Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has attributed a Sh20 Million gate fund allocation in his development budget to a mistake.
Governor Kahiga spoke on Wednesday after the outrageous amount sparked angry reactions from residents of the Central Kenya county.
"The gate is already complete, we are not going to work on it. What was in the Annual Development Plan (ADP) was a typing error," the Governor stated.
He went on to defend a further Sh200 Million that appeared on the ADP as the total funds that will be needed to build his residential house.
[caption caption="Nyeri Governor's Office gate guarded during past protests"]
[/caption]
Governor Kahiga explained that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) had advised county governments to build houses for governors following plans to cut their housing allowance.
"The Governor should not be attacked for complying with the directive. We are not putting up a house for me because I already have a home, we are building the official governor's residence," he explained.
SRC gave the counties until July 2019 to ensure that houses were ready for the 47 governors, deputy governors and speakers of the county assemblies to inhabit.
Governor Kahiga added that Sh220 Million will be spent in building a block of offices for his county executives.
"Our offices are scattered all over the town but with a new office block, we will have the executives working one roof. this will give the residents easy access to all offices and improve service delivery," the Governor outlined.
The Nyeri county government on Wednesday posted an advertisement inviting tender applications for the construction works.
[caption caption="Nyeri County Tender Notice published by Daily Nation on February 21, 2018"]
[/caption]
