Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Migori Town.
The anxiety and discontent that had gripped the future inaugural of Migori County as created in the new constitutional dispensation is over following last week act of political magnanimity between the hitherto arch-political rivalries between the majority Luos and Minority Kurias.
The good gesture by the two will now easy out the tension and suspicion that had existed between the twoi communities, and would make it much easier for the inaugural of the new Coumntyof Migori where members of the two communities will work together and promote the economic growth of the region.
The two communities are grouped together with people of diverse ethnic background such as Luhyia, Maragolis and Suba in one of the Counties in the defunct Nyanza Province, which is expected to be one of the richest in the region.
It is an area which is covering five parliamentary constituencies, namely Rongo, Uriri, Nyatike, Migori and Kuria. May be the recently concluded work of the Boundary Commission, which was headed by Andrew Ligale would favor the region and give it an one or two additional parliamentary seats nobody knows.
The source of anxiety has been the hostility between the Kuria MP Dr.Wilfred Machage and the Luo political kingpin Raila Amolo Odinga. The short, bearded, stout and outspoken MP has lost no chance whenever he opened up in a public gathering without launching scathing criticism of the Prime Minister in particular and the Luo community in general.
The hostility between the two had reached the highest peak, even leading to the MP being arraigned in court charge with giving hate speeches during the August 4, referendum voting for the new constitution. He adamantly stuck to the Reds side led by the suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto.
Machage hate for the Luo was o0enely displayed when the MP made a vain move to have his minority Kuria community separated from being in one administrative unit with their neighboring Luos.
Machage had even suggested that then Kuria be moved out Nyanza Province,and that the community either join the Trans-Mara County with the neighboring Maasai or the Kisii County County.
But all these suggestions failed because they lacked logistic and political backing of the ordinary Kuria people, who were vehemently opposed to the idea. They argued that these suggestion were impracticable taking it into account the geopolitics of the region.
If such a pipedream were put into practice and implemented by the government, it could have forced the Kuria people to travel for more than 100 kilometer to do their normal business in Kisii Town or similar distance to carry their normal business at the Kilgoris Office of the Trans-Mara County. Moreover the Kuria and the Maasai had the long lasting history of hostility against each other as the result of the intermittent bloody cattle rustling.
The Kuria and the Luos have lived and worked together ever since 1907 when the old, but now defunct Southern Nyanza district which was created by the early colonialists and which had grouped the Abagusi, Luos and Kuris together for many years with its administrative headquarters in KJisii Town.
But when the first act of splitting the district, which was then the largest and most populous occurred in 1962 with the creation of a new district of South Nyanza at Homa-Bay as its administrative headquarters, the Kuria moved along with the Luos. The ordinary Kurias and Luos get along very well and are used to each other. The two communities had a lot in common to share together.
The hostility between the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the Kuria MP started the other day following President Mwai Kibaki relegation of Dr. Machage to an Assistant Minister from the lucrative post of the Minister for East African Community Affairs during the re-organization and re-arrangement of the cabinet to accommodate the ODM Minister in the coalition government following the signing of the National Peace Accord worked out as the result of reconciliation by the former UN Chief Dr Kofi Annan following the post-election violence that had engulfed the country. Dr Machage is a member of the PNU, which is one of the principal partners in the coalition. Kibaki had to offload some members of the cabinet, and the Baringo East MP Kamama was among those relegated to the junior Ministerial clot from the cabinet.
The new arrangement stirred up hostilities between the Prime Minister and the Assistant Minister. But despite of the persistent outbursts against him by Dr Machage, the Prime Minister has kept it cool and never reacted or said anything as a rejoinder to the MPs criticism.
This is was so because Raila Odinga knew it pretty well that he had a large following among the Kuria people who half of them are supporters of his party. Therefore trading accusation with their MP might jeopardize his position among his supporters in Kuria.
