I earned zero salary as Raila Odinga’s personal assistant

Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong speaks to IGNATIUS ODANGA about his days as Raila’s mtu wa mkono, why Ababu Namwamba is cursed, and the reason his people drink beer in Uganda.

Engineer Vincent Sidai, who is a Teso like you, is running for governor. Won’t splitting the Teso vote give your opponents from the Luhya community an upper hand in the elections?

I doubt Busia politics will pit Luhyas against Tesos because we operate within a democracy, not a fiefdom.  Our team, that comprises Woman Representative and Senator aspirants will give me an advantage and ensure I win again.

But all your competitors are saying you have performed below par and that you do not deserve a second term...

Those who have not been following what we have been doing are the ones running around saying that we have performed below the expectations of Busia residents. Some of my competitors have never participated in any of the county development programmes. No wonder, they are totally ignorant of what is going on in Busia.

You are expected to battle it out with Funyula Member of Parliament Paul Otuoma for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket in party primaries. Are you worried?

I have always maintained, and statistics show, that he (Otuoma) is a nobody to me in the politics of Busia County. By nature, I am not unnecessarily combative and belligerent and some of my competitors may mistake that weakness.

That is not the case. In fact, Otuoma has panicked and that is why he once quit the party and later came back. I am going to win the seat by a landslide without breaking a sweat. Watch this space.

You are tarmacking roads in Busia and Malaba towns. Is this not just a trick to win the support of urban residents?

Everything is done according to plan and our people’s priorities. In the last financial year, we allocated money to tarmac roads in towns, but when we went for public participation, the people and MCAs rejected the proposals . They argued that we cannot tarmac roads in towns and sideline those in rural areas.

We decided to construct new roads and shelve the plan to carpet existing ones which are in dilapidated states. Most of the budgetary allocations are approved by residents, but there is a misconception that it is the governor who determines the budget. This is of course totally untrue.

A recent audit report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) stated that you could not account for about Sh352 million. Where did the money go?

That report was misleading. It is why governors who were adversely mentioned read malice in it. I clarified the matter in the Senate. June 30 is when we close of our financial year and expected to account for the monies we receive and give supportive documents. But in this case, the money in question was disbursed on July 3, which falls in a new and different financial year.

This is what I explained to the Senate. But it seems that some malicious people went to the Senate and fixed things to make me look bad. No money was lost and I can account for every penny I have received for the last four years.

How would you describe the first four years of devolution?

It’s been a period of challenges for new governors. But I am glad we have managed to overcome the odds. Laying the foundation for devolution was hard. We lacked technical staff, but we kept on recruiting and setting up proper structures. We expected resources from the national government to flow freely without delays, but it turned out that the disbursement of resources to the counties was not steady, besides being unreliable and sufficient for the execution of planned projects.

 How come Busia residents prefer drinking beer in Uganda?

The duty on alcohol in Kenya is very high, which translates into high cost of beer. In Uganda, the duty is lower on most goods, including alcohol, which makes the prices there pocket-friendly. That is why most Kenyans in Busia would rather have their drink in Uganda. Running a business is also more expensive in Kenya than in Uganda.

What is this excitement among locals about a ‘new lake’ in Busia County?

Yes, there is a lake that has formed in Busia in Munongo. It is going to be one of the tourist attractions in our area.

Are you a violent man?

I am a very composed and calm person. That is why my opponents are all over the place trying to be seen as aggressive. But that’s not always how to get things done. For me, I’ rather we reason, and that’s what I do with most people until we reach a logical conclusion.

You were once a personal assistant to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. How much did you earn as a salary?

I did not earn a salary as Raila’s PA! We were friends and don’t forget he was also struggling. We were just a group of volunteers who shared the little that was available. There was no salary, bwana. Where was the money to pay people?

Do you think Budalang’i Member of Parliament Ababu Namwamba is going to reclaim his seat?

I predicted long ago that he is not going to win back his seat. In fact, I am going to use everything at my disposal to ensure that he is defeated in the August polls. I am soon going to pitch tent in Budalang’i with the sole purpose of ensuring he is not re-elected. He is a cursed guy and does not have a future in politics.

It is Raila who brought him to politics, made him an MP and minister when some of us who struggled with him (Raila) for many years did not land such opportunities. Now, he has turned against Raila. He is cursed!

What is the price of a two-kilo tin of maize (gorogoro) in Busia?

It is unfortunate that the price of maize in Busia has increased drastically this year. In some areas, a gorogoro of maize goes for between Sh120 and Sh130. The price has tripled because of crop failure.

What are you doing to enhance food production in the county?

We have mechanised farming and are currently distributing fertilizers to farmers in the county. I am happy that some MPs are also distributing fertilizers to farmers. We are thus hopeful that this year, we are going to have a bumper harvest.

Some ODM politicians from Busia claimed you had shifted allegiance to Jubilee and made a visit to Deputy President William Ruto’s home in Sugoi...

I have never visited Deputy President William Ruto’s home, although he is my friend. My conscience is clear that I am an ODM supporter, and even if I visit President Uhuru Kenyatta, he knows where my allegiance. I am an ODM stalwart. However, the Constitution has granted me freedom of association, so it is within my right to visit other people even if we have different opinions and subscribe to varying ideologies.