KISII: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi has called on politicians to stop bickering and support business ideas.
“We need to unite and focus on how we can promote trade and business. We should look beyond our political differences and support business enterprises. Our counties have a potential to grow economically if indeed the current crop of leaders decide to put aside their difference,” said Dr Kituyi in his address at the Kisii Entrepreneurship Summit yesterday.
Kisii County ODM Youth League chairman Eric Janganya warned that the leaders that they risked the wrath of the youth in the next elections if they continued bickering.
“It is unfortunate that all our Members of Parliament have decided to skip this special meeting. We are not going to sit and watch them misbehave. Some of these leaders represent areas with immense resources. They should have come here to meet with potential investors instead of giving excuses,” said Janganya, in the summit held in Kisii Governor James Ongwae’s backyard.
But MCA Samuel Onukho said that some of the leaders felt sidelined. “Such meetings require cooperation and wide consultation or else they are seen as a one-man show,” said Onukho.
MPs’ snub
Kisii County Senator Chris Obure, Woman Representative Mary Sally Otara, a host of Kisii MCAs, Chairman Council of Governors Peter Munya and his Kakemega Counterpart Wycliffe Oparanya, among others, attended the three-day summit.
It emerged earlier that some leaders felt the opening of the summit by CORD leader Raila Odinga may have overly politicised the meeting whose objective was to focus on investments.
This may have been why nine MPs failed to show up for Thursday’s opening ceremony.
Most legislators in Gusii, who have been gravitating towards the ruling Jubilee coalition despite being elected on ODM ticket said they had informed Governor Ongwae that they were not consulted in the planning of the summit organised to attract investors to the county.
But the County Director of Communications Maseme Machuka denied that the leaders had not been invited.
“We sent invitation to all Members of Parliament. We want to believe that they will attend the summit today,” said Maseme in an interview in a local radio station.
Yesterday, Richard Onyonka, MP for Nyaribari Chache (ODM), said they had wanted to be more involved in discussions of the affairs of the county.
Onyonka added: “It is bad for us to be sidelined when we have a stake in the development of our areas. We were elected and our voices need to be heard. We shouldn’t just be used as rubber stamps.”
His South Mugirango counterpart Manson Nyamweya (ODM), who has announced his interest in the county gubernatorial seat, also said proper consultation ought to have been done. “We need to be told what the summit was all about. We cannot be invited to such functions through the press. We understand the interests of our people and before we try and bring in more investors we should tell residents what we have done with allocations from the national Treasury,” said Nyamweya.
Richard Tongi (Ford People, an affiliate party of the Jubilee Coalition) has been criticising the governor, and accuses him of sponsoring ODM candidate Chris Bichage to challenge his election in court.
Tongi was elected in a by-election in December 2013, but Bichage went to court to challenge his election. “I’m busy at the Supreme Court with the case and I can’t attend any meeting that I was not part of,” Tongi said. Kisii University, the venue of the summit that ends today, is in Tongi’s constituency.
Kitutu Chache North MP Jimmy Angwenyi (TNA) said the governor needed to work more closely with MPs.
Simon Ogari (Bomachoge, ODM) also missed the meeting because he had other pressing commitments. “I was engaged in an another function and that is why I wasn’t present when the former premier opened the summit,” Ogari clarified.
Other MPs from the region who had been expected to show up at the opening but were absent Zebedeo Opore (Bonchari, Ford People), Elijah Moindi (Nyaribari Masaba, Narc Kenya), Joel Onyancha (Bomachoge Borabu (TNA) and Stephen Manoti (Bobasi, Ford People).
