Choti's Vision for Bobasi 2007 , Truphena Choti

Choti's Vision for Bobasi 2007

VISIONARY LEADERSHIP FOR REAL CHANGE”

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

I salute you all! This is to formally inform you that I am running for Bobasi parliamentary seat in this year’s General Elections. I thus invite you to read my campaign manifesto, envisioning real change and improved leadership in Bobasi Constituency. In circulating and availing my vision to you all, I affirm my strong passion for, and belief in, public engagement, openness, transparency, accountability, and willingness to accommodate diverse opinions and perspectives in issue-oriented deliberations. I am patient, humble, determined, focused, and courageous. I was born on October 20, 1963 in Riontweka village, Bogichoncho, Bobasi Borabu. I am married to Truphena Moraa and blessed with two sons, Mandela and Nyamari, and one daughter, Nyarangi. For the last 2 years, I have been at the grassroots, Bobasi, traversing the constituency and talking with our people on various issues, attending church services, consoling bereaved families and raising funds for various projects. In all these interactions, our hard working folks are clear and unanimous on one thing: the desire for new leadership. They are yearning for new, visionary, informed, honest, and transparent leadership - a leadership that is people-oriented, innovative, inspirational and thoroughly knowledgeable and enlightened.

Bobasi constituents are currently facing many challenges. Their educational institutions are in disarray as schools are under-performing. The once prosperous tea industry is succumbing to corruption; the food crops are threatened by poor harvests due to soil exhaustion and overpopulation. Water supply is increasingly becoming a nightmare as sources are drying up due to natural processes and human activity. Moreover, our grandmas, mothers and sisters continue making numerous, long, strenuous trips in search of water. Worse still, and particularly for women, is the fact that the firewood supply situation is getting out of control due to deforestation, overpopulation, and a diminished land resource. Medical facilities are still inaccessible and inadequate. As a result, our people continue to die of simple treatable diseases. The road network is terribly wanting, leading to unnecessary delays in delivering agricultural products to markets or factories, among other inconveniences.

There are many more challenges that require urgent and speedy leadership attention; I have just but mentioned a few. The aforementioned are indeed insurmountable problems which together weigh heavily on our people. The gross effect of these challenges is an environment that engenders undesirable outcomes such as desperation, poverty, crimes, over-dependence, powerlessness, vulnerability, and despair. In such a situation, the individuals who usually benefit most are the corrupt, the unscrupulous, heartless fellows who swindle public funds and use the same in “buying” leadership from the already impoverished, desperate, disempowered hungry mwananchi . This is a “culture” that the eagerly-yearned- for, new leadership must fight tooth and nail to eliminate! It is a war of the 21^st century, if you asked me! It is a war of ideas, a war of mental liberation. It must be fought fiercely from all fronts and must be won.

For record purposes, it should be noted that educational standards in Gusii schools are at their lowest ebb, both primary and secondary. For Bobasi, it is a disaster, a catastrophe warranting a declaration of a state of emergence! Today, our struggling kids, our brothers and sisters, hardly join colleges and universities due to inferior grades. As a lecturer in one of our public universities, I have painfully, and with great dismay, witnessed numbers of Gusii university entrants dwindle in recent years. This trend does not auger well for the future of the community. It is worrying and calls for answers. It calls for urgent, radical measures that can only be initiated and sustained by a courageous, informed, committed, confident, and focused leadership. This is the kind of leadership that I humbly promise to offer. Friends, abanto baminto , my priorities as your MP are clear: education! education! education! education! agriculture, water, health, roads, electricity, insecurity etc!

As voters, it is your right to know what I stand for as a parliamentary aspirant, what drives my candidacy and my priorities. Below is an outline of my vision. It touches on some of the issues that need urgent attention in our constituency. Feel free to offer suggestions and comments.

