Governor Kingi directs officers to demolish substandard structures

Governor Amason Kingi was on Wednesday headed for a clash with Kilifi County MPs after he directed his officers to demolish substandard structures funded by the CDF.

Mr Kingi spoke in Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro’s Dabaso home ward. He appeared to direct his wrath at rebel ODM legislators. He accused them of being an obstacle to development and alleged that they had started substandard projects at inflated prices.

Mr Mung’aro is considered the leader of ODM rebels on the coast. Kilifi has seven MPs, six of whom were elected on an ODM ticket.

Mr Mung’aro and Mustafa Idd (Kilifi South) are considered rebels. The seventh MP, Peter Shehe of Ganze, was elected on a Federal Party of Kenya ticket.

Like Mr Mung’aro and Mr Idd, he, too, does not see eye to eye with Mr Kingi. It is, therefore, instructive that the governor made his declaration in Dabaso.

The Constituency Development Fund (CDF) is considered a national government drive and it is not clear whether county governments can demolish projects funded by MPs.

This notwithstanding, Mr Kingi directed that any such projects that his officers find are not above board be pulled down.

“Every building, regardless of who is the initiator, must pass the standard test from the county government,” he said at Gede Polytechnic.

“There are many shoddy CDF projects put up at inflated prices. We have engineers who see to it that standards are upheld, whether you like it or not”.

He warned that he would not allow MPs to go on wasting public money. He described lawmakers from the county as “failures” in Parliament who had only united to fight his administration.

Although he did not name the projects, county officials named the Matsangoni market in Kilifi North as one of those blacklisted.

GOVERNOR'S CRITICS

Mr Mung’aro, Mr Shehe and Mr Idd, the governor’s most vocal critics, reacted angrily to the criticism and dared Mr Kingi to demolish any of the projects. They warned him that he had no legal mandate to do so or to supervise projects in their constituencies built through CDF.

The MPs urged the governor to stop blaming the MPs for his woes and instead understand that he is no longer relevant because he has a history of failed projects.

Mr Mung’aro’s CDF office manager, Julius Charo, said: “We have no sub-standard projects in Kilifi North and the governor must come clear and tell the people which projects were shoddily done through the CDF kitty”.

And Mr Shehe said: “Before he can comment on our CDF projects, he should first clean his house of corruption cobwebs that bedevil every aspect of the county government”.

He cited a nursery school project in Ganze where the county government built three incomplete classes at a cost of Sh12 million. The MP also defended his CDF projects, saying they ranged between Sh5 million and Sh7 million and had been built to the specifications of the Public Works Ministry.

GRAFT ALLEGATIONS

Mr Idd challenged the governor to address graft allegations facing the county instead of engaging in a witch-hunt.

“I know the governor is agitated because two weeks ago, I started auditing county projects within my jurisdiction and what I have found out is shocking,” he said.

The MP cited the sub-county office block built three years ago in Shariani on government land to which the county had allocated Sh15 million in its 2016/2017 budget.

MP Gunga Mwinga of Kaloleni also urged the governor to stop undermining them because they are also leaders. He, too, said he had not commissioned any substandard projects.

However, Kilifi Woman Representative Aisha Jumwa supported the governor’s sentiments.

“There is no big deal with what the governor is doing because he has the duty to ensure all projects done in the county are done to specified standards,” she said.