Kirinyaga MCAs threaten to impeach Waiguru over bursary fund

Members of the Kirinyaga County Assembly have threatened to impeach Governor Anne Waiguru over the controversial reduction of a bursary fund for needy students.

The ward representatives demanded that the governor releases the whole amount they had approved or she be kicked out of office.

Speaking during a debate on the bursary fund, the MCAs said they will not accept anything less than the Sh70 million approved in the budget.

Ms Waiguru has defended the bursary cut to Sh20 million saying it was meant for orphans and children from poorest families and accused a clique of local leaders of politicising the issue for their own selfish interests.

BUDGET CUTS

She argued that there were budget cuts in all the departments to cater for essential services such as supply of drugs to hospitals and improving roads.

The bursary kitty was not exempted from the cut.

But the MCAs accuse the governor of disrespecting the deliberations of the assembly, adding that they are unhappy with her style of leadership.

"We endorsed the Sh70 million bursary (kitty) and we shall not accept any deductions. If the governor refuses to honour our decision, we shall not hesitate to impeach her," said the Kangai Ward MCA John Gitari.

TOO LITTLE

The ward reps accused the governor of influencing the cut of the bursary fund to Sh20 million which they said is too little for thousands of deserving students in the county.

Accusing the Governor of frustrating them, the MCAs said needy children are still at home due to lack of fees.

"Students are camping at my home crying that they have not gone to school because they have not raised the required fees. This is very sad," Mukure MCA Elisha Mwangi said.

They vowed to fight for the rights of children whose parents are struggling to educate them.

"We are the ones who know the sufferings the children are undergoing in their respective homes and the governor should stop dictating to us the amount of bursary which should be awarded to the needy cases,” Mr Mwangi said.

CHILDREN'S RIGHTS

They observed that the former county administration always allocated not less than Sh60 million for bursaries and wondered where the money has gone.

"It is very wrong for the executive to deny our children their rightful bursary," said the Ngariama MCA Mathew Ireri.

At the same time, the MCAs hit out at the governor for failing to convene meetings for leaders to discuss development matters in the region.

Wamumu Ward representative John Baptist Kanga said no meaningful development could be realised in the region without consultation among leaders.

At the same time, the Budget Committee Chairman David Mathenge said the assembly never received any official communication from the governor’s office when the bursary fund was slashed.

"We were ambushed and we stand by the figure we approved," Mr Mathenge, who is also the Barawi MCA, said.