Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Monday hosted Kiambu Members of the County Assembly (MCA) at his official residence in Karen.
The MCAs have been planning the ouster of Governor Kimani Wamatangi accusing him of squandering county resources and freezing them out of the county's decision-making process.
In a statement, Gachagua noted that he and President William Ruto were concerned with the state of affairs in the populous county and the friction between elected leaders which has threatened to derail service delivery.
He regretted the animosity between the elected leaders in Kiambu County stating that they were operating against the spirit of devolution which is to deliver development to the grassroots.
In the same breath, he defended the MCA's critique of the governor by noting, “With the allocation of resources (to counties), it also created accountability mechanisms to the executive through the MCAs,”
Gachagua noted that he would concentrate his efforts on making sure there was a seamless working relationship between the Governor and the MCAs.
“I will listen to their concerns ahead of an engagement with their Members of Parliament and later, the Governor, for an amicable solution,” he stated on the agenda of the meeting.
Majority of the MCAs from Kiambu were elected on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, President William Ruto's party, raising fears that should the Head of State give a nod to his ouster, the process to impeach Wamatangi would be rather straightforward.
Steering clear from the impeachment saga, Gachagua explained that the President was keen on bringing stability to the county through alternative means.
“The Ruto administration roots for a strong devolution, and therefore, we have no room for squabbles that will derail service delivery to the people,” he stated.
The MCAs have been supported in their criticism of the Governor by Senator Karung’o wa Thang’wa and National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu Member of Parliament Kimani Ichung’wah.
Ichung’wah has accused Wamatangi of mismanaging county resources as well as failing to lobby for enough resources from the national government.
"It is sad that now Kiambu with four times the population of Murang'a, can only get 20 per cent of the Special Economic Zone and EPZ opportunities as Murang’a takes 80 per cent," the Majority Leader complained.
On Saturday, Ichung'wah clarified that he was not seeking to replace Wamatangi should the Governor be impeached.
