Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua criticised for being too ‘ambitious’

By ONESMUS NZIOKA and ERASTUS MULWA

Former Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua, who has cut an image as one of the best performing governors in the country, is in deep trouble. The Machakos governor is facing an onslaught mounted by his political enemies under the command of the outspoken senator, Johnstone Muthama.

The senator and a group of county ward representatives are accusing their governor of not living up to his promise of rescuing the county from grinding poverty.

Dr Mutua is, however, fighting off these accusations saying delayed disbursement of funds by the central government has torpedoed his plans. 

His most ambitious plan of turning around Machakos by offering free land to investors also hangs in abeyance as residents of Kima Kiimwe now claim the governor has no right to give away their land.

The Machakos County government led by former government spokesman Alfred Mutua has been put on the spotlight over development projects.

 Machakos County Senator Johnstone Muthama has accused Dr Mutua of building castles in the air.

In what appears to be a well-choreographed script, Mutua’s detractors are fomenting a rebellion by capitalising on his shortcomings.

To begin with, a big section of County Assembly representatives have dismissed his ambitious development plans, claiming they are rarely consulted.

To complicate an already complex scenario, a group of peasants claiming to be the ancestral owners of Kima Kiimwe have opposed plans to donate 4,000 acres to investors.

The controversial land, which Mutua had promised to give investors as an incentive for the more than Sh50 billion worth of investments, is now in court and looking to derail the huge dreams he had for the county.

Good time

According to Muthama, the governor is building castles in the air and will soon realise he made a mistake for “lying to the people by promising them utopia”.

Said Muthama: “I worked with Mutua when he was the government spokesperson and I the chief whip. From my engagement with him I knew it would be difficult for him to hold the position of governor and warned him against contesting but he and the people of Machakos ignored me.”

Although Mutua and his deputy Bernard Kiala were unavailable to respond to these accusations as their phones went unanswered, their supporters shrugged off the attacks.

One of Mutua’s biggest supporters, Machakos County Assembly majority leader Joshua Mwonga, rejected the allegations, blaming the perceived failures on the national government.  According to Mr Mwonga, their problems were fuelled by the fact that the national government had failed to transfer cash to the county governments in good time.

Too little

“The county government is yet to get development funds from the national government and it would be unrealistic to expect meaningful projects to be initiated at a time like this, so those complaining should vent their anger to the national government and not the governor,” said the County Assembly member for Masinga Central Ward.

Asked about allegations that the governor was increasingly getting out of touch with his people, Mwonga retorted: “Do you expect him to sell his cattle so that his presence is felt by the people?” 

Muthama and Titus Ndundu, one of Mutua’s fiercest opponents in the gubernatorial race, claim the governor has been talking too much especially in the media, but doing too little, a claim that appears to have now been bought by a section of residents.

In separate interviews with The Counties, both Muthama and Eng Ndundu claimed Mutua has failed to adequately consult with all relevant stakeholders on prioritisation of development issues of the county.

“The governor is letting the people of Machakos down mainly because of the manner in which he has drawn the budget. A lot of money seems to have been earmarked for recurrent expenditure at the expense of real development issues facing the residents,” says Muthama.

Muthama added: “Machakos is set to receive Sh4.9 billion from the national government, of which Sh4.8b is meant for recurrent expenditure. This county has only Sh100 million for development. I wonder what kind of development will come from that!”

Ndundu cited Mutua’s pre-election promise that he would provide tractors to farmers to till agricultural land free of charge, which is yet to be realised.

He said: “The rains are around the corner and farmers are yet to receive any seeds or subsidised fertiliser. A serious famine is foreseeable unless farmers take it upon themselves to deal with the existing challenges.”

Foes have accused the governor of conducting business in the media while doing very little at the grassroots.

A neighbouring governor, who we cannot name once said, “Our County will not perform its pledges in the media like some people are doing. We must make sure that our people feel the impact of our leadership through service delivery not spin”.