Taita Taveta County stares at dissolution

A general view of the Taita-Taveta County Assembly headquarters. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has validated the petition to suspend Taita Taveta County government.

This is after the electoral agency confirmed that the petition meets the required legal threshold of Section 123(2) of the County Government Act of 2012.

The electoral body verified that the petition presented to IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati last month is supported by 21, 861 registered voters of Taita Taveta.

Taita Taveta governor Granton Samboja in July signed a memorandum to initiate the petition, a move he termed necessary after longstanding wrangles between the executive and the county assembly culminated into an impasse over the county’s budget.

Mr Samboja said the wrangles had adversely affected development in the county and called for its dissolution to end the tussle after attempts to initiate dialogue between both factions failed.

ODM leader Raila Odinga, Council of Governors (CoG) chairman Wycliffe Oparanya and Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi were involved in talks to resolve the row between the county’s executive and assembly but proved unsuccessful.

IEBC in a statement released Wednesday said the petition will be forwarded to the Office of the President for necessary action.