Kimilili Member of Parliament (MP) Didmus Barasa has taken aim at Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, accusing them of fostering division in the country with their shareholding comments.

Speaking at Nzoia Sugar Company on July 27 during a visit by state officials from Bungoma County, Barasa claims that the two leaders’ remarks about the government functioning like a “shareholding company” is what incited anger among young people, leading to their protest at Parliament Grounds.

“Their divisive and tribal remarks about the government being a shareholding company and that the region with the greatest number of people to receive the most development was what angered the Gen Zs and made them storm Parliament grounds,” he said.

Barasa also alleged that these divisive and tribal statements were a key factor in President William Ruto’s decision to partner with Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

“Their tribal remarks are what prompted President William Ruto together with the speaker of National Assembly to look for Raila and form a new cabinet which has included prominent figures from ODM,” claimed Barasa.

Didmus Barasa on Efforts to Revitalize the Sugar Industry

Also, the MP lauded the government for making good on their promise and allocating the funds needed to alleviate the pending worker loans that have crippled the sugar sector over the years.

“The way President William Ruto’s government has formulated a plan to provide funds needed to pay the pending worker loans, I also want to urge you (the stakeholders in this sector) to also come up with a plan on how you are going to clear the debts owed to factory employees every time you get an opportunity to sell the sugar that we have in this region,” noted Barasa.

Also Read: President Ruto Clarifies Plan to Privatize Ailing Sugar Company

He highlighted that government’s past efforts to revitalize the sugar industry had been unsuccessful with the funds set aside by the government failing to materialize

“This region had been struggling with the substantial loans that had crippled the sugar industry, and the billions of funds promised by the government failed to materialize,” he added.

Barasa claimed that this was happening due to the opposition by DP Rigathi Gachagua and Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga who felt that the county governments had inherited unexplainable pending bills from the previous administrations.

“The Deputy President together with his lackey, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga heard that funds were being allocated to Nzoia and because their hearts are filled with tribalism, they raised opposition questioning why the region should receive such a large allocation,” alleged Barasa.

Gachagua on Pending Bills

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua had on June 2023, issued a warning to governors over the unauthorized settlement of pending county bills.

Following the closed-door meeting of the 20th Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), Gachagua disclosed that the government could not settle the substantial pending bills all at once.

“We have agreed that the governors cannot pay every pending bill without interrogating the authenticity,” said Gachagua.

Consequently, the Deputy President issued a directive to all governors across the country to establish committees to conduct investigations into the pending bills.

“Some of the pending bills have no supporting documents and so the governors cannot honor them. Should they decide to clear them, they will be held accountable for paying bills that were not procured in the regular manner,” he warned.

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