Lobby group want Kiambu County split

Sep 15, 2023 - 17:39

Chairman of Thika Business Community Alfred Wanyoike (C) and former Transition Authority (TA) chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi addressing the press in Thika.

Thika,

Friday, September 15, 2023

KNA by Muoki Charles

A lobby group in Kiambu County is pushing to have the county split in the upcoming delimitation of boundaries exercise citing its huge population of over two million residents.

The group from Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Gatundu North, and Gatundu South constituencies want Thika County split from Kiambu County.

They said having their own county of Thika would reduce marginalization which they have suffered from the current and former County Governors in terms of resource allocation and development projects.

They also insisted that with that huge population, the County deserves to be split for enhanced resource allocation from the National Treasury.

Led by former Transition Authority (TA) chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi, the lobbyists said with a new Thika County, it would improve service delivery as well as increase development in the lower part of Kiambu County.

“That’s why the County should be split into Kiambu County and Thika County. This will ease service delivery and bring services closer to the people,” he said.

They said the resource allocation of Sh14 billion per year by the National Treasury was not commensurate to its population, and thus the County government often gets overwhelmed by the resource demands.

They at the same time said that the lower part of the county, being the major contributor of Kiambu County revenue, has been getting a raw deal when it comes to infrastructural developments and most of its roads and hospital facilities are in dilapidated state.

“It is time that we split because we have always been marginalized by the upper part of the county that has been producing Governors over the years. We, despite being the major revenue contributor to the County, don't get much in terms of development and service delivery,” said Wamwangi.

The stakeholders revealed that they have begun a signatures collection drive targeting over 300,000 signatures before their petition is taken to the National Assembly and Senate.

Several other regions in the country are also pushing for creation of new counties, citing marginalization, resource allocation and to accelerate development.

Courtesy; KNA