MCA takes Guv Lusaka head on

Bungoma County Assembly member for Musikoma ward Edward Barasa has told  Bungoma governor Kenneth Lusaka to streamline operations in his office in a bid to fasttrack service delivery to the electorate.

 Barasa said Barasa should decentralise some of the operations to the subcounty and ward level in a bid to ensure wananchi access to services without having to struggle too much.

He told Lusaka to decentralise the health account to enable the purchase of syringes, drugs, drip water among others saying that they are unable to fast track service delivery as they do not have equipments to deal with emergencies.

“You take a patient in critical condition but the nurses and doctors there are not able to save the life of your beloved one as they don’t have equipments because funds are lying idle at the central account of the county government of Bungoma awaiting approval before they can be given out when people are dying,” said Barasa.

The Musikoma MCA also asked the new chief officer for health Bernard Mureka to fast track service delivery to wananchi by ensuring all services in the health docket are decentralised in a bid to cushion patients from suffering due to lack of drugs and requisite equipments in the health facilities in the county.

Barasa also took issue with the ministry of gender and culture for failing to facilitate the Bungoma patriots that went to represent the county in the just-concluded music festivals, arguing that they got stuck there and started calling MCAs to facilitate them in a bid to come back home.

“Our mandate is only oversight and is vested in sec. 8 and sec. 9 of the County Government Act and when the electorate starts calling us for help, yet an officer in the county government fraudulently failed to facilitate the team that went to Nakuru carrying the flag of then county, then he or she must relinquish that office and be replaced with one who will serve the interests of the electorate,” said Barasa

Barasa told the governor to get rid of contractors who were given tenders to fast track construction and expansion of the road network in Bungoma, saying that such contractors should be ejected from the county as they are not working as per the needs and desires of Bungoma residents.

However, Lusaka revealed that he held a consultative meeting with stakeholders from the ministry of Health where they agreed that services be decentralised with immediate effect in a bid to enable health facilities to operate on their own as it was the case before devolved system of governance took effect.

“ It doesn’t make sense for an ambulance to come all the way from Kapsokwony to Bungoma to take 10 litres of fuel and use 15 litres going back. Those in charge of procurement should ensure that this directive is implemented with immediate effect,” said Lusaka.

The governor confirmed that there was a team that represented the county during the national cultural festivals in Nakuru, arguing that before they travelled for the festivals, they were told what the county will offer transport, accommodation and food only