Governor Lusaka- Luhyas will never rule Kenya unless...

 New Ford Kenya Party Leader Kenneth Lusaka who is also the Bungoma Governor

Bungoma Governor slams those opposed to the collaboration between his New Ford Kenya party and Jubilee. He tells Kennedy Okwach that if the people of Mulembe don’t forge ties with other communities, they will never set foot in State House

Senator Moses Wetang’ula says your government is corrupt... I have always told the senator that there are many watchdogs that address issues of corruption. You cannot address graft in funerals and social gatherings. We have EACC (Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission), Senate, PAC (Parliamentary Accounts Committee), county assemblies and the Auditor-General who are tasked and qualified to tackle this.

I cannot say there’s no corruption because it’s the greatest threat to the country. We need to work in partnership with the senator to tackle the vice instead of using it to gain political mileage.

You and Senator Wetang’ula are always fighting. Does he want your seat? What of his presidential ambitions?

The exchange between the senator and I escalated when I became the leader of New Ford Kenya party. But sometimes a lot of this tension is fuelled by our supporters. I have told my senator that I respect him a lot. As leaders, if there are any sticky issues, we should sit together and discuss them.

On his presidential ambitions, if he becomes the Cord flag-bearer, we will fully support him, if not, we still have our democratic right to support whoever we think is deserving. The senator has told me he’s not interested in the governor’s seat, but if he changes his mind, it’s the wananchi who will who to vote for.

What about those scandalous wheelbarrows that even featured in international media? Has anyone been arraigned in court?

I am the one who invited EACC to come and check our financial systems. I also ordered an internal audit and that’s when the issue came to light. After receiving the report from the County Assembly, I surcharged those who took greater responsibility and asked them to step aside. I will take necessary action after the report from EACC is out.

Is the Luhya community better off in Jubilee or Cord?

As a community, if we don’t build bridges with other communities, we will never rule this country. Wetang’ula is with Raila and Kalonzo. Why are we being criminalised when we try to network with DP Ruto and President Uhuru? Look at our history, when Wamalwa Kijana went alone in 1997, he came a distant fifth, but when he worked with Kibaki and Ngilu, he became a Vice President!

When Masinde Muliro wanted to form the original Ford (Forum for Restoration of Democracy), he looked for Jaramogi from Nyanza, Nthenge from Ukambani and Matiba and Rubia from Central.

It’s not something new. People should not trivialise our collaboration with Uhuru and Ruto. I tell them to work from the other side (Cord) and if they bring the antelope home, let’s share the meat and feed our people. If we bring the antelope through Jubilee, sawa! Jubilee is going to form the next government and no person can pretend that he doesn’t want to be part of government.

Bungoma is congested - narrow roads, boda bodas and there is no planning. There are even villages within your CBD...

We have a partial plan for Bungoma, Webuye and Kimili towns. We want to have a controlled development in our towns. I have opened a by-pass to ensure trucks and vehicles do not pass through the town.

You formed a regional economic bloc with other governors. Before that, the idea of forming a ‘Mulembe’ bank was mooted as well as Luhya unity. Are Western leaders really serious?

The economic plan is an initiative of all governors from Western Kenya and is being spearheaded by Kisumu governor. As Western region, we meet yearly to harmonise some of our laws and developments like taxes, infrastructure. Regarding the Mulembe bank, it was on and off, but despite the challenges, we will be there soon.

Recently, there have been reports of leaflets in the county warning a certain community to vacate. Is this true?

That’s very primitive and barbaric. We cannot go that way if we remember what happened in 2007/2008.How many of our people are working in other regions in this country? People are still at The Hague and such actions should not be entertained. We should not fan ethnic animosity.

Who was killing innocent villagers in your county? Has anyone been jailed for those heinous murders?

This falls directly under the national government. The county commissioner indicated to us that most people who were involved were apprehended and taken to court.

You were appointed Permanent Secretary (PS) from District Commissioner, which means you frog-leaped your seniors. Wasn’t that politically instigated favouritism?

Not really. Remember I started from the bottom of the civil service. I was a District Officer for nine years and became a District Commissioner (DC). It’s also not right to assume I was appointed directly to the PS position from the rank of DC because I also served as a First Secretary for Provincial Administration in the Office of the President. I served for one year before I was promoted to PS. I rose through the ranks and never received a disciplinary letter.

Why the move from a technocrat to politician?

Remember that with a new constitution, there were more opportunities. I felt that with the experience I have gained in the field, having worked in most parts of Kenya, it was my conviction that I was better-placed to serve my people as governor. I was convinced that as the CEO, the governor was more about service delivery.

Counties that elected long serving administrators as governors were presumed to be better off than those that elected politicians and academics. What is the reality on the ground?

If you look at the ranking by Infrotrak, you’ll realise that Machakos was number one and Bungoma number two. Both of us have served either as administrators or civil servants and so, experience in public service is an added advantage. The only challenge is balancing between politics and service delivery because there is a lot of distraction from politicians.

Can the Webuye Pan African Paper Mills be revived or this will only keep coming up during campaigns? 

I can tell you for sure that we are working on this, and even President Uhuru is keen on reviving the factory. Remember the factory is under receivership and long-term creditors are the ones who are keen on disposing it. It was advertised and one bidder won. All things being constant, we were hoping that by March this year, the company will be up and running. That is the assurance we got from the bidder.

What are some of your greatest achievements?

In infrastructure, we have done 68 rural roads, lit up towns and markets; we have bought ambulances and we are refurbishing our county hospital. We have bought 400 modern beds, modern X-Ray machines and drugs. In Education, we were the first county to employ ECDE (Early Childhood Development and Education) teachers and have put up 80 per cent ECDE centres in the county. We have issued Sh180 million bursaries to secondary schools. In agriculture, we have subsidised fertiliser and seed to farmers. In sports, we are putting up a high altitude training centre in Mt Elgon.