EDUCATION

“Education is the gateway to anything imaginable”, so they say! Education is a real issue in Bobasi today than before! I am very, very passionate on this issue. It is an issue that is close to my heart because I am aware of several Bobasi kids who have ‘lost’ an opportunity to make it in life. Not because they are incapable, yaya, but because of uncaring, indifferent, and education-unfriendl y leadership in the area. This year’s General Election - presidential, parliamentary and civic - offers you an excellent opportunity to make a decisive choice, to fundamentally change Bobasi politics for a better future, if only for the sake of our children and posterity. As your Member of Parliament (MP), I will endeavor to change the present leadership culture that is evidently complacent, unconcerned about education standards in our public primary and secondary schools. With the use of the CDF money, I will mobilize parents, teachers, and students in creating an enabling learning environment. This is critical. Both teachers and students need motivation. To achieve this, we will put in place a rewarding system whereby exemplary teachers are recognized, singled out and rewarded materially and in terms of promotions. The same will apply to outstanding students, who will be rewarded through financial scholarships and other academically ‘appetizing’ incentives. Schools that excel in national examinations will be variously rewarded.

As the MP for Bobasi, I will take special interest in finding ways of motivating our teachers, students, and schools to do better and to realize the fullest of their potential. I will go out of my way to ensure teachers’ high morale and favorable working conditions. Furthermore, I will remain sensitive and outspoken in supporting motions in parliament that promote the welfare of our hardworking teachers. Remember, once a teacher, always a teacher!

With close consultation of my constituents and educational stakeholders, we will put in place a carefully selected Bobasi Constituency Educational Committee of professionals, including retired educationists/ teachers and administrators to coordinate education activities regarding our collective sustained effort to raise education standards in Bobasi schools. We will set a side a singleweek dayin a year, preferably at the beginning of the year, shortly after the releasing of KCPE and KCSE results, in which all Bobasi education stakeholders would assemble at the Constituency Headquarters (one of the Divisional Headquarters) for a serious evaluation of our educational standards. This will include an assessment of our schools’ performance in the previous year’s National Examinations, identifying factors for under-performance, rewarding of top performers, setting the New Year’s educational agenda and goals, etc. This will become an annual event held on what will become our Educational Day .

Theefforts to raiseeducational standards in our schools will be funded by the CDF kitty. In addition, we will invite well-to-do sons and daughters of Omobasi and willing friends and well-wishers to generously donate toward this worthy cause. We will write proposals (with professional expertise, of course) that will be dispatched to various education-friendly organizations and individuals across the globe, seeking additional funding. I am sure, the sons and daughters of Omobasi in the Diaspora, particularly those in USA , Canada , and UK , will be more than willing to fund such a worthy project. So long as we embrace transparency and accountability and build our reputation as credible partners of integrity, we will easily attract funding for our educational projects. As your MP, I will endeavor to promote integrity in public service and management. I will work closely with school management committees (BOGs), Head teachers and Principals of High Schools by holding regular consultative meetings in addition to the regular meetings. I will encourage, organize and sponsor professional workshops/seminars at zonal/divisional/ constituency levels for heads of departments, head teachers, and principals, to address relevant management, professional and general issues concerning education.

In a bid to address the problem associated with crowded classrooms and shortage of teachers, I will personally introduce and preach the doctrine of volunteerism. We will call upon retired teachers and trained (but not yet hired by TSC) teachers to volunteer and assist our children. The Bobasi Constituency Educational Committee, in conjuction with the MP, will cater for the volunteers’ basic upkeep through a specially established fund for volunteers. The funding sources will include the CDF kitty, my personal monthly donation as the seating MP, and support from well-wishers.

