By Leo Odera Omolo
Discontent is high inside Luo Nyanza following the bad rumours that the immediate former MPs who were rejected by the electorate in last December’s general election are flocking into the Nairobi office of the Prime Minister with their CVs in search of government appointments.
The same rumours goes that the former MPs are hungry lots, but strangely enough they are said to be seeking the government and parastatal jobs already held by their fellow Luos.
Of course there are very few Luos holding plum jobs in both government, parastatals and quasi-government organizations. And there are a few Luos serving in diplomatic missions abroad. The majority of them had secured their diplomatic posting during the reign of the former Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju, and are said to be performing exemplary well.
A few Luos are heading parastatals. The most notable is Dr. Ongong’an Achieng’ who is the Managing Director of the Kenya Tourist BoaRD{KTB}. The board was hitherto run down and the country was losing the battle for tourism business, which is a major source of the scarce foreign exchange. Dr. Achieng’ is a performer and a workaholic man whose brief reign at the helm of the KTB has seen rapid growth in the tourism industry.
Other CEO include MS Rosemarie Mkok who is heading the Kenya Sugar Board in acting capacity following the recent suspension of the KSB Chief Executive Andrew Otieno, But in a brief stint Ms Mkok has made a mark as a performer and an effective manager. Otieno, according to sources, is under investigations for alleged crimiunal related matters.
The other parastatal Luo CEO is George Okungu who is heading the most lucrative Kenya Pipeline Company limited. Okungu is also credited for being an exemplary performer. He has been there ever since the days of NARC accession to power in 2002. He had at first served as the deputy MD under Dr. Shem Ochuodho and took over when the latter was shown the exit door.
There are several Luo CEOs of the various parastatal bodies such as Paul Odolla who heads the SONY Sugar Company who together with the hardworking chairman of the board of directors Mr. Herbert Ojuwang’ have turned the hitherto financially strapped firm into a vibrant corporate business entity to the satisfaction of the local sugar can be farming communities. Sonysugar has contracted close to 25,000 outgrowers in five administrative districts, namely Rongo, Migori, Kuria, Gucha and Homa-bay.
Another parastatal CEO is Prof. Julius Nyabundi who head s the financially limping Chemelil Sugar Company in Nyandoi sugarbelt. Nyabundi’s managerial capacity may be put to one thousand question mark. Chemelil used to produced between 2500 bags to 3000 bags per day, but ever since the former dons at Maseno University took over the production capacity has gone down to a worrisome level. Chemelil is now only able to produce between 800 and 12 gunny bags of sugar per day. This does not even represent the half of its production capacity. On several occasion this has gone under numerous probe by the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission staff and sleuths. The government must make a radical change in order to rescue Chemelil Sugar from the sharks.
Eng. Martin Owiti, the man who is also credited for having turned SONYSUGAR around back to life from its deathbed is currently doing extremely well at the Muhoironi Sugar Company, though this firm is still under the official receivership.. Owiti is a joint receiver managers with K. Bett. Sugarcane farmers are getting paid in time and in an efficient manner like what is currently happy with the two.
There are only two Luos serving as the chairmen of the parastatals bodies, These are Mr Zablon Owigo Olang a former MP for Ndhiwa who is currently the chairman of the Lake Basin Development authority{LBDA}. Mr. Olang , according to confidential reports reaching us is a performer, though the LBDA has limited resources he has steared the parastatal on well.
The other presidential appointee serving the parastatal is Mr. Hebert Ojuwang’s who is the chairman of the SONYSUGAR Company board of directors. Ojuwang’ a shrewd business man took over the management of SONYSUGAR when the firm’s resources were being vandalized by a cartel of rogue staff, friends and relatives. Cane farmers were forced to go up to six months before being paid for their cane crops harvested, delivered and crushed by the company processing factory at Awendo. There were hue and cry about rampant corruption in weighbridge, transport, sales of the finished product and harvesting.
The Awendo-based SONY sugar was almost going burst as the looting of its resources had intensified forcing the government to change its five different CEOs within a brief period of five years. At the moment cane farmers within Awendo and its environs are quite happy with the new management team under the stewardship of Mr. Ojuwang. The company has become zero tolerant to corruption and other vices.
But the rumour making the round within Awendo and its environs is that an elderly former MP from the greater Southern Nyanza region has persistently been pestering the Prime Minister’s with his CV. The gentleman is said to be aged about 72 year old while the current Chairman is in his late 40s or early 50s.
Instead of these former Luo MPs making use of the good money they are alleged to have looted from the CDF during the 9th Parliament by establishing service and manufacturing businesses in Kisumu, they are still loitering around looking for jobs. In the business and commercial front, Kisumu is still under the economic and commercial grip of the Asians and other non-Luo merchants.
