Re: Transformation Conference and Kenya Development Fund Corp - Invitation

Wuon Awuor

Iwacho weche makare ahinya. There are only three points I want to make that:

The Dominion issue is so big that it cannot be left to a few people to determine its direction. For example, the 17,000h at Yala was leased for 43 years. The contract as I understand it was signed by a Kikuyu, DO without local knowledge or local community developmental agenda. There are far reaching consequences to this kind of arrangements for generations to come and we cannot be blinded to this. 'To 'the devil's advocate'- Dominion is a private business with a huge commercial interest and if for some reason it abandons its business interest in Yala mid-way. There is a great danger that they may sub-lease the land to say a kikuyu or Indian investor since they have the money. This would not be an interesting situation and would result into Luos being suffocated into slavery even further in their own local communities. Yes, I support development. Yes, our people are improvished. Yes, Luoland is the 7the poorest province in Kenya and Yes, we need to exploit our resources to our benefit, but certainly not in away I hear it being preached in this fora. We cannot even bank our hopes on our elected Leaders who in 2005 wanted to lease lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world to a South African Company.

In the West, Rural life has a very high value, we deserve it just like our forefathers who lived in a less sophisticated environment compared to today. We must scrutinize and ask hard questions to investors with business interest in our local resources, if they want to fundamentally transform our land and our lives in a meaningful way. Local people MUST be key to the process.

People who ask questions should not be branded as those against development. Recruiting people in the diaspora to support Dominion intiative based on ignorance will not work and Mr.. Okumu the co should listen and learn quickly if they want to have any limited chance of making even a small impact with this 'thing'.

Joram Odus
London