Nairobi — Community leaders in Taita District have threatened to mobilise residents to blockade the Mombasa-Nairobi highway in protest against poor service delivery by the Government.

Despite support

Taita-Taveta County Council vice- chairman Jones Mganga and Maktau councillor Fulmence Mshilla bluntly told Coast provincial commissioner Ernest Munyi that despite supporting the Government since Independence, little had been done to develop the area.

"Money for development projects is misappropriated by Government officials and as a result, a lot of them are never completed," they alleged.

They said to avert confrontation the Government must surface the Mwatate-Taveta road, complete Kigombo dam and supply water from the planned Mzima Two project.

They accused the Government of reneging on a promise to surface the Voi Taveta road.

"If the work does not start before the end of the year, you must be prepared to kill some of us because there will be no movement on the major highway," Mr Mshilla said.

Not take off

He said that at the height of last year's election campaign, President Kibaki promised that work on the road would start before December "but up to now nothing is happening".

Mr Mganga warned that the Mzima Phase Two pipeline would not take off unless the dry regions of the district were incorporated in the design.

Urging the leaders to be patient, Mr Munyi said the Taveta road had been redesigned and work was likely to start next year.