Governors must be held accountable, DP William Ruto says

Deputy President William Ruto has turned up the heat on Jubilee Governors campaigning for the referendum. (READ: Governors step up push for vote)

According to him, the push for a referendum is aimed at hoodwinking Kenyans and not increasing devolution funds.

"Accountability is not negotiable. Governors are running to the referendum because they don't want to be held accountable," he said during an interview on the "Sunday Live" show on Citizen TV.

"How can you be accountable if you run to the courts or to the Press first to deal with your issues?"

ATTEMPTS TO BLACKMAIL

Mr Ruto noted that county governments are facing capacity problems but money is not the solution.

"There are issues that need to be addressed in the Constitution but we have a five year period to address them. We will sit down as Kenyans and audit the challenges we are facing," he added.

The URP leader also took a swipe at members of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) warning them against attempts to "blackmail" the Jubilee Government.

"Cord has realised that we have a solid proof plan for education, transport and the youth and they fear that they will be irrelevant during the next General Elections in 2017," he said.

On security, Mr Ruto affirmed the reassessment of structures within the police force and improvement of facilities.

INTERNATIONAL PROBLEM

"The Westgate attack was a dark moment for us. It was an unfortunate incident but Kenya is no longer the same," he said adding that terrorism is an international problem and the country must play its role.

He said security teams are now more responsive and armed with software devices that boost response time to criminal incidents.

1200 police vehicles complete with internet connectivity have also been added to improve security, he said.

On Sunday, Kenyans marked one year since the Westgate Mall attack that left 67 people dead and several others injured. (READ: Plaque unveiled in memory of 67 killed)