Baringo MCAs threaten to shoot down list of new Chief Officers citing discrimination

Kabarnet Tuesday May 9, 2023

KNA by Benson Kelio

A section of Members of Baringo County Assembly (MCA’s) has threatened to mobilise and reject a list of 19 Chief Officers (CO’s) expected to be presented to them for approval.

The ward representatives led by Kabarnet MCA Ernest Kibet while speaking to the press on Monday outside the county assembly buildings cited biasness in the selection process of the officials who are expected to serve under Governor Benjamin Cheboi’s administration.

Kibet who is the Majority Whip claimed that only two out of the 19 nominees were registered to be from Baringo central but they have since established that they are non-residents and might not fully represent the wishes of the people.

The legislator also lamented they were recently shortchanged in the appointments of County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) since they were allocated only one slot out of the 12 available.

“We are not happy and we want to put it in black and white and I am ready to lead other MCAs to reject the list of COs when it will come into the assembly,” he said.

His sentiments were echoed by his Kapropita counterpart Alex Kurui who accused the governor of what he termed as discriminating against the sub-county which hosts the county headquarters.

Kurui pointed out that had governor Cheboi appointed a person each from all the 30 wards for the positions of CECMs and COs, then the current wrangles which has even gotten the eye of his deputy Engineer Felix Kipng’ok would not have been come up.

He said that the governor should have consulted widely with other leaders including his deputy about the list of COs to ensure accountability and fair representation.

Tenges MCA Henry Kigen noted that the current bad blood between the governor and his deputy is not a good sign and might jeopardize service delivery in the county going forward.

He urged the governor to be accommodative by listening and respecting the wishes of other leaders in crucial matters like the list which was recommended by the County Public Service Board.

“Nobody is a lesser person when it comes to representation. The deputy governor is equally the governor and should be accorded respect because he has his rights to publicly express displeasure when his boss has denied him a chance to contribute in making decisions,” he said.

Sacho MCA John Tarus stated that they are acting on behalf of the electorates since they will be blamed for not representing them well in every county appointment.

Tarus urged governor Cheboi to take back the list and amend it or else it might not see the light of the day when it will be tabled in the assembly for approval.

Courtesy; K.N.A