Nyeri county ought to have been benefiting from the Equalisation Fund, two MPs have said.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu and his Kieni counterpart Kanini Kega said 50 per cent of the county is arid and semi-arid land (ASAL). The two spoke separately in Nyeri Town and Kieni constituencies.
For instance, Nyaribo which is in Nyeri Town constituency is an ASAL area. Nyaribo neighbours Kieni constituency.
Wambugu said Nyaribo is an ASAL just like Garissa and other counties in northern Kenya.
He said people from the area experience the same problems as those in dry areas when they grow food crops or venture into livestock farming.
“When we talk about allocation of resources, we should look at specific wards and assess whether really the area is an ASAL. But let us stop looking at poverty as if it comes in terms of regions,” he said.
Kega said MPs have been fighting for the funds allocation and are happy that the regulation has been passed in Parliament to ensure that the Equalisation Fund also benefit constituencies like Kieni.
He said in the past, the Equalisation Fund has only been benefiting about 10 counties in the Northern part of the country, forgetting that there are constituencies and areas within Mt Kenya with similar or more challenges than those in the North.
“Kieni, which is 52 per cent of Nyeri county, is an arid area and so it should have been benefiting from the Equalisation Fund,” Kega said.
He said the area has been left behind in development because of lack of water and electricity, among other challenges.
Edited by A.N
