Residents have expressed outrage at claims that MCAs spent over Sh12 million on a bonding trip to Arusha, Tanzania.
All the 33 MCAs, save for Ruguru Ngandori ward representative Muturi Mwombo, last week left for Tanzania for a six-day training that residents said was a burden to the taxpayer.
But the MCAs have dismissed claims that the trip was extravagant, insisting that their per diem for the excursion was modest.
A source at the assembly said each MCA pocketed close to Sh280,000 and that they were driven to Arusha by two executive buses hired from a local travel agency.
The trip sparked a furore on social media, with local residents wondering why the trip was held outside the county, yet Embu had good hotels.
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Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh, commenting on Facebook, defended the trip, saying he pushed for it since it was important for new members who require a lot of training on budget-making processes.
“We don't want to repeat the mistakes we did in the previous assembly, where an MCA could allocate Sh300,000 for grading and murruming of a 3km road. These are some of the issues that made some wards take a lot of time to develop.
“About the figures, which are highly exaggerated, we are in Arusha for six days only. Per diem given is Sh14,000 per night out,” said Swaleh.
Contacted on the phone, Mwombo, who said he missed the trip because he was unwell, also defended it as essential in capacity-building for MCAs to perform their oversight and budget-making roles well.
