Infightings in Meru played out in the Senate as Governor Kawira Mwangaza and the county public service board clashed over the affairs of the county.
At the centre of the clash is the management of human resources, with the governor rejecting the board’s bid to hire 600 employees.
The development lifted the lid on troubles bedevilling the county, which has been in the limelight since the last election.
Currently, Kawira is fighting her impeachment in court after senators upheld her removal last year.
Appearing before the Senate’s cohesion committee on Tuesday, the governor accused the board chaired by Julius Mitu of turning a blind eye to the unsustainable wage bill and the financial troubles in the county.
In addition, the governor accused the county assembly of ‘forcefully’ allocating Sh205 million towards personnel emoluments, further ballooning the wage bill.
“The county government of Meru is operating on fuliza. The Meru county wage bill stands at 43 per cent way above the legal limit of 35 per cent,” Mwangaza said.
The board, which is mandated to hire and fire staff, is hiring 668 employees, a decision the governor has rejected due to ‘a lack of finances.’
According to the governor, the county executive currently has 5,567 employees against the required 4,500. But the board chair, in his defense, accused the county chief of attempting to interfere with the legal mandate of the board.
Mitu told the committee chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute that the Board is hiring 668 personnel to replace a similar number that has left the service since 2022.
The officers are expected to provide critical services such as health, extension and revenue collection services.
He said several departments charged with the provision of critical services are acutely understaffed. They include health, agriculture, treasury, transport, education, public service, energy, trade, lands and sports.
Mitu said employees are exiting the county executive en masse due to interference and poor working conditions.
“The people who are leaving the service are saying they are being overworked. As the board, we listen to them and the reasons they are giving are the same,” he said.
Revealing their bad blood, Mitu
disclosed that his board has never
agreed with the executive to cease
employment, adding the several
attempts to engage the administration through the office of the county
secretary have been futile.
