National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale demanded that 14 governors and their county governments from pastoral communities account for Sh200 billion they received from the exchequer.
Speaking on Saturday during a pastoralists parliamentary group meeting Duale stated that although the government had disbursed money to the counties in the last five years, there was little to show on the ground.
Mr Duale maintained that despite the colossal amount of public funds the counties received, pastoral communities were still grappling with challenges of acute water shortage and poor health facilities.
“Devolution has solved he narrative of marginalisation. Pastoralists cannot talk of marginalisation whereas the government spent Sh200 billion for development in the last five years,” he stated.
[caption caption="Duale addressing pastoralists parliamentary group "]
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Duale demanded that the 14 counties explain to the communities how they spent the Sh200 billion.
“We could not be hearing of water challenges in the pastoral community counties were it that the county chiefs spent the cash well,” he stated.
Duale remarked that the counties could have reduced the water problem by 50 percent if boreholes had been drilled in the last five years.
The majority leader defended the government on the marginalisation claims, arguing the Jubilee administration had delivered on its promises.
He further maintained that some of the projects the government had implemented in the pastoral areas include the Isiolo-Marsabit highway and Garissa-Modogashe-Wajir highway which is under construction.
[caption caption="pastoralists parliamentary group meeting"]
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He was speaking to legislators from Kajiado, Samburu, Wajir, Marsabit, Tana River, Narok, West Pokot, Turkana, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, Garissa, Isiolo, Lamu, Laikipia and Mandera counties.