In the diplomatic postings, there are several Luo ambassadors and High Commissioners like ms Rachele Omamo {France}Rateng’ Oginga Ogego{Washington}, Lazarous Ombaye Amayo{Zambia}, mDan Madundu {Eggypt} and Tom Amolo {Pretoria} only to mention a few. These Luos diplomats are said to be performing exemplarily well in harmonising Nairobi’s relations with other capitals of the world with distinction and credit.
But despite of the excellence performance, some oldest and tired former Luo MPs are said to ne engaged in intensive lobbying for their jobs.
The one million question being asked here and there is that; Is it necessary to replace a Luo from this constituency who is serving the government with another Luo from another constituency. Does it augur well with the ODM strategies for the future.,.This kind of downward looking strategies could only serve to antagonize the community, and yet the grand coalition government has so many openings to accommodate these former MPS turned job seekers.
Some of these former MPS are known to be parents with grown up children who in turn have already acquired university degrees, and should be the one seeking for employment in government and parastatal bodies, but not their rapidly ageing fathers. Moreover these people were flatly rejected at the polls by the electorate for various reasons, therefore they should go home and enjoy whatever they have and leave the field for young and energetic sons and daughter.
‘The ODM also need to pull its sacks up and stand firm against its loose talking adherents and the so-called power brokers operating and politicking within the pubs and restaurants in Kisumu town with vernomous and dreadful rumours. The so-called members of the moribund Luo Council of Elders, which at times acting as a wing of the party is another source of discontent.
The so-called power brokers if their actions are not checked in time could spoil things and the good work being put in place by the Luo political kingpin Raila Amolo Odinga.
During the Prime Minister homecoming parties and celebrations which started in Kisumu City, one of the Luo MPs was notably absent.. But it later emerged that Joshua Orwa Ojodeh, who is an Assistant Minister for Internal Security and a team of other security personnel had flown to the war-ravaged Mt. Elgon district for on a spot checking inspection of security operation in the areas.
Ojodeh therefore could not be in attendance in these series of parties and celebrations due to the fact that he had gone on government mission. It was the mission of the same government headed by Raila Odinga as the prime Minister, and as such it defeats all the logics for any busy body to start dreadful rumours that the Assistant Minister absenteeism was meant that he is fighting Hon Odinga politically There is so many air balloon loose talks of this kind in Kisumu and its environ, which are only fueling misunderstanding among the elected leaders from the region Mr. Odinga is doing is doing an excellent work for this our beloved Kenyan nation and as such people who surrounds him should be grateful for the work he is doing. All must appreciate what he has achieved so far and give him breathing time to achieve more in the coming years. Idlers should go back home and work in their farms.. this idler talkers do not have instrument with which they can measure up the degree of loyality of an individual to Raila..
Ojodeh is a very loyal and staunch follower of Raila Odinga who has stood with side by side with “Agwambo”.at the time of need and as such should not be despised by these destructive and unproductive bunch of political sycophants.
It is time many Luo political operative scale down their uncoordinated public utterences, especially sycophantic utterances against their fellow Luos personalities. If you remove a Luo from Ugenya from a parastatal job and replaced him with a Luo from Karachuonyo you have virtually nothing for the interest of the community, but only served to antagonise it..
Well performing diplomats should be left alone to continue serving Kenya and should not be replaced with people with dubious qualification in the diplomatic services, simple to create jobs for them for the sake of it in the same context the rejected former Luo MPS must stop the bad habit of pestering the PM with CVs. They must go home and wait for the year 2012 or retire honourably and leave the political field altogether for the younger people.
Those Luos busy bodies who are pretending to be Raila Odinga loyalists or more loyal than the others should know that the entire community voted for the ODM on man to man. It was a total commitment for the realization of the meaningful change that the entire Kenyan population want, but not for individual egoistic and selfish interests.
.On equal terms. Members of the Luo Council of Elders should also engaged themselves on gainful businesses, and must at the same time stop acting as the supervisers of the elected MPS. They should the MP s alone to serve the electorate and stop spreading dreadful rumours on non-existent issues. They should give Raila and the present crop of MPs the breathing space to serve the wananchi..
Some members of the so-called Luo Council of Elders are people who cannot even win a seat in a local primary school committee and such they should stop sowing the seeds of discord among the elected leaders;
That is the way forward.
ENDS
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
– – –
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:16:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: INTRIGUES IN LUO POLITICS AS THE DEFEATED FORMER MPS FLOCKS INTO THE PM’s OFFICE WITH THEIR CVS IN SEARCH OF GOVERNMENT AND PARASTATAL JOBS.
