Siaya governor James Orengo has abandoned plans to build the governor’s and his deputy’s official residences at Got Akara.
He said the projects were not a priority and Siaya county has much more pressing issues that needed to be addressed.
“The governor’s residence is not a priority for us now; farmers need fertiliser and seeds to plant, our hospitals need drugs and personnel, and therefore we cannot afford the luxury of setting up a palatial home,” Orengo said.
Orengo spoke this after a ground breaking ceremony concerning the project had been held. He stated that the Governance and Administration Chief Officer Joseph Omondi acted without authority by organising and attending the event.
“It is surprising that the officer went for a ground-breaking ceremony without informing anyone,” he said.
Orengo further asserted that the county’s budget had no revenue set aside for such projects.
“The 2022/2023 budget does not have even a coin set for the construction of the governor’s residence,” added the governor.
“It was budgeted in the 2021/2022 budget and it was not implemented and because it is not in the budget and it did not follow prerequisite procedures, we will not have it.”
According to the Siaya governor, he and his deputy were comfortable where they were and had no current plans of relocating their residency.
The project had elicited mixed views from Siaya Residents with many people questioning how the land was acquired in the first place.
“Taxpayers’ money was used to purchase the Got Akara land, but the land is on a hill and should be government land,” said Vincent Odhiambo, a member of the Siaya Civil society group.
“It therefore means someone fraudulently acquired the land and sold it back to the government,” Odhiambo added.