Omar pledges rapid growth as he rolls up sleeves to face Joho

Wiper Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Hassan Omar (second left) during the launch of his manifesto at Bandari College in Mombasa County. [Photo: Kelvin Karani, Standard]

Mombasa Wiper gubernatorial candidate Hassan Omar has unveiled his manifesto, promising social transformation and transparency in governance.

Speaking at Bandari College in Mombasa during the launch of the blueprint dubbed ‘Mombasa Citizens Manifesto Initiative,’ Omar, who is also the Mombasa senator, pledged to create 10,000 jobs over the next five years in the tourism and fishing industry.

He promised to establish incubation centers to help youth be self employed and generate 15,000 jobs in the six sub counties. The senator said he will negotiate with the national government for a Sh50 billion infrastructure marshal plan for Mombasa to steer industrialisation.

He pledged to expand and equip health facilities and schools, fix drainage and waste disposal as well address water shortage in the county.

Omar will face off with Governor Hassan Joho of ODM, Jubilee’s Suleiman Shahbal and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti of the Vibrant Democratic Party.

The senator said Joho’s policies have failed to spur economic growth and his administration lacked transparency.

Omar promised to establish a model for civic engagement, prioritise the county government’s social-economic development and promote accountability. “My administration shall operationalise the Mombasa County public participation Bill within the first 100 days of my leadership,” Omar said, adding that he would publish 10,000 copies of the county monthly newsletter to promote transparency.

Omar was flanked by his running mate Linda Shuma and Wiper party’s Kisauni parliamentary candidate Ali Mbogo, who endorsed the manifesto on Thursday.

Ms Shuma said politics had been monetised, ethnicised and cannibalised, making it difficult for the youth to compete on a level playing ground with other leaders.

“If the progressive movement must survive, it must remain defiant. It must continue to challenge the looting and inept class through imagination and candour. It must compete for power to reorganise and transform the state,” she said.

Omar claimed that the bar of leadership in the county has been set too low and residents were yet to enjoy the fruits of devolution. He promised to give his scorecard every year if elected governor.

Omar criticised Joho for walking in the shadow of NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga and vowed to beat him at the polls. “The measure of success is not how much money you make. Even bank robbers make money. Success is reflected in the improvement of the lives of other people. Joho is using Raila to make him a hero and others villains but I have the people of Mombasa,” Omar argued.

He announced plans to establish a task force to investigate allegations of abuse of office by Joho’s administration. At the same time, Omar opposed the governor’s campaign against the establishment of a dry port in Naivasha.

He said the county would partner with the national government to establish a special economic zone in the Miritini-Mariakani area to promote trade.