Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua, on Sunday, September 27, explained why Machakos City, a project he promised in 2013 was yet to be realised.
In an interview with Citizen TV, the governor explained that plans were in high gear before then-Senator Johnstone Muthama slowed the project down.
He said that his administration had obtained requisite approvals from the National Land Commission (NLC) but a suit filed by the former senator led to a 5-year hiatus.
“Johnstone Muthama together with the Wiper Party went to court and there was an injunction to stop the whole process until the case was heard and determined.
"The case took over 5 years before it was actually thrown out," explained the county boss.
After the case was thrown out, Mutua disclosed that the project lost a further one year in allotment wrangles around the same time the NLC faced integrity issues.
"The National Land Commission got into problems, the board was basically nearly dissolved. They had issues so they couldn’t issue allotment letters so we lost a whole year.
"The Kenyan government is also full of bureaucracy but we have investors on the ground," he observed.
He, however, noted that the dream of putting up the city was still alive with the first step being the construction of an airport whose runway would also serve as the track for his Formula One circuit dream.
He further admitted that the remaining term would not be enough to have the project completed hoping that the next governor would carry on with the project.
“We are building 9 stadiums, one per sub-county including a bigger stadium for Machakos, four stadiums are going on; we’ve got the stands done, the pitches are being done," he explained.
He also noted that amenities such as fire stations were under construction in the county and would be complete before 2022.
In May 2020, the governor unveiled a kingly office rivalling President Uhuru Kenyatta's official residence - State House, Nairobi.
The building was christened the 'Machakos White House' owing to its striking resemblance to the US White House unveiled as part of Machakos City plan.
Below is the video of Alfred Mutua:
Machakos city mirage:
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) September 27, 2020
“Johnstone Muthama together with the Wiper Party went to court and there was an injunction to stop the whole process until the case is heard and determined…the case took over 5 years before it was actually thrown out” – Governor Alfred Mutua #SundayLive pic.twitter.com/yDvxY77xY7
