 |
| Elgeyo-Marakwet County Governor Alex Tolgos addresses the press at a past event. A letter alleging that the governor had resigned went viral on February 12, 2019. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP |
There was confusion in Elgeyo-Marakwet County on Tuesday after a letter alleging that Governor Alex Tolgos had resigned went viral.
The letter, which had the official county government logo and the governor’s official signature, was addressed to the County Assembly Speaker Philemon Sabulei.
It read in part: “Pursuant to Article 182 (2) of the 2010 Constitution, I regret to inform you that I hereby tender my resignation from the seat of governor of Elgeyo Marakwet County.”
The letter, which was later cancelled, indicated that Mr Tolgos resigned after consulting with members of the county.
But in a statement to newsrooms, the county distanced itself from the ‘resignation letter’.
“Our attention has been drawn to a supposed letter of resignation by Governor Alex Tolgos. We hereby dismiss the letter as FAKE NEWS and assure the public that efforts are being made to track the authors and those who forged the governor’s signature,” the statement read in part.
FACE THE LAW
“Crucial leads are already pointing to some individuals who will soon face the law. This is a crime which ought to be punished,” added the statement.
The statement added that the governor’s push for more resources for the county should be supported.
The fake letter comes amid claims that the county is facing a serious financial crisis, which has seen it suspend several operations.
Last week, Mr Tolgos blamed this on underfunding by the national government.
Mr Tolgos criticised the formula used by the Commission on Revenue Allocation to allocate funds to counties.
He said the formula was discriminative and disadvantaged some counties.
EXPENDITURE
“Our people deserve development but the money we receive is too little and mostly covers recurrent expenditure,” the governor said last week.
He advised county staff against using official cars unless it was necessary.
He called on them not to travel out of the county unless the trips had external funding.
The county, which has been rated those with the highest prevalence of hepatitis B, urgently needs more than Sh500 million for testing and vaccination.
Elgeyo-Marakwet County receives about Sh3 billion annually from the Treasury, most of which is spent to recurrent expenditure.
The county collects a paltry ShSh200 million annually.