I want to thank you for your take. Allow me to comment on the issue. First, let me put it in record that I do not belong to Siaya County, I belong to Kisumu County. My comments will therefore be based on 'my personal views' as one who has vast knowledge of the roads in Bondo, Siaya and Gem since I used them almost on a daily basis!
1. Have you ever been to Siaya Institute of Technology? What are the local leaders doing about it? Between Siaya Institute of Technology (SIT) and Bondo TTC, which one do you think can have greater impact on the community. My take is that Siaya Institute is better placed to impact positively more than Bondo TTC but Siaya (Alego) leaders are doing nothing to improve it. SIT is providing several Diploma, Certificate and craft but very few student given CDF funds to study here! Put your house in-order first before blaming it on Jaramogi!
2. The professional from Alego ( I hope you too) are doing very little to grow Siaya Town. I stayed in Bondo for a very short time in 2003 and then moved to Siaya till 2008, but the growth that Bondo has realised during the period can not be compared to the stagnant Siaya Town. If you count all the properties in Siaya, they are owned by 'illiterate' people who are not willing to allow investors in town, while the professionals from the area are 'busy' making noise in Nairobi. Count Urwenjo Umidha, Samco, Ochieng Alfros etc and tell me whether they finished class eight and they are the people deciding at the community level while you are busy politicking in Nairobi.
3. You also fail to appreciate the good work the government is trying to do by improving the road network in the area. As you complain, all the road in Gem are in good condition, thanks to Jakoyo's good use of CDF. Have you ever made a trip to the road just next to Alego CDF office? Impassable and that where they allocate the funds for 'road'. Again, does it matter where the road starts from? I also know that you will blame Raila for allowing Kerich-Kisumu-Busia road to begin from Kericho? Get out of that man! Ndori-Ngiya road is being worked on and now you talk of Luanda-Siaya road, which, for some reason has been one of the 'strongest' old road in Kenya but all that changed, thanks to the bonfires, that were lit everywhere on the raod during 'haki yetu' demonstration. Its the work of the MP to follow-up with the ministry of public works to work on the potholes! While Ugenya, Gem, Bondo, and Rarieda are doing well, you keep on whining. Siaya is the only town where I see electric poles passing over permanent houses and there are no electricity in the house!
--Chris, Siaya Kaba et.al,
It is nice that you have brought this idea on to the forum. I hardly respond to posts but I am obliged to respond because I am an interested party as an inhabitant of the county and one desiring a break from the current theatrics that have consigned our county to poverty. In fact, Siaya makes headlines for all the wrong reasons among them the least performing in education standards, high prevalence of HIV/AIDS to name but a few. At the core of all this is a fundamental flaw that must be addressed- The crisis of leadership not only in Siaya but in the greater Nyanza occassioned by sycophancy to you know whom. This has denied us quality leadership because any interpretation that you subscribe to a different opinion makes you be branded a traitor. Must all people agree with a certain way of doing things however flawed that way is? Now, let me address myself to your propositions,
1. 1. You say, Greed, sycophancy and petty politics must be given room in the new constitutional order- I hope you meant MUST NOT be given room because I would shudder at the thought of it.
2. 2. All these community(ies) must be accommodated in any strategy- While I totally agree that the balance is necessary, at the core of this balancing is to address the development imbalances that afflict the county. As a matter of fact, the governor should come from the greater Siaya (Alego/Usonga, Gem or Ugenya). My reason is simple, in all developments in the county, Bondo (Sakwa, Yimbo, Asembo & Uyoma) have always had a head start for obvious reasons. Here are some examples,
a. When Ndere Ginnery was running, it was held captive by people from Bondo. When their desire for growing cotton waned, the ginnery died yet they are not willing to let go the leadership of the Siaya Cotton Growers Cooperative.
b. Bondo TTC was to be located in Alego. What happened? Right now as a constituent college of Maseno University, the alternative TTC to be constructed is being considered for a location in Sakwa.
c. Right now, the tarmacking of Bondo-Rangala road is going on. Why did the work have to start in Bondo which has a better road network than in Rangala? Knowing that our contractors are crafty, would it not have made more sense to start at Rangala so that they are compelled to get it to PM's home? At the moment, progress of the work on siaya side is slow and worrying.
d. The Ndori-Ng'iya road is also getting tarmacked. Why is the construction site in Sakwa and not at a central place like Kogelo that would afford employment to youths from Alego and Sakwa? Again, work will start from Ndori Side while you know that Luanda- Siaya road is not motorable/ in dire status and people going to Siaya have to use Busia or Bondo road.
3. 3. Professionalism must not be compromised in the process- while you give credence to professionalism, I find the line up held captive by political interests. Why are we proposing politicians instead of professionals? Why are we not talking of the likes of Martin Oduor Otieno and a whole list of professors (Siaya has the highest number in Kenya) that have proved themselves in academia and public service? Other counties are thinking of professionals while you are proposing a list of failed politicians. Is this an opportunity to make them realize their ambitions? For me, it won't matter if all were from one community for as long as they adhere to the principles of justice as you allude.
4. 4. Finally, a look at your proposals intimate one thing, you are the 'right' candidate if you are closely associated with the PM. I thought this is the neo-colonial mindset we are trying to break away from. While I am a supporter of the PM and his ambition to be president in 2012, his name need not be dragged in deciding the affairs of Siaya county. He has bigger issues to deal with in the greater Nyanza and Kenya.
Let the debate continue in a sober perspective and let us stop seeing everything from the perspective of Odingaism if we are to get our county to the level where others are heading. In fact, it has been my submission that devolution as good and desirable as it is WILL NOT realise equality but WILL STEEPEN INEQUALITY in the short term not because of lack of resources but because of the quality of leadership a county will go for. The choice is yours and mine.
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Follow Me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertalai
JOB VACANCIES: http://www.myafricancareer.net
TECHMTAA BLOG: http://www.techmtaa.com/
To unsubscribe from this group, Email mlalahoi+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
TRAINING VIDEOS; CISM /TOEFL/ GMAT / GRE/ SAT / IELTS / CISSP / MCTS / CISA / CCNA / CCNP / MCSE / MCITP / PHP / PHOTOSHOP / DREAMWEAVER / WEB DESIGN and others, CALL 0726 034 530
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