Mombasa officials clash with school board over landscaping project

 

A school landscaping project in Nyali constituency, Mombasa County, may grind to a halt if county officials and the national government do not agree on how to proceed.

The Board of Management of Frere Town Primary School had asked a court to temporarily restrain county officials from interfering with the fencing and landscaping of the school’s football field with money from the National Government-Constituency Development Fund.

Through the Attorney-General, the board had sought the orders as it awaits the determination of a case it has filed against the county government in relation to the project.

But Justice Charles Yano of the Environment and Land Court has rejected the request for temporary orders.

In its lawsuit, the school says its location makes pupils vulnerable to bad influences such as drug abuse. The school’s principal had asked area MP Mohamed Ali to help put up a perimeter wall around the football field using NG-CDF money.

A contractor had started work on two parcels of land that the defunct Mombasa municipal council had set aside for the school’s co-curricular activities and future expansion.

“In a sudden turn of events, the defendant’s (county government) Inspectorate Department has moved to the parcels of land and ordered the contractor out thus inhibiting him from executing its work as per the contract,” court documents say.

The board had anticipated that by the time the school reopened for a new term on May 12, the work would have been completed, but because of the county government’s interference, it argues, it could not be undertaken.

That prompted the board to ask the court for a permanent injunction restraining county officials from interfering with the project.

In its objection to the lawsuit, the county government says the case violates the Constitution and should be dismissed or referred to an alternative dispute resolution forum.

“This case is an inter-governmental dispute whose resolution is envisaged and provided for differently under the Constitution and statute,” the county government argues.

It also says the case contradicts the Constitution, which provides that the national government and the count should consult and settle disputes amicably.

The hearing continues.   BY DAILY NATION