But last week Dr Machage voluntarily came forward and announced before the mammoth crowd during as meeting in Kuria that he and Raila Odinga have buried their hatchet. He softened his stand and apologized for his persistent opposition to the Prime Minister both inside and outside Parliament.
“I want to state here clearly today we have buried the hatchet. Henceforth, I will support Raila’s presidential bid,” Dr Machage announced amid prolonged applause by the crowd.
Machage trickled the enthusiastic crowd when he p[raised his erstwhile political opponent, saying he was ready to work with the Prime Minister and support his presidential bid.
“I want to assure your Mr Prime Minister of my support and at the same time seek your help to have my suspension as an Assistant Minister lifted.” Said Machage as the crowd roared in laughter.
Dr Machge was suspended after he was charged in court with hate speech during referendum campaigns. He asked the Kuria electorate to be ready to support Raila’s presidential bid in 2012describing him as the best bet for Kenya.
Raila in hjis address assured the Kuyria that he had nothing personal against them or their MP. “ I want to assure you that you will not be relegated or marginalized in Migori County, which has brought together the Kuria and the Luos in one administrative unit within the locality,” said the PM.
During the meeting the Prime Minister brought with him lawyer Kipchumba Murkomen and Moses Kurgat who were assigned the duty of civic education to explain the contents of the new constitution and what it entails.
The two gave a long catalogue of viable issues contained in the new laws as Machage, who was an ardent critic of the new constitution at the August 4 referendum listened to the lecturers while his voters cheered.
Raila Odinga then came to the stage and further explained how the new laws would ensure a united and democratic Kenya nation.
Migori County is one of the places in Western Kenya, which is endowed with good rainfall all the year. Local farmers grow cash crops such as tobacco, sugar cane, finger millets, sorghum, vegetables, banana, maize, which is the staple food and keep large number of zebu cattle for beef. Plans are also a foot for the introduction of dairy cows in most p[art of the County, especially, on the Rongo, Uriri and Migori side of the region.
The region is also rich in minerals such as gold, nickel, copper and some parts is suspected to be having substantial quantity of uranium. Several farms are prospecting along Migori River, and also in the disused of former gold mines at Masara, Macalder.Several companies have expressed their intention of going into full scale in prospecting for gold, which is said to be in large quantity enough for commercial mining.
The Riana Valley is said by geologist to be full of gold, and this is why Kamwango areas in North Kamagambo is declared as a gold zone. Plans are a foot to have the commercial mining firms operating in the area in the near future. This would boost the economy of the region. At the moment small scale mining and prospecting for alluvial gold along Migori river are going on.
The Awendo-based Sonysugar is the largest manufacturing industry in the region which has engaged close to 2500 workers and almost similar number on indirect employment such as casuals etc. There is a fish processing plant in Migori town with the reasonable number of workers.
The government, however, need to increase the crushing capacity of the SONYSUGAR plant from the current 2500 tons per day to more than 3500 tons of cane per day. If this is done, it will help in easing out the case of over grown or over matured cane, which are rotting in the farms and could not be harvested in time. This is a big loss to the small scale vane farmers.
Tobacco is one of the major source of income for peasants in Kuria, Kamagambo, Sakwa, Uriri and most part of the upper areas, while the resident of lower Part particularly those area bordering the shorelines of Lake Victoria depends on fishing and fish trade. In the lower part farmer are also keeping large herds of native zebu cattle for beef trade and generating income of the same scale as fishing
The residents need only to pick up the right men and women for the County governance with the managerial ability and supervisory capability to turn around the region and making a vibrant County, which is able to susta8n its own economic growth for the benefits of the local community.
The region is currently served by the super highway road that is linking Kisii and Migori town and winding up at the Sirare border post, which has recently undergone widening exercises to minimize road fatalities which has became common on this road, especially on the portion separating Awendo and Migori Towns.
There are several good access and feeder roads cross the entire region, but the economically important Migori Muhuru Bay road need to be termacked to facilitate easy transportation of fish.
Ends
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