Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani on Sunday maintained that the withdrawal of the Finance Bill in its entirety will be catastrophic to the public.
Addressing the public in Kwale County, the governor affiliated with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) revealed that she was pushing the county's MPs to vote yes to the controversial bill.
She noted that the bill was instrumental in financing projects, most of which will stall as a result of the bill's collapse.
She further listed the exact projects that would suffer after the withdrawal of the bill, a move that came shortly after her discussions with the Head of State.
"Our challenges are unique as Kwale is unlike any other region, and we need to support the national government to benefit from mega projects that stalled," Achani explained.
"With the discussion we had with the President recently, we expected that Kwale-Kinango Road, Funzi, and Mwachande bridges could be completed this year, but for now, we are not even sure following the rejection of the bill."
She further noted that the county was primed to reap from Ksh1.2 billion allocation.
After the withdrawal of the bill, however, she noted that some projects slated for the next financial year will stall, adding that the consequences would be felt by the people.
Whereas she praised the youth for making their voice heard, she also called on the authorities to clamp down on criminals who had infiltrated the protests and caused harm.
“It is only when we have peace and tranquility that we can realise social and economic growth and have a conducive atmosphere to live in,” she added.
“We need to be fair to our president because he has now withdrawn the contentious finance bill, so let us give him time to put everything in order."
Counties and their governments will be among the greatest losers after the President withdrew the Finance Bill.
The Council of Governors (CoG) had successfully negotiated for an increased allocation rising to Ksh400.1 billion in the bill which has since been shelved.
In an earlier communication, President William Ruto noted that counties, the Judiciary and other government organs will suffer budget cuts as a result.
Funding for the Offices of the First Lady and Second Lady have been scrapped altogether.