You will not agree with me more that one of the causes of underperformance in our schools is political meddling in the running of our schools. I want to state here that political interference in the management of Bobasi schools will be completely eliminated under my tenure as MP for Bobasi. I don’t subscribe to this unprofessional practice in which the appointment of school heads and high school principals is done on the basis of political allegiance and loyalty. I regard this as a primitive practice that has no place in a modern, 21^st century society. After winning the Bobasi parliamentary seat (God permit), I will proceed to perform my duties with integrity, grace and honor, without favor or fear, as an MP of all Bobasi constituents irrespective of their individual political loyalty and persuasion. I regard myself a modern, progressive, and liberal 21^st century politician. I don’t subscribe to petty politics of gossip and clan chauvinism, politics based on personal vendetta, politics of revenge or “feeling good” in settling personal scores. As history demonstrates, this mode of politics is to blame for the sorry state of our schools. Surely, this is the kind of retrogressive politics that we want to leave behind us, thrashed in the dustbin of history as we move on in the spirit of an emerging new generation, the generation of CHANGE. I embody the aspirations of this new generation, the spirit of change, real change. Period! Our schools need a taste of this change for a better tomorrow!

Gender disparities are glaringly discernible in our educational institutions, especially in colleges and universities. My long interaction with Bobasi college students informs me that for every twenty male students, there is one female student. This is a worrying and an unacceptable situation. As your MP, I will work to ensure the implementation of gender mainstreaming in our educational institutions. First, we will start by establishing 2 or 3 good and well-equipped and staffed girls’ high schools in our constituency. Secondly, we will deliberately organize holiday tuitions, coaching and academic seminars that will feature local female elites as role models in a bid to inculcate confidence and high self-esteem in our young girls. Moreover, as your MP, I will be a consistent advocate of gender equity and will always be in the forefront in moving and supporting parliamentary motions that seek to empower women.

TEA INDUSTRY

The tea industry in Gusiiland is generally threatened by inappropriate policy implementation, mismanagement, and corruption. The annual tea payments made to the farmers (the bonus) have dwindled and the demoralized farmers are at the verge of uprooting the crop. In Bobasi, the situation is more pathetic since a senior elected leader is an interested party in the industry: he monopolizes the transportation of processed tea from the local factories to Mombasa and other destinations. This scenario compromises his role as the peoples’ representative and protector of the farmers’ interests. An unfortunate incident that took place last year may assist in illustrating this point. Sometime last year, a truck was caught in the dead of the night transporting stolen/unaccounted for processed tea from one of the tea factories in the constituency. The whistle blower was a factory employee who, for a long time, had suspected the theft of processed tea by the transporting agents until he decided to act. However, in spite of the perpetrators having been caught and reported to the police and concerned factory authorities, there is NO evidence up to date to suggest that the culprits were arrested and arraigned before a court of law for prosecution. Instead, the poor whistle blower was summarily dismissed from his factory job and the case firmly closed. End of story!! As your elected MP and true servant of the people, I will revive this case and ensure that the culprits are brought to justice. I will also ensure that the whistle blower not only gets his job back but also earns appropriate promotion and compensation. Together, we will strive to create a society that rewards honest and hard-work and, in the same spirit, punishes crime and dishonesty.

While I welcome the on-going parliamentary debate and bill that seeks to streamline the operations of KTDA and enhance accountability, spearheaded by Hon. Jimmy Angwenyi and Hon. Omwancha Okioma, as your MP, I will endeavor to fight on the side of the tea farmers and their interests. I will deliberately avoid doing business with KTDA or any other interested organizations doing business with my constituents. Wise and leadership of vision and integrity demand that elected leaders avoid dealings that lead to conflict of interest. Furthermore, I will fight for increased professionalism and competency among the elected factory directors as one of the sure ways of safeguarding the farmers’ interests. Certain qualifications, relevant technical knowledge, experience and deep understanding of the role of factory directorship must be established and clearly spelt out to all interested parties in order to ensure efficiency, increased accountability and effectiveness in factory management.

