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Taita-Taveta County Governor John Mruttu presides over the ground breaking ceremony of the Taita-Taveta County Headquarters at Mgeno, Mwatate District. [PHOTO: RENSON MNYAMWEZI/STANDARD] |
By RENSON MNYAMWEZI
Taita-Taveta, Kenya: Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu has threatened to go to court to stop the construction of the Taita-Taveta County Government Headquarters at Mgeno area in Mwatate District.
The ODM legislator on Sunday claimed that local residents and leaders had not been fully involved in identifying the location of the new county headquarters.
He said according to a resolution passed by leaders in 2011, the county headquarters is supposed to be in Mwatate town and not at Mgeno area as identified by Governor John Mruttu.
He said relocating the county headquarters to the new site is illegal.
Over the weekend the governor presided over the ground breaking ceremony. He wa accompanied by among others MPs Joyce Wanjala Lay, Andrew Mwadime, Jones Mlolwa, Deputy Governor Mary Ndigha Kibuka, and Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) Bishop Dr Samson Mwaluda and over 20 members of the County Assembly (MCAs).
NOT WORRIED
As the controversy over the county headquarters rages, Mruttu dared Mwadeghu to make good his threat to go to court.
“We are not worried about the court threats issued by the legislator. He has always been undermining my administration and he opposes everything implemented by the county government for selfish reasons. We will meet him in court,” the governor said.
“It is true that Mwatate town was earmarked for the county headquarters, but the problem is that there is no land for the project. My office, the County Assembly and Mwatate MP’s office formed a task force that identified Mgeno as an ideal place for the headquarters. Who is Mwadeghu to oppose the wishes of the local community?” He questioned.
ILLEGAL MOVE
Addressing the press in Voi Town yesterday, Mwadeghu also castigated MCAs for failing to pass a resolution to relocate the county headquarters to the new site.
“There was no Hansard report showing that MCAs met and deliberated on the matter at the county assembly and passed the resolution to change the county headquarters. What the governor did was illegal and cannot be supported in law,” he said.
The MP, who is also a member of the parliamentary committees on Public Accounts and Investment asked the Kenya Anti-corruption Commission to investigate the funds used for the ground breaking ceremony.
“I am aware that public funds were spent on this project contrary to what they were intended for. I want to know who authorised this and the account used,” he said.
Mwadeghu said he took an oath to uphold the Constitution at all times and would not stand by when the law is being broken.
“ I advised the governor to postpone the ground breaking ceremony to allow proper consultations but in vain. I am now consulting my lawyers and the Constitution Implementation Commission so that I can take the governor to court and rectify this mess. I want to governor to follow the laid down process which requires that the county Assembly should have approved the process,” he said.