Tourists watch a herd of wildebeest run through a field during the
annual wildebeest migration through the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in
Narok County. The control of billions of shillings collected annually
from Maasai Mara is at the heart of intense political rivalry in the
county, with some leaders demanding the removal of Governor Samwel
Tunai. FILE PHOTO
The control of billions of shillings collected annually from the
world-famous Maasai Mara Game Reserve is at the heart of intense
political rivalry in Narok County, with some leaders demanding the
removal of Governor Samwel Tunai.
Mr Tunai’s critics,
spearheaded by Narok Senator Stephen ole Ntutu and four area MPS, want
him to step down over accusations of misusing county funds and the
skewed distribution of jobs.
On Monday, the senator, MP
Patrick Ntutu, the senator’s brother (Narok West), Korei Lemein (Narok
South), Johana Ng’eno (Emurwa Dikirr) and Moitalel ole Kenta (Narok
North) led their supporters in demonstrations and issued a 14-day
ultimatum to the governor to respond to a raft of issues raised.
In
a meeting at Ilmashariani after the demonstrations two kilometres from
Narok town, the leaders demanded that the Kenya Airport Parking Service
(Kaps) contracted to collect fees through an e-ticketing system in the
Maasai Mara be revoked to pave the way for fresh applications.
The Maasai Mara generates revenues of up to Sh2 billion annually.
RESOURCE MISMANAGEMENT
The
leaders further accused Mr Tunai of mismanaging county resources,
claiming some Sh16 billion from the national government and local
revenue is unaccounted for.
Senator Ntutu said the MPs
have completed several projects while the governor has only been talking
about of launching them. He threatened that they will seek dissolution
of the county government should the governor fail to yield to their
demands.
“It should be clear that this is not about one
community or the other; it is about the welfare of our county... about
interrogating how funds have been used,” the senator said.
According
to the Narok West MP, Patrick, the meeting was a public audit of the
governor, and they demanded an address to the public on how the governor
has used the funds since the beginning of the devolved units.
Mr
Kenta raised issue with the governor over the failure to evict settlers
from the Mau forest, accusing him of working in cahoots with government
to sustain the settlers in the forest for political reasons.
NO TRANSPARENCY
The
two Sunkuli brothers, Andrew and Julius, who both ran for the Senate
last year and have since reconciled, joined the crusade to oust Mr
Tunai, saying there was no transparency in the management of county
resources.
“How do you explain a situation where the
governor is not consulting anybody and runs the government like his
personal affair?” Andrew Sunkuli said.
But at a
parallel meeting held the same day, Mr Tunai accused his critics of
playing cheap politics driven by vested interest, clanism, and divisive
politics.
“Mr Ntutu is in the Senate. Can he make his threats true and table his claims there instead of peddling lies?” Mr Tunai said.
He
said the auditor-general has cleared the county accounts for the period
he has been in office and wondered what misappropriation his critics
were talking about.
ANTI-TUNAI CAMP
Others
in the anti-Tunai camp are former TLB chairman Hassan ole Kamwaro, Mr
Ledama ole Kina, Francis Nkoitoi who lost to Mr Tunai in the last
general election and subsequent petition in court.
On
employment, Mr Tunai said he had given everybody a chance in the county
in a 70:30 ratio for locals and other communities respectively.
Among
the governor’s supporters are deputy governor Evelyne Aruasa, Transmara
East MP Gideon Konchella, Narok East MP Ken Kiloku and Narok county
assembly Majority leader Stephen Ole Kudate, among others.
Mr
Kiloku accused his colleagues of trying to incite the public against
the county leadership and asked the senator to desist from issuing
unnecessary ultimatums.
No comments :
Post a Comment