Religious leaders from Homa Bay want Governor Cyprian Awiti to take charge and restructure his administration to improve services.
They said loopholes in the county structure should be sealed for residents to enjoy the benefits of devolution.
More than 150 attended a two-day county dialogue conference at St Paul’s Catholic Church, Homa Bay town. They said on Tuesday that the county is headed in the wrong direction. County officials snubbed the event. The governor is, however, said to have left the country for treatment.
Nick Nyakado said the county is mired in corruption because of poor governance and residents are suffering. He blamed misuse of public resources by county officials for the deterioration of services.
“The lack of a functional public participation framework, especially in the budget-making process, is a way of promoting corruption. Governor Awiti should take charge of the county and reverse the situation,” Nyakado said.
The clerics said they are ready to engage Awiti and his administration to find solutions to the problems. Catholic priest Romanus Ageng’a urged the county leadership to seek spiritual guidance by reading the Bible, suggesting 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“We all need to lead by example by denouncing evil and practising tolerance as our spiritual Father expects of us,” he said.
Nuhu Abdul called for a lifestyle audit on all county employees to expose those who have been messing the county.
“There are people in Homa Bay without distinctive job descriptions but who are having millions of shillings. They might be getting the wealth through corrupt deals,” he said.
They also accused county leaders of failing to unite residents and promoting the inequitable distribution of resources.
Abdul said the county is grappling with nepotism and favouritism in employment and tenders award.
“Whereas we, the registered voters, are involved in the voting process and are taxpayers who support the county leadership, there are loopholes that only allow a few to benefit from services and opportunities,” he said.
Samuel Oduya and Teresa Korindo urged Awiti to meet all leaders to chat the way forward.
“We wish the governor quick recovery in his medication. But we appeal for an inclusive meeting to talk about the issues for a lasting solution,” Korinda said.
Awiti is supposed to appear before the Senate Public Accounts and Investment committee over audit queries for 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The clerics were from the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Seventh Day Adventist, the National Muslims Leaders Forum, Shia, the Organisation of African Instituted Churches, and the Interreligious Council of Kenya. Others were from the Hindu Council of Kenya, Supkem, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
