Plan to move Kiambu Level 4 Hospital is absurd

On numerous occasions, Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has astonishingly hinted at the relocation of the Kiambu Level 4 Hospital from its current prime location at the centre of Kiambu town to pave way for commercial malls and offices.

Not only did Governor Kabogo revisit the matter during the inauguration of the Kiambu High Court on June 20 this year, but at that time, he was also quoted promising to donate five acres of the hospital land for the expansion of the Kiambu law courts.

This, notwithstanding the fact that the Judiciary does not fall under the ambit of the county government.

Interestingly, the hospital my governor now wants to move was the beneficiary of medical equipment worth a whopping Sh380 million that was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta in May, this year.

A new maternity wing for the colonial era hospital was completed in 2013.

The historical institution that was built by the colonial government in 1925, when it moved the district headquarters from Dagoretti to Kiambu, was also a beneficiary of the Moi era Nyayo Wards, with a 144-bed capacity that the former president inaugurated in 1984.

The late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had laid the foundation stone for the initial maternity wing, the out-patient department and the paediatric ward in 1969.

Mr Kabogo’s plan to move the hospital is, therefore, not only ill-advised and a rewriting of history, but a complete and unwarranted waste of public funds; it is also an indication of the governor’s lack of strategic thinking for the county.

Otherwise, how would the county’s chief executive authorise the use millions of taxpayers’ money to refurbish and renovate the hospital, only to suggest that the same historical institution be demolished to pave way for commercial malls and offices?  To say the least, this is absurd.

I don’t know whether Mr Kabogo knows that the hospital is gazetted and sits on public land, which only means that the process of moving it is elephantine and rigorous, not to mention that the county government has no mandate over public land.

MANAGEMENT BOARDS

The issue of public land can only be addressed by County Land Management Boards. Kiambu does not have such a board in place, after the governor’s office failed to make a move on the names of proposed members sent by the National Land Commission.

I read total mischief from this proposal, considering there are other burning issues to deal with.

Why not first equip and put enough trained personnel in our 364 health facilities across the county?

Furthermore, these facilities were put up with the sole aim of decongesting the county’s main hospitals.

I would not be surprised to find out that some individuals in the county government want to make a kill through brokerage fees from the purchase of land for the proposed new hospital.

The Kiambu County Government could also be looking for ways to cover up corrupt dealings involving the hospital and eventually avoid audit queries. Let us also not forget ghost projects at the hospital, including the neurosurgical unit that vanished into thin air only two weeks after its launch.

But the section of county leadership pushing this agenda should be cautioned that just like we fought the governor’s unilateral decision to move the county's headquarters from Kiambu to Thika, we will stop him from moving this hospital.

He must come clean and clearly state his intentions on the relocation and also initiate investigations into the loss of millions of shillings at the hospital.

In the true spirit of the Constitution that calls for public participation in such matters, I will initiate a local referendum on the issue, pursuant to Article 90 (1) (b)  of the County Government Act that states: “ A county government may conduct a local referendum on planning and investment decisions affecting the county for which a petition has been raised and duly signed by at least twenty five per cent of the registered voters where the referendum is to take place”.

Karungo wa Thang'wa; [email protected].