Betty Luke
A section of human rights defenders in Isiolo have hailed the senate’s Public Account Committee over their recent visit to access development projects that the Auditor General had raised concerns about.
The crusaders told off residents politicizing the matter saying disregard of the work Senators were doing was against the spirit of devolution.
“It is saddening seeing residents calling out the Honorable senators for doing their work instead of appreciating that they are demanding accountability. We have been calling on the Senators to push for accountability and we are glad that finally, something is happening,” said Activist Hassan Shano.
The defenders wondered why Governor Abdi Guyo dodged the visit instead of showing up and taking advantage of the platform to share the challenges he might be experiencing that could have delayed the completion of the projects in question.
“There is no reason to hide. Why should he (Governor) hide while a couple of weeks ago he was at the Senate requesting for additional funds?” wondered Silas Eudan.
Led by the committee Chairperson Moses Kajwang, the seven senators visited the county last week to ascertain queries raised by the auditor general regarding the ongoing Sh346 million state-of-the-art stadium, Sh545 million modern market and the Isiolo County Referral Hospital mortuary whose sad state had sparked a public outcry.
Other projects on the committee’s radar were the Mwangaza Dispensary which has not been in use since its inception and the Sh600 million County Headquarters.
Neither the governor nor his executive members attended the sitting at the county assembly despite having received prior invitations.
Deputy Governor James Lowasa showed up when the Senators visited the mortuary, assuring that a contract for repair of the faulty coolers would be awarded soonest so that the facility resumes normal operations.
The defenders also took issue with County Secretary Dadhe Boru for allegedly mobilizing groups of residents to trash the Senate’s meeting instead of advising the County boss to be accountable of the millions received from the national government.
“It is sad that they are paying residents to fight the senators. This is likely to tarnish Isiolo’s name and lead to a hostile environment for the senators,” said Ms Anab Kasim.
The issue has caused a division among members of the public with one group supporting Governor Guyo and the other one Senator Fatuma Dullo.
The group faulted the ward representatives over failure to carry out oversight on the executive, threatening to embark on a signature collection exercise to remove them from office.
They said instead of speaking up against misuse of public resources by the county executive, the MCAs had chosen to stay mum as they spent public coffers on unnecessary foreign and domestic tours.
“When the electorates need them the most they are busy making trips to Dubai and Mombasa. They should have been around to fight for the people who put them in office,” said Mr Eudan.
The group now wants Governor Guyo to get rid of any incompetent employees who might be sabotaging his development efforts by failing to avail crucial documents required by the Senate committee.
