Machakos County students across all public institutions of higher learning, those who also double up as residents of the county, have every reason to be happy if Governor Alfred Mutua gets re-elected into office on August 8.
Speaking at a gubernatorial debate held at Machakos University College on Sunday night, the incumbent promised to establish a program that would see these students have their school fees catered for by his government.
Although Governor Mutua did not reveal the finer details of the program, he did say that the program would fully come into play within the first one to two years of his second term in governance if re-elected.
However, competitors including Machakos gubernatorial candidate on a Jubilee Party ticket Mr. Lemi Muia, have termed his program as 'unrealistic'. Speaking at the same debate, Mr. Lemi criticized the program plus other projects that the governor is yet to deliver to the county's residents.
"It is quite obvious that what the governor wants to implement in the county is unrealistic. My administration will carry out this program among many other projects in a rather different style," said Mr Muia.
Mr. Lemi added that he would incorporate an African system in his governance since the county is ultimately situated in an African setting.
"Piped water in each household, free education, these are things that are doable. What do you mean they are unrealistic?" paused Mutua.
He, however, admitted that he has failed to deliver on a number of projects that he had promised to initiate in the county but instead shifted the blame on a number of politicians from the county and the larger Ukambani region whom he said ‘have always worked tirelessly to stall whatever project that he has wanted to offer to the people of Machakos'.
He, further, requested the residents of Machakos County to re-elect him based on his scorecard by enumerating the work he had delivered in the county over the four years.
These projects included the construction of roads, the drilling of new boreholes and rehabilitation of existing ones, construction of new dams and improved health care in the county.
Meanwhile, Governor Mutua's main rival, Wiper Candidate Wavinya Ndeti and independent candidate Bernard Kiala, who is also eyeing to clinch the same seat, were conspicuously missing from the debate with Governor Mutua describing their decision to skip the debate as 'an act of fear and a lack of accountability to Machakos residents.
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