Cash fuels Ranguma, Odinga row

A fight over control of county funds is at the centre of the war between Governor Jack Ranguma and his deputy Ruth Odinga.

Whereas Ms Odinga accuses Mr Ranguma of presiding over corruption and massive looting of the county coffers, the latter says he is being fought for blocking cartels access to the cash.

“This war is about money. I have sealed all the loopholes. The other issues they are talking about lie squarely in their docket,” Mr Ranguma told the Nation in his office on Monday.

But speaking at one of the local FM stations on Monday, Ms Odinga accused the governor of mismanaging the affairs of the county.

She took issue with the appointment of new county executives without her input.

“I lead processes in the county but the governor takes all the credit. We cannot work when all these lies on development are circulating,” said Ms Odinga.

The governor however argued that his move to block “gateways to looting” that had led to wastage of funds started the fight.

Mr Ranguma said the matter had taken a political twist and his opponents are sponsoring demonstrations across the county.

He told Ms Odinga and her supporters that voters will judge them harshly when the truth comes out.

Mr Ranguma said he had allocated tasks and responsibilities for the deputy governor. These includes devising ways of increasing revenue flows in the county.

“No amount of politics will help us deliver the expected results. Collection of cess fees, which is under the supervision of my deputy, has suffered most,” he said.

JOBS ROW

And during her interview, the Deputy Governor called for the county to be dissolved if there will be no progress.

“Stealing money meant for devolution is more serious than all other crimes in the world. We would rather quit than subject our people to these,” she said.

Ms Odinga also blamed the Transition Authority for not laying a proper framework for the establishment of Kisumu County.

“Jobs are being dished out in a skewed manner,” said Ms Odinga.

The deputy governor said she will not give up her seat either and will continue the fight from within.

“My resignation is not the solution. I will work from within,” said Ms Odinga.

The supremacy battles have taken toll on the county’s development track record and the situation has been worsened by a divided county assembly.

It is so bad that a section of MCAs have paralysed the budget-making process. Lack of quorum has marred the assembly, frustrating debate. Speaker Ann Adul, who is fighting an ouster bid, has thus been unable to preside over debate on the supplementary budget.

Mr Wycliffe Ochome, a resident of the county and a critic of the both, asked Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru to come up with a policy that defines roles of deputy governors.