Time to think big for Nyanza

KOMAROCKS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
Suite 95, Komarock Ph3a                        
P.O. BOX 11204                  TEL: 0735 529126 / 0724 365557
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KENYA                                otoketch At  yAhoo DO t com
Service to the Community 
15th November 2007

Hi everyone,

The Trans Century Group/Nyanza as a prototype province

It is good to compete as we look at our weaknesses and potential threats and doing something about them. The mere fact that we know our weaknesses and we are doing nothing to redress them has made us economically vulnerable all the times.

It is a known fact that our community in Nyanza always sets the political agenda for Kenya, and we can stomach whatever is thrown our way, just for the sake of politics.

Our current craze is to put one of our own at state house. This is as it should be, for, since Independence, we have shown that we can flex our muscles to push for what we want. We have done this successfully and fought for the repeal of section 2a, which Kibaki and his team helped, put in our constitution. Again last year, we helped defeat the proposed draft which Kibaki and his team wanted to ram down our throats.

But the results of our struggle were to get saddled with a perpetual loser for a president. A man who had never fought with us for democratic gains, a man who did not believe in what Kenyans were fighting for, a man who does not believe in human rights, nor animal rights. The end results is that he wants to roll back all those gains we made, despite his being in that despotic government.

The man wants to roll back our democratic gains, he has refused to fight tribalism, Kenya has become incorrigibly corrupt, since corruption is now domiciled at state house, and he rules with impunity, with no regards to the rule of law.

He has threatened all our basic human rights to freedom, choice, movement, association and shelter. Look at the government instigated flare-ups across the country. He has also become a threat to our animals, he wants to give them away to the tourists for free. This will effectively kill our tourism industry as no tourist will come here anymore.

The man has become a threat to our nascent democracy and the Kenyan economy. By forming the Trans Century Group, the man wants, and is busy raping our economy. Trans Century Group are busy buying all shares into all listed blue chip companies, state corporations, multi national business and are going into offshore partnership with private investors who thereafter buy our property for a song.

The man knows what he is doing. Trans Century Group is none other than Kibaki.

And we are all watching as if we can do nothing about this economic rape! As a community, we must wake up and put a fight, an informed and intelligent fight. All our brothers and sisters, both at home, and in the Diaspora, must realign our people for an economic take off.

Look at the banking sector, Trans Century Group have heavily invested in shares, and strategically placed their people in positions of advantage. In public transport, they intentionally killed Kenya Bus Service, and promptly brought in Citi Hoppa and Double M, two most unreliable public transport companies I have ever seen. At Kenya Railways, the group organized itself through some South African outfit called Rift Valley Railways to take over. Have you ever had of a business calling itself Rift Valley in South Africa?

At the power sector, the group bought all NSSF shares in Kenya Power and Lighting Co. ltd. Without state support, who can do this? They were on course to buying KenGen, only that Migosi Raila coughed, and they got scared. But they are still determined to buy out KenGen. The group has invested heavily in the agricultural sector, housing, name it. They are almost choking Kenya.

And mark you, all these gains started when Central Bank posted a loss of Kshs 4.8billion. That’s the time a lot of money surfaced at Equity Bank for lending to Kibaki’s people, and the Trans Century Group got the guts to start their heavy investments everywhere. And that’s why some people agree with Kibaki when he says the economy is improving at 5.8%. it is their economy improving.

This is why the initiative by the LUOCOME, under the guidance of Migosi Odundo and Jadolo Okoth is a welcome move that must be supported and expanded. To use our local parlance, we must pour money in Nyanza to spur economic growth and excite activity. Our senior political leaders must take the initiative that can make Nyanza self sustaining in food production so that we stop importing food from central Kenya. We must generate enough food for domestic use and for sale.

We must gag the growth targeted by the Trans Century Group. Our people must invest in commercial and residential housing. We must kill the migration of our people from Nyanza to other towns by finding ways of economically harvesting fish from lake Victoria, processing the same in Nyanza, and destining the same to European, American and Asian markets from Kisumu airport. This will create some jobs for our people, so someone must put up a fish processing plant somewhere in Nyanza.

