The tussle between Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza and the County Public Service Board over the hiring of more than 600 employees reared its ugly head before the Senate on Thursday.
The disagreement compounds the problems bedeviling the county which has been in the limelight with Kawira currently battling her impeachment by the Senate before the courts.
The Governor who appeared before the Senate Cohesion Committee chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohammed Chute accused the County Public Service Board for ignoring the unsustainable wage bill and the financial woes the county is facing. "The Meru County wage bill currently stands at 43 per cent way above the legal limit of 35 per cent, the county executive currently has 5567 employees against the required 4500, it is unsustainable to hire more employees at the moment,'' said Kawira. The Governor accused the County Public Service Board Chairperson Julius Mitu for not considering that the wage bill is unmanageable and that if the county goes ahead to hire the 668 more employees most of its budget will go towards recurrent expenditure.
Kawira who has been at war with Meru County Assembly since being elected in August 2022 accused it for forcefully allocating Sh205 million towards personnel emoluments, further ballooning the wage bill.
