WAJIR; RESOLVING THE POLITICAL CRISIS

Wajir Governor 

Whatever way you choose to look at the political quagmire in Wajir county government, it is obvious that a political crisis looms large in the eyes of the residents.

Political leaders have focused more closely on internal politics and wrangles than on reality and on development. Tribal supremacy between the West and the East means Wajirians have to wait until a political miracle happens to protect them from the poisonous concoctions of bad-politics led by inexperienced leadership.

The government of Wajir has not comprehensively completed a single blue print project since its inception; in fact it has used less than 20 percent of the allocated funds. Much of its executive sittings have ended up coming up with blue print paper work without actions.

We are told to understand that much of the county ministers do not know their roles and have not yet secured their respective budget and work plans.  They wait to be given orders by the executives who are focusing much of their strength in settling political scores.

An endless political storm has not only put the executive branches of government at loggerheads, it has also eroded the public’s trust amid ongoing controversies over improper lobbying and illegal wiretapping involving the Governor on one hand and the Speaker on the other.

If the emerging signals are anything to go by, the political typhoon is between the West and the East, whereas the North and South fuel the flames sometimes leading into a complete standoff paralyzing the activities of the fledgling county government.

And the ensuing political stalemate between Wajir County Governor and County Speaker is set to continue until 2017 general election when perhaps a new government will replace the beleaguered authority of Governor Ahmed Mohamed.

Both the speaker and the governor have been seen overstepping their constitutional mandate in terms of basic checks on power and accountability. For instance a recent fracas has damaged the reputation of the local county assembly after a house-sitting ended up in a feast fight.

That shame and brazen impunity was shown on television stations all over the country and these people are not done yet. In the circles of Wajir Politics it is a do or die affair between the Speaker and the Governor. It is not a wonder if we see a vote of no confidence against both the governor and the speaker tabled in the local assembly.

Many have criticized how the speaker dealt with the election of the new assembly clerk when he unconstitutionally undermined the voting strength of the house by opposing the wishes of the majority.  Many others have criticized the proposition of the governor in trying to use the back door of the assembly in trying to fill up the influential vacancy.

They have both overstepped their roles, their actions cannot be corrected If they have no interest in taking responsibility for their political incorrectness and they choose to sit in the sidelines and watch the situation unfold, the public has no alternative but to look on as well, not knowing how long they will have to endure the tense drama involving a poker-faced governor and a speaker awkwardly carrying on in his role.

RESOLVING THE CRISIS

My greatest fear is that the characters in Wajir quagmire do not know how we got to where we are today. They do not know the number of people in wajir who live on less than a dollar a day or even without a dollar a day, perhaps they do not know they have sworn by the holy Quran.

Handling the current crisis needs a lot more concerted effort both from the speaker and Governor. In order to set Wajir’s democracy and government back on track, both of the men ought to cease their posturing and show a little wisdom and integrity by apologizing to the public, as well as brokering a compromise between the office of the governor and that of the speaker.

Dialogue must be given an upper hand so that the governor and the speaker can handle crisis from one angle. A governor cannot do without a loyal speaker. Smooth running of government depends on smooth running of the county assembly. A disenfranchised assembly means a distraught and inefficient government.

The governor and his team of officers should understand that they were elected directly by the people unlike that of the office of the speaker. We have no excuse to explain and show any weakness of the speaker at this point in time but we have all the excuses to show the inefficiency of your government Mr. Governor because we have elected you.