Ferdinand Waititu vows to annul ‘bad’ laws in Kiambu

Kiambu governor nominee Ferdinand Waititu flanked by his running mate James Nyoro(left) and David Ngari commonly known as Gakuyo celebrates after he was handed nomination certificates. (Photo: Courtesy)

Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu has vowed to annul a number of Kiambu County laws if he wins the governor’s seat in the August 8 General Election.

Speaking at Githunguri Stadium during a thanksgiving service, Mr Waititu claimed many laws passed by the current county assembly were insensitive to the plight of residents.

He cited laws on finance and construction industry, which he said had drastically raised levies and charges to levels residents could not afford.

The Kabete MP said under his leadership, some low-end business operators like hawkers who were selling their wares along the roads would be exempted from paying any levies.

“The people of Kiambu have been crying for the past four years over high levies and charges. When you give us the chance come August, that will be history since we will do away with all these punitive laws,” he said.

The county has in the past witnessed a series of demonstrations by traders protesting against increased levies.

Governor William Kabogo has on several occasions justified the decision by his administration  to increase charges for licenses, saying the money the county was receiving from the national government and collecting locally was not enough to fund development projects.

Waititu’s running mate, James Nyoro, accused Kabogo’s administration of failure to solve a myriad of challenges that residents in the county were facing.

He said their administration would emphasise on reviving the county’s dwindling agricultural sector, deal with youth unemployment and fix the dilapidated road network.

“About 1.2 million county residents are farmers but they have nothing to show or smile about despite agriculture being a devolved function,” said Nyoro.

Jubilee nominees for various seats called on residents not to elect independent candidates, saying doing so would deny the party a majority in Parliament.