I am the prefect of Sotik

JOYCE LABOSO never imagined herself in politics but when her sister, former Sotik MP Lorna Laboso passed on in a light aircraft accident, her people asked her to take the place and carry on Lorna’s vision. She has come to love serving her people. She spoke to SHIRLEY GENGA

Everything in my life was going well until June 10, 2008, when I got a phone call that my sister, Lorna Chepkemoi Laboso, who was a politician with the Orange Democratic Movement, had died in a plane crash along with then Roads Minister Kipkalya Kones.

The news was shocking! I could not believe it because I had just spoken to her earlier in the day.

I come from a close-knit family; Lorna and I were like best friends. Losing her was one of the hardest things I have had to deal with. She was so passionate and full of life. She lived life with a big spoon, never fearing anything or anyone.

When people said that she could not be a politician because she did not have a degree, she did not back down. She simply enrolled at Daystar University and got her degree in less than three years.

She had a way with people that was breathtaking. Anyone who met her could not forget her. That was what helped her easily connect with people at the grassroots.

After she died, everyone asked if I would join politics and take her place. My answer was a big ‘no’. Never in my life had I ever imagined being in politics. I was happy with my nice, quiet life as an academician.

But upon further reflection, I changed my mind because I knew I owed it to my sister to see her vision for the people of Sotik become a reality.

My sister had been in politics for ten years before she died and because we had been close, everything she went through on her journey to be a member of Parliament felt like I had gone through it with her. I had not only prepared her manifesto for elections but I had gone through her political ups and downs with her. I knew my sister’s vision and dream for the constituency and I knew I had to do it for her.

The whole campaign process was not easy for me as my opponents used the tribal card because of my husband’s tribe, but I am glad that the people of my constituency refused to be put in that tribal box.

It was a wonderful feeling when I was appointed MP for Sotik because I knew this was the path God had chosen for me.

The biggest shocker of being in politics is the fact that you no longer have any privacy. You also have no time for yourself or your family; people feel like they own you and your time. Also, if you want to know what people think of you, just join politics.

I have always had pride in being a responsible, honest, good girl but now through the media, I have been described in all manner of ways. It was shocking at first but I have slowly developed a thick skin.

I will never forget the first day I walked into Parliament. It looked like this really big room and I was intimidated. I knew that to get rid of the fear, I needed to stand up and talk. I did this in the first week of joining Parliament and with time, the fear faded away.

Parliament turned out to be a whole new experience for me. It is a place where you must have your wits on high alert at all times because everyone is out for himself or herself. It is a ‘man eat man/woman’ society.

Being in Parliament is no easy feat for a woman and I think that a lot of women do not speak up because of intimidation and our small number. We are looking forward to seeing the numbers increase as we will then be able to push the agenda for women further. But despite our small number we are still able to push for change.

Personally, I will soon move the Social Assistance Bill, 2011. It is a comprehensive Bill on social protection, which covers not just older people but all vulnerable people in the society.

I am passionate about issues regarding women and other vulnerable people in the society. What I love about being a woman in Parliament is that you have the avenue and power to make a change.

I like to refer to myself as ‘the prefect’ because I have played that role a lot in my life. Since I am the first girl in my home I have always been in charge of things. I was the one who kept peace amongst my siblings.

In high school, too, I was a prefect. Even now that I am the temporary Deputy Speaker, I see this role as an extension of prefecthood in some way.

As soon as I became an MP, I knew that I needed to make a difference in the constituency. So I took time to prepare a strategic plan with the help of the community. The main areas identified include livestock production, education, road network, electricity, water provision, women and youth issues. Apart from that we also have an annual Constituency Day where we try to take stock of what we have accomplished.

Sotik has 52 sub-locations and I ensure that we are on the same page everywhere. A lot of leaders like to start new projects once elected instead of finishing projects that were started by previous holders of the office. This is a waste of resource as projects are supposed to benefit the community; they do not belong to the MP neither are they meant for political mileage.

Fighting fear

I work hard to maintain transparency at all levels. You can go to constituency offices and get information on any project or go to our website, www.sotikconstituency.co.ke and see our work and our strategic plan.

I am passionate about women issues. Women at grassroots levels are often forgotten and they do not feel like they have a voice. I wanted to create an avenue in which they could be empowered financially in my tenure.

Together with other women from my community, we started a Women’s Sacco in 2008 with Sh400,000 raised in a harambee. The cooperative society is called Cotabgor meaning ‘House of Women’. It is doing well and currently we have over 6,000 members with a share capital of over Sh30 million. The women use this money to start small businesses to help support their families.

I am also working on something similar for the youth.

When it comes to electricity coverage, we have managed to electrify over 80 per cent of Sotik up from 20 per cent when I became MP.

Although we are well on our way to meeting most of our targets, the biggest challenge we face is roads. The weather is a big challenge in Sotik; it rains heavily most of the time. Even though we have put a lot of effort and resources to repair roads, within a short time they are ruined. But we are working on it.

If I am given another term in Parliament, my main focus will be on wealth creation and economic empowerment. Sotik has a lot of untapped economic potential. I believe that if every family in Sotik had one grade cow that is well looked after, we would indeed kill poverty.

We also have a lot of horticultural potential because of the rains. We just need a way to build the capacity of farmers, provide proper storage facilities and market the produce, connecting the farmers to the consumers directly.