Senator seeks more funds allocation for county

By ERIC WAINAINA

KENYA: Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi has said the Central Government should allocate the county more funds to enhance equitable development.

Mr Wamatangi said the county has a high population of over 1.6 million people according to the last census results.

This, he said, means the county has more needs, adding that most of its inhabitants live in abject poverty and that the allocation should be in line with the population and needs ratio.

Kiambu County is set to get Sh6.5 billion from the Central Government, which the senator says is not enough.

Misleading conception

“We have a very high population and that means we have a lot of needs. Some counties with lesser population than ours are getting a bigger share. I feel that Kiambu should get more funds to meet its needs,” he said.

Wamatangi said the conception that Kiambu was a rich county was misleading. Like others counties, he said, it has a large share of needs that include improvement of health facilities, roads, security, learning institutions and job creation.

The county, he said, was a dormitory for Nairobi, adding that most of its inhabitants either have businesses or work in Nairobi and revenues from their business benefit the capital city.

He also said collapsed industries located in Ruiru, Thika and Lari should be revived to increase the county revenue as well as create more job opportunities.

Revive factories

“There are several factories which were closed, hence sending a big number of Kiambu inhabitants to poverty. If we could revive these factories, we can create a channel to have more revenue and these factories will hence employ many youths,” he said.

He also urged the Government to resettle floods victims, saying in Lari and parts of Juja, some families were displaced from their homes due to the impact of the heavy rains, which have caused havoc in several parts of the country.

Several families were displaced last week in various parts of Lari constituency following landslides, which buried homes, killing three children and injuring one.