Tana River governor faces backlash over incomplete Cabinet three years on
hereas the governor had earlier in his first year of the second term proposed names for respective positions, his nominees were rejected by the county assembly for various reasons.
Three years down the line, Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana is yet to constitute a fully functional Cabinet.
Dhadho has been running his administration with some of his officers assigned to tasks in an acting capacity for nearly three years since he assumed office.
Among the positions that remain undesignated include the office of the county secretary who is also the head of the Cabinet, the office of the chief officer of health, the chief of staff and the office of the county attorney.
Whereas the governor had earlier in his first year of the second term proposed names for respective positions, his nominees were rejected by the county assembly for various reasons.
Dhadho has since assigned people to hold respective offices in acting capacity in disregard of the law.
The County Government Act, Section 42(2) states that the constitution of a new executive committee after an election shall be finalised within 21 days of the swearing-in of the members of the county assembly.
According to the minority leader in the County Assembly, Musa Wario, the governor's failure to constitute a fully functional government points to his inability to run the affairs of the county.
Wario said the law requires the governor to compose his government fully 21 days after the county assembly members have taken the oath of office.
The governor has appointed people into office who have not been vetted by the county assembly.
Acting capacity
"We rejected the appointment of the chief officer of health. How is he in office in an acting capacity? We are also informed that he has assigned a chief officer for the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage whom we never vetted as the county assembly. These are the issues we are going to discuss when we resume House activities on Tuesday,” he said.
The same concern has also been raised by Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana.
“It is a shame that the governor of Tana River County has failed to get this done more than two and a half years into his term,” he said.
Apart from an incomplete administration, Governor Dhadho has also been struggling with incompetence in his Cabinet which has seen him effect two reshuffles in two years, suspending chief officers and assigning their tasks to other people.
Lobby groups have also raised concerns over the delays in fully constituting the county Cabinet.
According to James Rashid, the secretary-general of the Civil Society Organisation Network, it is an abuse of the law for people to hold offices in an acting capacity for more than six months or serve in respective offices as accounting officers without passing through the county assembly for vetting.
"We are going to file a petition to the county assembly for the governor and respective officers holding office illegally to answer to the law and be surcharged for the monies they have gained in their time of service, "he said.
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