Rongo council workers’ strike halts services

ACTIVITIES at the Rongo Town Council in Migori county was paralysed yesterday as workers went on a go slow. The workers locked out of office the council's top officers over corruption and poor leadership claims. They said the council is unable to deliver services to the residents. The Rongo council workers’ union branch secretary Boniface Obonyo Aoko asked the officers should step down to pave way for investigations into their conduct. “We call on the town clerk Richard Makori, accountant Peter Omondi Ocholla together with the ICT manager Erick Arori to step aside and allow for investigations to be carried out,” Obonyo said.

They asked the acting Local Government minister Fred Gumo to intervene and ensure that the council delivers services to the residents. “We call on Gumo to intervene for the sake of workers and give us a way forward,” Obonyo said. It took the intervention of Rongo DC John Korir for the workers to open council offices. “By locking out the officers the public are hindered from getting services from the council. You should try to resolve your problem amicably," he said. But reacting to the allegations the clerk said the workers should have used the proper channels to air their grievances instead of resorting to the strike. He defended his record at the council as "clean and unbiased". He blamed politics for the workers' unrest.