Khaniri, Ottichillo 2022 battle begins in earnest – Weekly Citizen

Vihiga senator George Khaniri has said the senate will fight to ensure the counties receive their rightful amount of money in the budget to enable them operate smoothly.
Khaniri is planning to face Governor Wilbur Ottichillo in 2022. Khaniri camp is grooming nominated MP Geoffrey Osotsi to go for senatorship on ODM ticket. Khaniri plans to defect with Osotsi from Musalia Mudavadi led ANC.

Vihiga Senator George Khaniri

Also in the governorship race is Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi who has picked Luanda politician Sikalo Ochiel as his running mate. Khaniri wants to pick George Amadi as his running mate. Amadi will defect to ODM and was in the governorship race 2017. Former governor Moses Akaranga is also laying ground for 2022 and wants politician Bigood Asienwa as his running mate from Emuhaya constituency. Ambassodor Ken Vitisia’s name is featuring prominently with people fighting to be his running mate.
Word is rife that come 2022, each community in the county will field one or three governor aspirants complicating matters. The communities are Maragoli, Banyore and Tirikis.
Khaniri, while addressing Vihiga residents in various functions said the senators are struggling to ensure the counties receive their budget allocation of Sh327 million without any drop.
He said they have put up spirited efforts to ensure they agree with the national assembly that the counties receive Sh327 billion instead of Sh310 million.

Former Vihiga Governor Moses Akaranga

Khaniri said counties are supposed to be fully funded for the governors to be able to deliver development and service delivery to the electorates.
He said reducing the funding to the counties is likely to frustrate devolution asking MPs to move with speed to approve the budget the counties are demanding.
“The senators have put up spirited fight to ensure the counties receive their required share of the national revenue allocation. We are pushing the counties to receive Sh327 billion and not the Sh310 million put in the budget,” said Khaniri.
Khaniri asked governors in the counties to give priority to the projects that benefits the residents and not luxury projects.
Khaniri while speaking at Esikhuyu ACK church in Emuhaya and at Ikumba church in Vihiga sub-county expressed his disappointment on how Vihiga county is spending its funds.
Khaniri said that it is economically senseless for Ottichilo to build his official residence using county funds at a cost of Sh154 million.
Khaniri said the governor’s residence is not a priority saying there are more important projects the county can do to benefit the residents.
He said it is bad for county to spend over Sh154 million on official residence of the governor and yet hospitals in the county have no drugs, residents cannot access clean water and roads are in poor state.
“I ask governors to work on the priority projects that can benefit residents,” said Khaniri.
Khaniri asked MCAs to reject useless projects which are of no benefit to the electorates.