Meru Senator Katuli Murungi, who is also the Deputy Senate President, gave a poor review of Governor Kawila Mwangaza’s performance.
Mr Murungi, during his State of the Counties address in Meru Parliament on Wednesday, alleged that the Mwangaza administration had discriminated against some wards in terms of development.
He objected to the governor's development plan.
He cited Mwangaza Municipality's decision to entrust road improvement projects to the Mechanical Transport Fund (MTF), an arm of the central government's Ministry of Road Transport.
The governor signed a contract with MTF to undertake the 531 million LIL road project called 'Mwangaza Barabani', saying it would be cheaper than local contractors.
The senator criticized the governor's decision to award the project to a national government agency rather than a local contractor.
“In my view, this move reverses the gains made by empowering local contractors and engaging local communities, especially young people. This is essentially building capacity at county level. It returns resources to the central government,” Murungi told MCA.
He said that by handing over the project to the national government, the county government had acted as an enabler of capital flight from Meru County, denying local contractors and their direct employment opportunities.
“The task force does not have the capacity to treat all 45 wards of Meru County in one financial year. During the past two rainy seasons, roads in most of the wards were empty. “Residents are not receiving the value of the 51 million lice transferred to the MTF,” he said.
Mr Murungi further said the administration had failed to demonstrate a commitment to providing quality healthcare to residents.
“I have spent time visiting several health facilities and it is clear that most of them are not functioning or functioning optimally due to understaffing and lack of access to most basic medicines. '' he said.
“The Senate will request that the governor appear before the County Public Accounts Committee, an oversight committee, to answer the audit questions posed by the Comptroller's Office,” he said.
Mr Murungi vowed to ensure oversight of Mwangaza's government.
