Members of the Siaya County Assembly have threatened to impeach Governor James Orengo, saying development in the county has stalled.
The MCAs claim that many projects approved in the current budget have not been started, even as the financial year comes close to ending.
Speaking in the Assembly, Central Gem Ward MCA Sylas Madingu said most wards have not seen any real work on the ground. He noted that residents are now questioning their leaders over projects that were promised but have not been delivered.
According to Madingu, there had been an earlier agreement that all projects would be put out for tender by January this year, but that has not happened.
“With only a few weeks left before the financial year ends, many projects have not even gone through procurement,” he told the House.
Some MCAs expressed concerns that these delays could expose them to political vulnerability since wananchi are already asking for explanations.
They cited delays in important projects like road construction, provision of clean drinking water and ECDE centers, among others, arguing that these services have been neglected.
There were even those who noted that some of these projects, like the water project worth millions of shillings, have not even entered into procurement stages as promised.
According to Siaya County Assembly Speaker, George Okode, MCAs will be requested by the county executive to comment on the matter before anything else is done. According to him, the county Assembly will not just ignore citizens’ complaints concerning service delivery.
MCAs have agreed that they will now summon senior county officials, particularly those who have been handling procurement, to clarify these matters and provide timelines for their implementation.
The recent political events have seen Orengo become a participant in national politics and sometimes criticize the government as well. However, now he faces opposition from his own people as they start questioning his performance.
Contrastingly, Samuel Atandi, an MP in Alego Usonga, has advised MCAs not to implement their impeachment plans. According to him, the future of Governor Orengo will be determined by the people in the upcoming elections.
