Members of the Kiambu County Assembly have once again threatened to impeach Governor Kimani Wamatangi, after accusing him of inflating the price of chicks purchased by the county.
While holding a press address outside the county offices on Tuesday, the MCAs claimed that the Wamatangi-led administration purchased chicks at Ksh1,000, yet they were retailing for about Ksh100 in markets in Naivasha market.
The county officials further accused the current administration of graft, including mismanagement of county funds and uneven distribution of resources.
However, what irked the MCAs more was that Wamatangi allegedly belittled them by failing to recognise their crucial role in county leadership.
“The governor has a problem with decision-making. Our county chief officers have never been in place since their shortlisting, which was done in October last year.
"The shortlisting was done but up to now the members who were shortlisted have not been appointed one year down the line.” one of the MCAs stated.
Consequently, the MCAs also demanded an explanation for the failure of the governor’s office to show accountability on development expenditure despite the County Assembly allocating Ksh4 billion meant for development projects.
Thus, they called for an immediate forensic audit of all county projects and programmes, expressing dissatisfaction and dismay with the funds channelled towards county projects.
"We want the auditor general to corroborate and do a forensic audit of all projects and programmes."
"In total, we had Ksh4.88 billion for development but in April we had consumed only Ksh400 million which is 8.2 per cent the situation in the county shows a dire need of revelation," read the MCAs' statement in part.
Wamatangi, who has been at loggerheads with a section of MCAS since his election in August 2022, purchased 120,000 one-month-old improved Kienyeji chicks and donated them to women practising poultry farming in the county.
While presiding over the launch of the distribution of the chicks in July 2023, the governor settled on the Kirenga and Kijabe wards in Lari Sub-County as pilot areas.
According to Wamatangi, farmers in the area would use the chicks as seed capital in preparation for supplying the birds to support the County Government's Early Childhood Education feeding programme.
The project would later be extended across all 12 sub-counties. Kenyans.co.ke could not immediately verify whether the chicks were purchased at Ksh1,000, as alleged by the MCAs.
An insider at the Kiambu County Government, told Kenyans.co.ke that the chicks were purchased from Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and not Naivasha, as the MCAs alleged. The source, however, did not disclose the exact price of the chicks.
In response to the allegations, the governor vowed to continue working with the MCAs to address the plight of the Kiambu residents. He also called for the MCA to focus on service delivery even as he implements his campaign manifesto.
In April 2023, the MCAs threatened to oust him, with reports alleging that they even solicited up to Ksh5 million bribes each to drop the motion. Others reportedly demanded to be allowed to run road projects to get kickbacks after colluding with contractors.
The governor was said to have rejected their demands and reiterated that he would not be coerced to lower his standards and work ethics to accommodate corruption.
"If they want politics, they should know that I am a veteran in that field, and I dare them to continue in that trajectory. Many of the MCAs are good. But some think they were voted in to make money. We shall remain steadfast in our role," Wamatangi cautioned while addressing residents at a rally in Kiambu in April 2023.
