Busia governor contender Paul Otuoma has said one of his assignments, if elected, will be to investigate if the county government has ghost workers and weed them out.
Otuoma said his administration will comb the county government database to establish if there are ghost workers.
Tolerating ghost workers, he said, will deny Busia residents development since a lot of money is lost to non-existent county employees.
“If you are a ghost worker in Busia, just know that your days are numbered,” the former Funyula MP said.
“If you are a thief, do you expect me to spare you? Be on notice.”
The ODM governor candidate spoke at Busia Polytechnic grounds on Sunday when he held his first rally after he was cleared by the IEBC to take part in the race to succeed Governor Sospeter Ojaamong.
“In ODM, we are social democrats. We want to see our hospitals with medicine, we want to see our youth getting jobs, we want water in our homes just as we want bursaries for our children,” Otuoma said.
“Therefore, if you know you are a county employee and you are not doing your work as expected, start making your way home, don’t even wait for me.”
Otuoma said county employees who are doing what they are supposed to do should not worry.
He said some people were spreading rumours that his administration will sack members of specific communities if elected.
“Those claiming that Otuoma will come and start firing people are enemies of development. They want to create division at a time the people of Busia should be coming together to develop our county,” he said.
Among those in attendance were Otuoma’s running mate Arthur Odera, Siaya Senator James Orengo and his running mate William Oduol, Funyula MP Wilberforce Mudenyo, ODM women's league president Beth Mutunga-Siengo and Busia county assembly speaker Bernard Wamalwa.
A host of MCAs and aspirants gunning for various elective seats under Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance were present.
Former Gem MP Joe Donde also graced the event.
Otuoma is contesting the governorship for the second time after he lost to Ojaamong in 2017.
On Sunday, he expressed confidence he would win the election.
By Sunday afternoon, the electoral agency had cleared three others seeking the seat. They included DAP-Kenya’s Moses Mulomi, ANC’s John Bunyasi and Dan Mogoria (National Alliance Party of Kenya).
Busia county IEBC chief Lazarous Chebii told the candidates to maintain peace before, during and after the elections, and strictly follow the polls agency’s code of conduct.
Edited by A.N
