from left; Nandi governor Stephen Sang, Senator Samson Cherargey and Woman Rep Tecla Tum
When they were elected on a jubilee ticket, the Nandi leaders seemed to be the best set that residents had empowered to take care of their resources, months into their elections, the once great allies have since turned into foes. The two leaders do not see eye to eye with each one accusing the other of non performance.
The constitution 2010 created the post of governor and senator who are charged with ensuring that devolution is a success. Governors were mandated to oversee development of their respective counties while the Senate was mandated to oversee and oversight the work of county governors.
After the 2013 general elections, these new positions were filled. It gave rise to powerful men holding top county seats. This was a recipe for the bad blood between the governors and senators in the various counties. In Nandi county for example, the then senator Stephen Sang gave the then governor some sleepless nights. He accused him of under performing and gross misappropriation of public funds.
Fast forward to 2019 and the situation is almost similar to the one that had been witnessed in the first term of devolution. The senator has been on record accusing Sang of gross misappropriation of public funds, irregular award of tenders and skewed appointments of employees.
Cherargey has on numerous occasions claimed that Sang has been awarding his cronies with plum county appointments and tenders. This has not gone down well with Sang's supporters. They have been up in arms discrediting Cherargey claiming that he is self seeking and that he had resorted to maliciously tarnish the governor's name after the latter failed to honor demands made by Cherargey.
However, it is important to remember that Nandi residents are not benefiting from the constant bickering among the leaders. What these two leaders need to do is to ensure that they serve the electorates diligently lest they be harshly dealt with at the 2022 ballot.
County legislature should also up their game. It has been claimed that members of the Nandi County Assembly have failed in their oversight role. Sang's regime seems to be enjoying a relative calm from the county assembly compared to the previous one. MCAs have been accused of rubber stamping the executive directives. It should remembered that Nandi residents got rid of almost all the legislators in its first assembly, this was attributed to the fact that the residents felt that the legislators had not done a great job in playing their oversight role.
If indeed the two leaders are keen on securing second terms, they should out-rightly find a way of working together to empower the people of Nandi. When election time comes, the Nandi electorate will judge them according to the number of projects they would have delivered.
Governor Sang and Senator Cherargey should know that Nandi residents look upon them to offer solutions to the problems being faced in the county and that no amount of sideshows will endear them more to the residents. Get down to work!
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