Monday, June 18, 2012

MP questions role of new county chiefs


MP questions role of new county chiefs

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Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto. PHOTO/ FILE
Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto. PHOTO/ FILE 
By GEOFFREY RONO newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Sunday, June 17  2012 at  21:47
The deployment of commissioners to the country’s 47 counties was unconstitutional, Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto said at the weekend.
Mr Ruto said the move was an attempt by the central government to reinvent itself and bring confusion in the running of the devolved governments.
“It beats logic for the central government to try and create a function for itself at the county level and allocate more funds to its docket for undefined roles under the guise of providing security to the citizenry,” he said.
Mr Ruto said that under the new dispensation, security matters are vested in three institutions — the Kenya Defence Force, the Kenya Police Service and the National Security Intelligence Service, and not the commissioners.
Waste taxpayers’ money
He said that the government was out to waste taxpayers’ money by deploying county commissioners and at the same time retain district commissioners in the regions.
“I am appealing to the public to report district commissioners to the relevant security agencies found trying to handle security matters so that action can be taken against them for usurping roles that are not within their docket,” he said.
The Chepalungu MP, however, stated that he had no problem with the deployment of Teachers Service Commission and Ministry of Education county directors.
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Mr Ruto made the remarks at Bomet Teachers’ Training College during the Kenya National Union of Teachers Bomet County branch annual meeting presided over by Knut national chairman Wilson Sossion.
At the same time, Mr Ruto urged the government to reconsider funding the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (Kessp).
Quality education
He said most of the projects that had been started under Kessp were incomplete following the expiry of the programme two years ago.
Mr Ruto said that, if this was done, it would help in the attainment of Millennium Development Goals since every Kenyan child would be guaranteed the right to quality all-inclusive education.
He said Constituency Development Fund money that was meant for the implementation of projects in the education sector was now being diverted for completion of Kessp projects, hence overstretching the limited resources.
The MP said he supported comprehensive medical cover that Knut and the public servants union were seeking for their members.
He said those who were fighting the scheme were doing so in order to have the services provided by their own private medical insurance firms.
Mr Ruto promised to mobilise his colleagues to ensure that the report on the disbanded National Hospital Insurance Fund board, which will be tabled by the Parliamentary Health Committee, was shot down.

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