• Muminji MCA Newton Kariuki expressed concern that assembly committee chairmen were forced to exchange very serious information with members of the county cabinet on mobile phones because of their unavailability for grilling by MCAs.
Embu MCAs want the constitution changed to allow governors to appoint ward reps as executives since technocrats have failed in those positions.
They say that having members appointed as county ministers would make operations more efficient for the county government.
Led by Muminji MCA Newton Kariuki, the ward reps said inaccessibility of the county executives and poor implementation of the budget are the leading causes of underdevelopment in Embu.
Kariuki expressed concerns that assembly committee chairmen were forced to exchange very serious information with members of the county cabinet on mobile phones because of their unavailability for grilling by MCAs.
He said the executives do not also respond to written correspondences to inform the legislature on touchy matters.
The MCAs claimed that technocrats appointed as executives usually engage sectoral committees in endless cat and mouse chases whenever required to give official statements on the status of their ministries.
Education Committee chairman Patrick Mukavi was criticised for saying he had only managed to communicate with the education chief executive John Kiamati on phone.
He said he was, therefore, not able to table a written statement on the affairs of the docket.
The Kyeni North MCA said that although his committee had the power to summon members of the county executive to answer questions, his hands were tied because such attendance was not guaranteed.
The chairman was later ordered by temporary speaker Nathan Mwari (Nthawa) to reach out to the chief executive to look into issues raised by ward reps.
Nominated MCA Ednah Muisyo agreed that there was a budget implementation glitch at the county executive, which she attributed to slackness by senior officials.
The ward representatives demanded to be furnished with official reports whenever a matter affecting the running of the county government is raised on the floor of the House.
(edited by O. Owino)