- Lenku said the President urged all counties and the national government to reallocate resources so that livestock farmers can be assisted.
- Ngossur however said using the President's name in the matter will not change anything if the county government will not follow the law.
Image: KURGAT MARINDANY.
Governor Joseph Lenku has said the Sh100 million livestock off-take fund rejected by the assembly is President William Ruto's agenda to assist Kajiado farmers.
Lenku on Thursday said the President urged all counties and the national government to reallocate resources so that livestock farmers can be assisted.
“Budget re-alignment to address the drought situation in Kajiado and the country at large is the President's agenda,” he said.
The governor said he is disappointed that the Kajiado assembly found it unfit to allocate money towards off-take or to approve a proposal by the county government.
“The amount was meant to buy 5,000 cows from all the five subcounties that were intensively affected by the drought,” he said.
Lenku said for the speaker of the county assembly to insinuate that they were protecting the county, is in total disregard for the fact that the people of Kajiado are almost perishing.
“For the speaker to allow himself to be used by outside forces to mislead the assembly and to look for a fight with the governor, is not in my order,” he said.
The governor said the suffering of Kajiado livestock farmers should supersede everything, adding that saving lives is a priority for every reasonable government.
“The people of Kajiado expect their county to participate in supporting their livelihoods,” he said.
Lenku claimed the assembly and particularly the speaker denied him the money in a bid to embarrass him.
He asked the MCAs to rise above petty squabbling and allow the people of Kajiado to feel the support of their government.
The county chief said the executive will re-look at the various avenues of making the same request at the county assembly.
He said it will be highly irresponsible for the county to seek support from elsewhere, yet the county can chip in.
Lenku also responded to speaker Justus Ngossur’s claims that the two executives sent to the assembly were “clueless about the agenda.”
He said the MCAs have a duty to guide the executive on the requirements.
Ngossur however said using the President's name in the matter will not change anything if the county government will not follow the law.
He said the county assembly is a house of laws and Lenku must follow the law when he is asking for any financial resources.
“We are not here to dish out money to please an individual without following the rules provided by the Treasury. We are also not here to rubber-stamp corruption,” the speaker said.
Ngossur further said he is not working for anybody as the governor claims but for the people of Kajiado and ensuring that their money is safe.
“He cannot come here and request money without telling us how he will spend that money. There must be public participation in any programme. He has not told us about that,” he said.