Respect and support Kalonzo Musyoka, governor asks leaders

Kalonzo Musyoka addressing Sabasaba rally at Uhuru Park, Nairobi.

KITUI COUNTY: Kitui Governor Julius Malombe has asked ukambani leaders to accord Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka unrelenting respect and support.

Dr Malombe said people in the larger Lower Eastern region should remain steadfast behind the former Vice President if the region was to be respected by other ethnic groups in the countdown to 2017 General Election and beyond.

“Kalonzo has a big constituency to serve such as the nation, Kitui County and Wiper party among others. He is the kingpin of Lower Eastern. If you think otherwise, then you are reading your politics upside down”, Dr Malombe said.

Speaking at Tseikuru Secondary School in Mwingi North constituency, the Governor said the entire Cord leadership in ukambani must speak in one voice and unite in an effort to make a better society.

He defended the need to hold negotiations between CORD and the Jubilee Government to address pertinent issues of national importance the opposition party has raised.

Malombe, who is the Chairman of Lower Easter Governor’s Development Forum, comprising Machakos, Kitui and Makueni Counties, said such negotiations are not a preserve of the national Assembly or the Senate but political parties have a right to enter into such negotiations as well.

“Political parties are very important institutions of Governance that could help in solving national problems. We cannot dismiss political parties that were voted by a more than half of Kenyan voters,” the Governor said.

He said political parties are institutions of leadership and challenged Jubilee Government to go ahead and negotiate with CORD and other stakeholders in an all-inclusive dialogue.

“Dialogue should be held in a peaceful environment and in the spirit of mutual respect recognizing and respecting all office bearers such as the President and party leaders”, he said.

The Governor said his County Government was keen to invest heavily in harnessing the water resources in Kitui County such as Tana and Athi rivers and seasonal rivers to bring an end to food and water shortages in the county.

Malombe said that the Kitui County Government in partnership with World Vision have initiated a Sh400 million water project in Kitui South that will draw water from Athi River and serve the entire Kitui South sub-county. He said a similar initiative has been mooted in Mwingi North to harness Tana River waters.

He challenged MPs in Kitui County to lobby the National Government to tarmac the Kibwezi- Kitui-Mwingi-Usueni road to spur faster economic growth in the county and its neighbours.

The Governor also challenged them to lobby the National Irrigation Board (NIB) to allocate funds to initiate large scale irrigation projects on Tana and Athi Rivers in order to turn Kitui into food producer for Kenya and beyond.