share, Sh1 billion from own source revenue and Sh748 million from conditional grants.
They argued that the county administration should first pay contractors and suppliers their pending bills before embarking on a borrowing spree.
Members also argued that the financial estimates lacked development vote heads such as medicines, road construction and repair, water among others.
In the budget, the governor had proposed that Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital gets Sh160.7 million while Nyahururu County Referral Hospital would receive Sh140.6 million.
Other semi-autonomous entities like the County Public Service Board would get Sh18 million, Laikipia County Revenue Board Sh135 million while Laikipia County Development Authority would receive Sh20m.
Others were vocational training centres (Sh22.5 million), Rumuruti Municipality (Sh21 million) while the emergency fund was allocated Sh23.8 million.