The county government of Kakamega has denied claims it dished out jobs to former MCAs to advance Governor Wycliffe Oparanya’s presidential ambitions.
Sports and Youth executive Robert Makhanu said ex-ward representatives were competitively recruited by the county public service board before deployment "to serve wananchi outside their home areas."
Makhanu said the former county legislators were entitled to job opportunities despite being politicians. They were given two-year contracts, Makhanu's statement said.
He did not provide details of the advertisement through which the vacancies were advertised to ascertain the job description and requirements.
Some of the 16 MCAs who were hired do not have basic primary education. They are on a salary of Sh50,000 per month.
On Friday, Senator Cleophas Malala said the creation of new positions for political cronies amounts to abuse of office.
He plans to have the Senate summon county public service board chairperson Rodah Masaviru to explain the structures upon which the former MCAs were hired.
Malala wants to know whether the new positions exist, whether they were budgeted for and if the hiring process was competitive.
Makhanu said the county government spends less than 40 per cent of its annual budget on paying salaries.
“Anyone trying to link the county's youth and women empowerment programme to create job opportunities for millions of our young people and vulnerable groups or to the governor's stated 2022 national political ambitions is malicious,” Makhanu said.
He said those spreading claims of dishing out jobs to political cronies were detractors of the county's impressive development agenda.
Edited by P. Obuya
