Kiambu senator moves to resolve Wamatangi vs MCAs stalemate

Following the rift between Kiambu governor Kimani Wamatangi and Members of the County Assembly, area senator Karungo Thang’wa has convened a reconciliation meeting next week to resolve the standoff.

The meeting, whose venue and date are  yet to be established, aims to bring together all Kiambu Members of Parliament, MCAs and the Governor.

Karungo told the media at Kirenga stadium in Lari Sub-County yesterday that the forum would be used to iron out differences between the governor and other elected leaders in the county.

“We shall have a leaders meeting before Friday next week with a view of unlocking the row among leaders which is not only denting the image of the county but also retarding general development,” he said.

He stated: ”The meeting will be attended by all the 12 Members of Parliament from Kiambu, all the 86 Members of County Assembly and we also expect the governor to attend.”

County secretary

The senator was flanked by Lari MP Mburu Kahangara during the registration of elderly people as well as orphans and people living with disabilities as beneficiaries of the government’s Inua Jamii programme.

He said that it is unfortunate that one year down the line, there’s no substantive County Secretary, no Chief Officers adding that there is an incomplete cabinet in Wamatangi’s administration.

Karungo who said that “the governor is playing victim yet he is the culprit”, urged him to be a team player and stop micromanaging county activities.

He told MCAs not to be intimated and be steadfast in their oversight role in order to avoid probable misappropriation of funds.

“My responsibility as a Senator is to ensure funds come to the county. In July, one billion shillings was channelled to the county while 978 million shillings was disbursed in August and another 1b will be banked by 15th of this month and hence it’s the cardinal duty of the County Assembly to safeguard it,” he said.

Sharp differences

There have been sharp differences pitting Wamatangi against majority of civic leaders who claim that he has frustrated them from the time they were elected noting that the same has exposed them to the vagaries of irate voters.

“There is this monster namely Wamatangi Foundation whose members he uses to frustrate and oversight us in our wards. Voters are now baying for our blood because we have nothing to show in matters development,” Limuru East MCA Macharia Wambui told the media at the county assembly grounds recently.

He said that Wamatangi is running the affairs of the county like a personal enterprise adding that he should be held to account for making the county a laughing stock.

But in a terse rejoinder, Wamatangi rebuffed his critics terming them as busy bodies out to derail his development goals.

He said that those fighting him are unhappy because of his zeal of ensuring a zero tolerance on corruption in the county.

“Nobody and nothing can make me lose focus on my development agenda. There will be no more corruption cartels in Kiambu. I have my eyes set on the target which is development,” he told residents of Kikuyu early this week.