Nyong'o, leaders clash over projects

Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o (center) alongside other local leaders addresses the press in Kisumu on April 4th 2020 over the county preparedness measures for coronavirus prevention. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has said demolition of structures built on road reserves to pave way for infrastructural development in the town will continue despite protests from other leaders. 

While Senator Fred Outa and lawyers Ambrose Weda, Onyango Oloo and Ken Amondi acknowledged and welcomed the developments, they expressed reservations on how the exercise was being done.

"We support the developments but they should be done in a manner that does not affect the general social and economic life cycle of small-medium enterprises (SMEs)," said Mr Outa.

But even as the Senator and his ilk called for the suspension of some of the demolitions, Prof Nyong'o maintained that the plan would proceed. He accused the leaders of horse-trading and political opportunism "to gain mileage."

The governor said the demolition would be done in a systematic and structured way.

Nyong’o claimed the leaders' utterances were meant to incite traders against his administration terming them a big threat to the development and growth of Kisumu city.

"Criticism without weighing in on the repercussions isn’t good. What is inside your heart for Kisumu County is your ideology, policies and commitment," Nyong’o said during a press briefing.

The governor claimed some leaders were out to negate gains made through democratic processes in Kisumu by undermining his administration through political hate and propaganda politics.

He urged the electorate to ignore utterances made by leaders opposed to his plans, saying such antics were aimed at derailing development projects.

At the same time, Outa defended his statement, saying they were only trying to advise the governor in a good way and not to rubbish his development initiatives.

The senator maintained the leaders were supporting SMEs because they play an important role in the socio-economic development of the lakeside county.

"Their role in terms of production, employment generation, contribution to exports, and facilitating equitable distribution of income is very critical for us and their plight can't be overlooked,” argued Outa.

Last year Kisumu County missed its revenue target by more than Sh634 million, according to Nyong’o.

He disclosed that they had projected to collect more than Sh1.4 billion, but only got Sh804,387,971. [Kepher Otieno]