Kicomi must be revived to spur cotton farming in Nyanza. Irrigation must be encouraged across Nyanza just as provision of clean water to the nearest point must be a priority.

Working closely with all our people in the Diaspora, the donor community, and friendly political forces, we can negotiate for direct aid to Nyanza as a prototype province, and sight negligence by the government as our main reason for going to the donors directly. W all pay tax like everybody else, yet we do not have a road to Nyanza.

In this process, the European Union can be mobilized to build our roads, the Japanese to invest in power generation and distribution, the Americans to invest in large scale farming, both for domestic consumption and export, the Dutch can tame for us River Nyando once for all, the Canadians can build our schools and equip them, the British can set up heavy irrigation across Nyanza, the Germans can set up their Mercedes plant at Bondo, the Chinese can build for us modern stadia, while the French can invest in hospitals, the Finns can roll out an elaborate railway network across Nyanza etc.

If we mobilize resources to this effect, the tide of migration to Nairobi will be stemmed, and we shall have hit at sessional paper number 10. Basically our people are moving to Nairobi because they do not have anything to keep them busy back at home. We can do it, and we must do it.

I want to believe that we can build Nyanza into a modern province. And with this done, we shall start to liberate our people from economic slavery, and the mandarins of Trans Century Group will be dealt a blow. Kisumu dala will be home to the resultant manpower and economic growth.

We must hence not just focus on our political craze, but means and ways of being empowered economically as well. Economic revival targeting small and medium enterprises is a must, because a satisfied person makes bold moves. If we make that deliberate effort to empower our people, the people will respond by voting overwhelmingly for our candidate, and from Nyanza alone, the Luo and the Kisiis can marshal 4million votes. But to get this vote, we must invest in the process by providing the necessary resources, time and energy to mobilize.

The Kikuyus invest heavily in their politics, and the win. We must also invest in politics, knowing that the kikuyus have reached their optimal point in terms of voting. We still have people with out ID an voter cards. We must reach them and teach them why those tools of trade are important. Most people do not vote because they do not see the importance of voting. This apathy must be addressed now, or we forget the presidency.

It calls for massive civic education to let our people know that the presidency comes with 6000 direct presidential appointments; the presidents word is enough to make Kisumu airport upgraded into an international airport; the presidents word can have all roads in Nyanza tarmaced; schools upgraded; irrigation started; electricity spread across Nyanza; banana industry built in Kisii; tea production in Kisii can be improved, etc. of course, ‘ka iyeng’o, to nyaka iket bamb dhiang e ot’. We shall all benefit together with all Kenyans.

We must all be inspired to inspire others, so that all of us have the required tools; ID and Voters card, and then we must go out and vote. Even if you do not want a civic or parliamentary candidate, cast your vote in favour of Migosi Raila Amolo Odinga, he will need it to win the presidency. We must all do something in support, because the battle lines have been drawn, and there must not be any retreats now.

It is out of this that together with friends, we formed Komarock Community Development Network, and Yimbo Development Network, so that we can spearhead the struggle in our own small way. We are on the ground daily, in the internet, on phone and in all fronts advancing our course politically and economically.

We must thank Mr Patrick L Okeyo, from New Jersey, Publiceye, who has sent to us through western money union transfer US$100 in the month of October and again in the month of November to promote our activities. You are also welcome to send to us your financial support, to enable us win the war.

Those compatriots who can financially support our initiative are welcome, because that support will enable us also do our bit in support of Migosi Raila. We must not leave him to do all the work by himself, we must help him mobilize the 4million votes in Nyanza, and the other 6miliion votes from Western, Rift Valley, Eastern, North Eastern, Nairobi, and Coast Provinces.

Lets not joke about Migosi Raila’s bid this time around, and give him what the Kikuyus refer to in jest as his usual 800,000 votes. Lets make it real. The people of Kenya must stop this current gravy train.

It has been so long a letter, but I bet you catch the bug.

Odhiambo Tobias Oketch,
Chief Executive,
Komarocks Community Development Network,
Komarock Nairobi.