Taita Taveta MCAs split on plot to impeach Mwadime over staff strike

Members of the Taita Taveta County Assembly are divided over whether to impeach Governor Andrew Mwadime for failing to end the ongoing medical workers strike.

Some MCAs said Mwadime should take responsibility for the strike that has crippled the health care system for a month.

But other MCAs want three members of the executive to take carry the blame for the strike and are planning to impeach them.

Those behind the scheme told The Standard that they had already collected signatures to impeach the executives who they did not name.

“There is no commitment and political goodwill from the executive to resolve the health workers strike and the only solution to address the problem is to impeach three executives,” one of the MCAs said.

“It is a matter of time that the impeachment motions will be tabled soon,” he added.

Acting Speaker Anselim Mwadime said he was not aware of a plan to remove some executives from office.

But Dorcus Mlughu, the Rong’e Ward legislator, said the buck stops with Governor Mwadime.

“The House should not pass the buck of the health crisis to the executives. The striking workers have genuine concerns and the Governor should take full responsibility for failing to resolve the standoff,” she said.

The Speaker said he had unsuccessfully held consultative meetings with the executive and the striking medical workers.

Speaker Mwadime, who is the Mgange-Mwanda Ward MCA, said he had tasked joint assembly committee on Public Service and Justice and Legal Affairs to find a solution to the strike.

“As the speaker I have tasked the two committees to summon the executives and submit a comprehensive report on the strike to the House for deliberation and action,” he said.

House Majority Leader Anthony Warige said there are procedures to impeach any executive.

“The House cannot wake up and remove any executive from office. There is a procedure to be followed,” said the Bura Ward Rep.

Among the health workers’ grievances is that third-party deductions from their salaries had not been remitted. The Speaker said they were yet to ascertain where the deductions had gone.

“It is true that money was deducted from workers’ salaries but was not remitted,” said Martine Tairo, the acting Finance Executive.

In a recent reshuffle, the Governor sent his Finance Executive Dawson Katuu on three-month leave pending investigations.

Finance County Chief Officer Nashon Nyali has been deployed to the Department of Trade while the County Director of Budget Laban Kinyai has been nominated to take over as the CCO Finance.

Meanwhile, the Auditor General has revealed glaring misuse of a loans scheme initiated by the Taita Taveta County Government to spur growth through enterprise development among vulnerable groups.

The auditor reported abuse and loss of public funds amounting to millions of shillings through loan defaulting.

In September 2014, the first county administration established Datu Sawazisha Fund to empower women, youth and people living with disabilities with an initial appropriation of Sh60 million but the revolving fund has not achieved its intended purpose of transforming the lives of the marginalized groups, according to the Auditor General.

The fund has been giving affordable interest-free credit to vulnerable groups. 

Under the fund, the county administration provided collateral to the loans’ beneficiaries.

But according to the Public Accounts and Investments Committee’s (PAIC) review of Auditor General’s report on the financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2022, the auditor disclosed that the long outstanding receivables amounting to over Sh45.5 million had been mismanaged by beneficiaries.

PAIC chairperson Amos Makalo (Kasigau Ward) tabled the auditor’s report in the House last week with varied recommendations to revive and recover lost funds. The House approved the report.

In its recommendations, the PAIC said the County Treasury should review the Funds Act, 2014 and fasttrack recovery of the long outstanding receivable funds amounting to Sh45,501,169 million.

Makalo told Acting Speaker Mwadime that there was need to develop a policy document or guidelines on how the loans disbursed would be repaid or recovered.

“The county Treasury should provide strategic direction on the future of the fund by revising the DATU Act, 2014 as it has not been revised for the last 10 years. The county administration should either initiate the fund or give a way forward on its continuity as it has remained dormant and operated without a budget,” said Makalo.

The auditor said in the report seen by The Standard that the financial statements reflect current portion of long term receivables from exchange transactions of Sh11,375,292 million and long term receivables from exchange transactions of Sh34,125,876 million totalling to Sh45 ,501,168 million as at June, 2022.

However, the total amount being the same as the previous year’s balance is an indication that there were nil issuance and recoveries of loans, said the Auditor’s report.

The report noted that the management of the fund did not provide reasons for dormancy in the operation of the fund.