CeC under fire from MCAs during special sitting

The Kericho County Assembly has set up a team to investigate a county executive committee member over poor response to recent fire outbreaks.

The public service management executive, Hellen Chepkwony, was put on the spot by members of the assembly during the tabling of a preliminary report on fires in the county.

The special sitting, which was called by the speaker, Dominic Rono, on Friday saw MCAs scold Mrs Chepkwony for alleged negligence.

Majority Leader Hezron Kipng'eno said that when members of the committee on implementation asked Chepkwony what steps her department had taken to implement the Disaster Management Act 2014, she said that all motions passed by the assembly never see the light of day in the cabinet.

“It is time we stamped our authority as the assembly for people to realise that we are the people’s representatives. It is not acceptable for this honourable house not to be accorded any respect by the executive,” said Mr Kipng'eno. 

Six financial years

Kipng'eno, at the same time, expressed concern that while the assembly had appropriated almost Sh65 million over the past six financial years, the county government was yet to buy a single fire engine.

Kapsoit MCA Paul Chirchir lamented that despite the fact that there was a rise in fires, the county did not have a functioning hotline. “How does the fire department expect people to report fires?"

The county government owns an old 200-litre capacity fire engine that was inherited from the defunct Kericho Municipal Council. The county’s main 6,000-litre fire engine, which was a donation from the Kenya Municipality Program, broke down and has yet to be repaired.

The committee on implementation recommended that the fire engine be repaired within four days.