Other sectors of agriculture such as animal husbandry, subsistence, and poetry need to be improved and modernized. Agriculture is the mainstay of the Bobasi economy, like the rest of Gusiiland. Yet, there is little visible effort witnessed in the industry in terms of agricultural extension services, modern technology, marketing and storage facilities, and transportation. As an avowed ally of the peasants, the reliable servant of the Bobasi farmers, I will work overtime to ensure that there is close flow of information and meaningful interaction between the farmers and extension service agents. I will make sure that cooling facilities and plants for dairy products are available and easily accessible. This is critical since it will reduce costs and losses that are presently incurred due to waste and transportation inconveniences. We will explore, with the help of the ministry of agriculture, experts and private interested individuals, the possibility of establishing processing factories for canned food products such as fruits, beans, bananas, and pineapples. Also, I will initiate and encourage our farmers to form cooperatives through which they can sell and market their produce, especially bananas, in order to avoid the unscrupulous middle-men agents hovering all over the constituency in trucks looking for goods at throw-away-prices. Our farmers must be urged to be smart capitalists, aggressive and profit-driven individuals in search of wealth.

WATER

As your MP, I intend to invest substantial amount of CDF money in ensuring availability of clean, drinking water for our constituents. Water is life! Furthermore, our women need a break from the long, torturous treks they make in search of water, a commodity that can be accessed easily by digging boreholes, pumping water from sources, improving existing springs etc if proper planning is made. Besides the CDF, there are many potential financial sponsors out there waiting to be contacted to fund noble projects such as availing clean water for a community such as ours. Clean water will not only eliminate costly waterborne ailments but also save time, which, in turn, will be invested in other productive endeavors. For girls, this will be timely relief as they will find time to concentrate on school work. It is part of my agenda as your area MP to seek ways of availing clean, drinking water to my constituents when I take the reins of leadership as the Bobasi MP. What I need in order realize this dream is your unwavering support.

FIREWOOD

Recently, I visited a bereaved family in my village in a rainy day. It was bitingly cold and the grieving, elderly mother, who had lost her daughter, was shivering and helpless. It then occurred to me that mama Bochere did not have firewood. Her small piece of land has no single tree standing on it. There is no forest nearby. She could afford neither kerosene nor charcoal. Unfortunately, this is typical of most households in Bobasi. I have thought of possible solutions, including rural electrification, which appears remote, though, as of now. We will invest in other possible fuel sources such as bio-gas technology. However, there is urgent need for further consultation, research, and government intervention on this fuel quagmire. Meanwhile, the memory of the shivering mama remains a constant remainder of the firewood predicament in our area and, as your MP, I will never rest until Bochere is assured of a reliable and affordable source of fuel.

HEALTH

The medical area requires committed leadership and elicited collective effort. As your area MP, I will lead in ensuring that more medical facilities are established and equitably spread throughout the constituency. The existing medical centers and facilities, including Nyamache and Nyacheki, need to be expanded, modernized and properly equipped in terms of general medical infrastructure: qualified medical personnel, medicine, and buildings. Besides the CDF, we will lobby the ministry of health for additional funding, and send fund-seeking proposals to potential donors out there. Health centers and dispensaries will be within reach to avoid current inconveniences, where patients cover long distances to reach the facilities. I will try my level best to ensure that our medical facilities are appropriately staffed by qualified medical personnel, professional doctors and nurses.

ROADS

The pathetic Bobasi road network needs serious and focused attention. As your area MP, I will work over-drive to ensure that our rural access roads are passable all-year-round to facilitate reliable commuting and transportation. This will promote economic growth since the farmers’ produce will reach marketing destinations in time. Our cash crops, for example, tea, will be collected and delivered to factories in a timely manner to ensure high quality tea and good returns to the farmers. A good road network will also open up the rural areas to outside investors and vice versa. Our people would find it easy to access various services in nearby urban centers if we had a good road network. It is the role of the MP to constantly nag the government about the state of roads in his/her area. As your MP, I will aggressively do so from time to time if we have to have proper roads in Bobasi.

