South Nyanza MPs won’t have it easy in elections . Att.Asego.......Any connection?

From: Margaret Gichuki

The two machines were sold for a paltry Sh16 million to the Homa Bay based Asego Holdings Ltd.

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South Nyanza MPs won't have it easy in elections

By Jack Nduri

Dilapidated infrastructure, collapsed economy, and poor standards of education haunt MPs from the greater southern Nyanza region. Despite the people's support for the Government during the 2002 General Election, little has been achieved. In this area, nothing much has changed.

The people from this region feel let down by their representatives and unless they are smart, they will have a difficult time from their opponents who will cash in on their failures.

One cannot fail to notice the glaring poverty as you enter the region, once vibrant, with visible economic activities and academic excellence.

The collapse of the former South Nyanza Farmers Co-operative Union and the subsequent sale of its assets have put the leaders in a spot. They have blatantly failed to address the issue that has worked against them and the Government.

The sale of Kendu Bay and Homa Bay cotton ginneries to a local MP, allegedly to offset a Sh69 million loan the Co-operative Bank had advanced to farmers, still remains unacceptable to farmers.

They say the process was irregularly executed to serve the interest of an individual, noting that the loan was never given to them.

The two machines were sold for a paltry Sh16 million to the Homa Bay based Asego Holdings Ltd. This led to a boycott of the crop by farmers for many years as they protested at the Government move.

Current MPs seem to have missed the point

It is cotton that has the potential to generate income for farmers in Karachuonyo, Kochia and Kanyada that once counted it as their major cash crop.

Teachers from the region that has now been split into five districts, including Kuria, are yet to share out the Proceeds from the giant South Nyanza Teachers Co-operatives (Sonyaco), which is insolvent.

Teachers from South Nyanza built Sonyaco Plaza at a cost of more than Sh100 Million in the early 1980s.

The teachers came together under Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) officials, led by the then executive secretary, Mr Onyango Alila, and chairman, Mr Ben Okeyo.

Its ownership and that of other assets and finances have remained contentious following the region's split into smaller administrative units.

Unlike the days of Mr John Okwanyo (Migori), Mr Odero Jowi (Ndiwa), Mr Osingo Migure (Mbita), Mr Okiki Amayo (Karachuonyo) and Mr Onyango Ayodo (Kasipul-Kabondo) when issues pertaining to South Nyanza were well addressed, the current MPs seem to have missed the point.

They instead are priding themselves of being close to Lang'ata MP, Mr Raila Odinga, and are prominent in national political platforms, addressing issues that are not directly beneficial to their people.

The MPs, Mr Ochola Ogur (Nyatike), Mr Owino Likowa (Migori), Mr Ochilo Ayacko (Rongo), Mr Orwa Ojode (Ndhiwa), Mr Otieno

Kajwang' (Mbita), Mr Philip Okundi (Rangwe), Dr Adhu Awiti (Karachuonyo) and Mr Paddy Ahenda (Kasipul Kabondo) will be hard put to explain their performances as Kenyans go to the polls later this year.

Region reeling from complete neglect

The region is reeling from complete neglect despite the Government pumping in millions of shillings in the form of the Constituency Development Fund.

It is a story of planning gone wrong as MPs spend on grandiose projects instead of addressing priorities, such as, say, water for Karachuonyo. Fishing, sugar and cotton sectors –the main economic mainstay of South Nyanza people — are neglected.

Fishermen in Rangwe and Karachuonyo are out of business due to invasion of the lake by the hyacinth. The weed has blocked fish landing beaches.

Homa Bay, which is the headquarters of the region, is dying due to mass pull out by investors, citing lack of business occasioned by bad roads.

The main Kendu Bay-Homa Bay-Rongo road, which connects to an international highway to Tanzania, is pathetic. This has forced motorists enroute to Kisumu to divert to the Rongo-Kisii-Oyugis road, which is the provincial headquarters.

Barclays Bank of Kenya pulled out of Homa Bay town after years of existence due to lack of business as a result of mass pull out by investors.

The Kenya Commercial Bank pulled out and re-located its clients to its Kisii branch and only returned after the Government intervened.

Those from Mbita in Suba District take a ferry to Lwanda K'Otieno in Bondo District. From here, they connect to Kisumu by road.

Fishmongers have re-located to other parts of the province, citing high costs of maintaining their vehicles.

This explains the collapse of more than 500 fishing co-operative societies.

Most sugar farmers in Awendo sugar belt are now abandoning the crop for maize and other cereals. They are perturbed by delays in cane maturity and payment for cane delivered to Sony Sugar Factory.

Deductions by the miller for farming inputs supplied to farmers are exaggerated and loans are hard to come by. Thus, the talk of a 6.1 per cent economic growth by the Government based in Nairobi, sounds like fiction to wananchi who live a life worse than they did in 1980.