County official defends Sh300 million vehicle purchase

A county official has defended the move to purchase 72 vehicles for sub-county and ward administrators.

Speaking in Thika on Friday while launching six of the vehicles, Public Service and Administration Chief Officer Dominic Gicheru said delivery of the vehicles is long overdue adding that they will help the county government provide services to the people.

Mr Gicheru called on area leaders to stop politicising the matter and inciting the people against the county government.

"This propaganda must stop. These vehicles are in no way aimed for use by one individual but they are to help the county government coordinate its programmes," he said.

Go ahead

The chief officer said these vehicles will, among other things, be used to offer extension and veterinary services, fight the illicit brew menace, enforcing county laws and school feeding programmes.

He said more vehicles will be purchased as time goes by once requisite funds are available.

The assembly last week passed the bill that gave Governor William Kabogo the green light to buy the vehicles at a total cost of more than Sh300 million.

The bill received the support of 48 members, 14 opposed it while two abstained.

But even as the county government defended the decision to purchase the luxury vehicles, a section of area MPs continued with their onslaught terming the move as an ill timed, misplaced priority.

Speaking in Thika town during the award of bursaries to more than 2,000 beneficiaries of Thika Education Trust Fund, Thika MP Alice Ng'ang'a, Kimani Ichungw'a (Kikuyu) and Ferdinand Waititu (Kabete) all faulted the move saying the vehicles will not benefit the people.

Mr Ichungw'a said the vehicles will only serve to further increase the wage bill which the governor has been complaining about.

Ms Ng'ang'a said the county government and the assembly had failed the people who are need of development and not vehicles that will only help a few individuals .

Mr Waititu said what the county needs are roads, hospitals and medicine and not luxury vehicles to chauffeur officials around. He termed the expenditure "an unacceptable wastage of public resources".