[UAH] Stop being killjoys and allow party to go on; Wanjiku is a rich lady! - Opinion - nation.co.ke

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Stop-being-killjoys-and-allow-party-to-go-on/-/440808/1899230/-/ep84euz/-/index.html

Class One quiz: What do you call the guy with the title His Excellency and whose limousine flies the national flag? Wrong, it's not the President. It is a County Governor.

Bomet County's Isaac Ruto, who chairs the governors' lobby, informs us that they deal one-on-one with the Head of State. He runs "his" government, and they run "theirs". One Excellency to another, that sort of thing. How, then, can the national government fail to defer when the governors seek security "chase" cars, special vehicle plates and diplomatic passports?

I expect their other demand for suitably appointed, properly furnished, executive offices in Nairobi will be met without any fuss. I presume by necessity they have to come to the city frequently to transact county business. The matter of suitable accommodation while in Nairobi should not be overlooked.

One of the investment options the Toyota company should be seriously considering is setting up assembly plants in the counties, considering the rampant demand for their products there.

Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma wants to spend Sh72 million on a fleet of Toyota Prados. An additional Sh15 million would go for their upkeep, while Sh5 million is reserved for His Excellency's "commuter allowance".

The problem with the Kisumu guy is that he is being a wee bit too thrifty. The biscuit for style goes to his Homa Bay counterpart Cyprian Awiti. He has budgeted Sh231 million for vehicles. That is two-and-a-half-times what Nairobi city is proposing to spend for the same purpose.

Dr Alfred Mutua of Machakos, who goes to meet Arab investors when his peers are strategising in a Naivasha lodge on how to extract more cash from the national coffers, comes across as a hopeless peasant for insisting on buying cheap saloon cars for his county executives. And his Makueni counterpart, Prof Kivutha Kibwana, does not do any better when he brags that he is content to move around in an old pick-up van.

At a retreat for governors in Nairobi last week, one could feel the anguish of Their Excellencies when they complained that their priorities were being misunderstood.

Roads are generally bad in Kenya, true enough. Dare I suggest they ignore the public booing and lobby instead for helicopters for ease of hopping around? After all, the Judiciary had asked to buy a Sh300m fixed-wing plane before a mean-spirited National Assembly shot the proposal down.

Visitors should look forward to travelling to Bungoma County. There is no doubt Governor Ken Lusaka will be offering the best catering and entertainment anywhere. He has set aside Sh53 million for that. Sh1 million goes for the county assembly Speaker's official regalia, which could best be sourced from where Senator James Orengo ostensibly buys his suits.

Spending time with Nakuru Governor Kinutha Mbugua will be an equally sumptuous experience. He has an entertainment budget of Sh33 million. The other day he paid his county representatives Sh300,000 each for a lavish junket to Mombasa. The ingrates, however, failed to see the unstated point of the generosity as they continue to reject the governor's county executive nominees.

As with most counties, both Bungoma and Nakuru will not spare any expense to build for their governors mansions that reflect the dignity of their counties. Nobody, for sure, wants a situation like that of Governor Ranguma of Kisumu, who has been living in a hotel since he took office. His office is charged Sh12,000 a day for the VIP room.

I am made to understand that his Siaya and Migori fellow governors live in the same hotel.

Who says we didn't vote for the governors and the county assembly members? Let's stop being killjoys and let the party go on. Wanjiku won't mind picking the tab. She is a rich lady.

gwarigi@ke.nationmedia.com