Ward reps reject new list of nominees in Tana River cabinet

The county assembly for the second time failed to approve a list of eight nominees to county executive committee presented by Governor Dhadho Godhana.

Consequently, the misunderstanding between the local community and MCAs grew as residents blamed the ward reps for the stalemate.

Governor Godhana's ODM party has minority representation in the assembly in an area with deep tribal divisions, especially between his Pokomo tribe and the Orma.

On Friday, the High Court dismissed an election petition filed against Godhana's August 8 victory.

Human rights activist Ibrahim Wayu said the MCAs' political differences with the governor was affecting service delivery to residents. "The locals have not been served since August last year due to lack of ministers to approve development budgets," he said.

SERVICES PARALYSED

Mr Wayu noted that due to failure to vet and approve CEC nominees, residents were suffering since economic activities were paralysed due to lack of funds to run essential services.

Two weeks ago, the governor submitted another list after the first one was rejected but the Ward reps adjourned the session and went on recess until now.

The governor had presented the new list for approval after replacing two rejected nominees.

The nominees replaced are Suleiman Buko (Finance) and Abdikadir Khalif (Environment and Natural Resources).

However, Minority Leader Abdi Ergamso said the list was rejected for lack of gender balance and failure to represent people living with disabilities.

But Deputy Leader of Majority Salim Bonya said academic credentials for some of the nominees were not provided.

Because of the stalemate, contractors are yet to be paid due to lack of funds. The business community has appealed to the two sides to end the row amicably.