Reports Bob Ndira-Uradi.

Tension is building up in the small farming town of Awendo in Migori County after the dozens of the Council workers threatened to down their tools in protest against the newly posted Town Clerk.

The workers had mobilized themselves and locked the gate to the Council offices ,which are located in Awendo Town. They insisted that the new Town Clerk a Mr. Alia was not welcome in the Council on allegation and accusations that he is a non-performer.

Alila a former Mbita Town Clerk swabbed the position with the former long serving Awendo Town Clerk who has been transferred to Luanda Town Council in Western Province.

According to impeccable sources within Awendo, the issue had divided the civic leaders in Awendo Council right in the middle with half of them in solidarity with the protesting workers, while the other half had accepted the new Town Clerk.

There were unconfirmed allegations and rumors that money had changed had. Three of the Councilors said to have been compromised, it was reported had secretly traveled with the new Town Clerk to Nairobi where hey pleaded with the Ministry of their acceptance of the new chief officer. While the other were I solidarity with the chairman of the Council Johnson Omolo Owiro

The Councilor who were reported to have traveled to Nairobi to persuade the Ministry to stand their ground and withheld their posting included Adera Awene {Nominated]. Roselyne Arucho [ [Sakwa East} and Martin Ondong’ {Sakwa South}

Both teams made hastily arranged trips to the Ministry headquarters in Nairobi and after what is e believed to be widely consultations it was resolved that the new Town Clerk be accepted by he Council. This, according to sources was only after the intervention of both the Awendo D.C. and the Minister for Public Services Dalmas Otieno, who is the incumbent MP for Rongo constituency in whose jurisdiction Awendo Town Council falls under.

But finally the new Town Clerk Alia was driven into the Council offices by he Nyanza Provincial Local Government Officer {PLGO} who is based in Kisumu under tight security.

Alila, who hails from Suna East near Migori, according to reports had previously served in the same capacity in the nearby Migori Municipality was served in the same capacity, but was ejected from there under very controversial circumstances following the allegation that he is a non-performer . Alila had also served in Rongo Town, Kehancha and other local authorities within the region.

The Awendo Town Council workers are also up in arms demanding for the immediate transfer of the Town Treasure Pete Aoro arguing that he was another non-performer and that the positions of the Councl the Chief officer could be filled with’ Deadwoods”.

The have workers urged the Ministry to post the right men for the job or else they would what they termed as the mother of all protests and strikes in the near future if the government continued dumping only chief officers who have already been rejected and rejected by other local authorities.

Ends