INSECURITY

Insecurity is a troubling menace in Bobasi today. It not only undermines development and disrupts social harmony, but also kills imaginative thinking and creativity. It is a reflection of a failing civilization that can not sustain proper policing and protection of its inhabitants. I recognize that the solution to insecurity is fundamentally collective and administrative. As your MP, I will immediately join other Kenyan MPs in exerting increasing pressure on the government to act and secure its citizens since this is one of her primary obligations. In fact, governments all over the world are established essentially for the purpose of collective SECURITY. Our government must be pressured to re-train our local chiefs and sub-chiefs, give them the necessary supplies and equipment, and provide them with more administrative police officers so that there is effective monitoring and maintaining of law and public order in both our rural and urban areas. More importantly, however, is the fact that improved economic growth and increased employment opportunities will provide long term solutions to insecurity. We have so many young men idling around villages without meaningful engagement in life, hence vulnerable to criminal intent. As your MP, I will organize youth groups and mobilize them for self-help projects with funding from the CDF kitty and the recently established Youth Fund. By so doing, we will not only eliminate conditions that engender criminal behavior, but also appropriate the youthful energy and vigor in meaningful development.

NATIONAL POLITICS

Finally, as your MP, I will effectively represent you and your interests in the August house, our National Assembly. Politics is all about power and influence, assertion and lobbying, fame and recognition, perception and vision as opposed to timidity, ignorance, and unexplained docility. History has shown that when an MP shies away from parliamentary debates and national politics, both the constituency he represents and himself are, as a result, little known nationally. This translates into less influence and incapacity to effectively bargain for the national cake. Further, the MP finds himself marginalized and sidelined to the back benches even when enlisted as an ardent member of the government of national unity. I will not take this path. Instead, I will actively move substantive motions as well as initiate and table progressive bills in parliament geared towards moving our beloved country forward into a more democratic and civilized society of the 21^st century. My contributions in parliament will be informed by thorough research and intellectual insight. Also, and for effective representation, I will consistently consult with my constituents by holding regular public barazas, group discussions, and peer dialogue forum with professionals from our area in order to gauge and gather their views and standpoints on various national issues. Besides prioritizing the concerns of my constituents, I will establish myself in parliament as the voice and champion of the masses, the down-trodden, the wretched of the earth, the marginalized, the disabled, the orphans, the elderly, the girl-child, womenfolk, the farmers, the workers, etc. As your MP, I will embrace the democratic platform, the anchor of human rights and freedoms of expression, assembly, association, movement, settlement, and worship. Moreover, I will associate myself with the national and constitutional reformist forces and commit myself to the current agitation for comprehensive constitutional reforms. I believe that the surest way we can confront tribalism in our country is by entrenching constitutional safeguards and structures.

CONCLUSION

I reaffirm to you, again, my fellow constituents, my commitment and resolve to a visionary leadership for real changein Bobasi. While the past cannot be changed, the future can. We all want a leadership that is all-inclusive, accessible, gender sensitive, innovative, imaginative, focused, and people-oriented. I am deeply patriotic and committed to the collective ideals of Omogusii and Omobasi, in particular. My humble, rural upbringing has made immensely enriching, indelible impressions on my life and character. A 3^rd born in a family of 7, I lost my father at the age of 12. Thereafter, life was a nightmare as we struggled and miraculously weaved our life through thick and thin under the delicate care of an ailing but determined and resolute mother. I did my primary and secondary school education in Bobasi before proceeding to Kabarnet Boys to do my high school studies. I also completed my BA and MA studies in our local public universities before I won the prestigious American Fulbright scholarship to do a doctoral program in Gender Studies abroad. I have been teaching History and Gender Studies at one of our local public universities. In this background and lessons learnt therein, lie my personal drive to succeed and my belief in the indomitable human spirit. Thus, in my leadership as your MP, I bring with me the virtues of hard work, the patience of a cat, humility, accessibility, selflessness, respect for others, honest, commitment to serve, and determination. I am mission-driven and inspired to work toward creating a favorable and empowering environment for our children. Indeed, as one philosopher remarked “a man who gives children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune”. To accomplish this noble, collective goal, I need your support and VOTE. Koranche, mbwatesi!! Ing’a amagoro!! And, together, let us change BOBASI for the better!! Thank you and May God bless you.

Charles Jomo Otoigo Choti, PhD.

Bobasi Parliamentary Aspirant, 2007.