Governor Abdulswamad Nassir is facing growing heat at home, with Mombasa ward representatives openly complaining about delayed development projects and a nominated senator blaming his administration for dark streets that she says are fuelling insecurity in Likoni.

The friction surfaced as the county assembly wrapped up public participation on the 2026 County Finance Bill and the 2027/2028 Annual Development Plan, where residents of Kisauni, Nyali, Jomvu, Likoni and other areas raised unfinished projects, medicine shortages, overcrowded hospitals, garbage collection and flood preparedness, the Nation reported.

MCAs say voters want answers

Deputy Speaker Fadhili Makarani urged the assembly and the executive to work more closely, warning that MCAs should not simply pass budgets unless the money produces tangible results for residents.

Mikindani MCA Jackson Madialo said the Ward Development Fund the governor promised four years ago has still not been set up. Finance Committee chair Kibwana Swaleh acknowledged that the county spends heavily on wages and said a 70:30 split between recurrent and development spending would be ideal.

Speaker Aharub Khatri asked members to use the oversight tools available to them, including referring matters to committees and summoning departments to explain delays.

According to the county's estimates, Mombasa expects about Sh18.1 billion in resources, with Sh12.66 billion going to recurrent spending and Sh5.44 billion to development.

Governor Nassir has defended his record, pointing to county scholarships, free pre-primary education and meals for more than 10,000 pupils, free treatment for children under five and free delivery services in county hospitals. He has previously blamed court cases and absconding contractors for some stalled projects.

'Light up Likoni or go'

Separately, nominated Senator Miraj Abdillahi, who is eyeing the Likoni parliamentary seat, told a school graduation ceremony at Approved Ground in Likoni that political handouts to youth were fuelling crime and that the area lacked basic services such as street lighting, a county function.

"Abdulswamad, if you cannot light up the street in Likoni, then you must go," she said, according to The Star.

She linked the October 26 attack on a county cess point in Likoni, in which a county enforcement officer was killed and an Administration Police rifle stolen, to darkness and idle youth. Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno has described the attack as an isolated incident and denied that a curfew is in force in Likoni.

Likoni MP Mishi Mboko dismissed the senator's claims that the area has seen no development.

Why it matters

With the 2027 General Election less than a year away, MCAs fear that unfulfilled promises in their wards could cost them their seats, putting the assembly on a collision course with an executive that is also seeking a fresh mandate.

Photos: Abdulswamad Nassir/Facebook via The Eastleigh Voice; The Star/Brian Otieno. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.