By Our Reporter.

The weekend visit of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga to the lakeside city of Kisumu was shrouded with heckling and placard displaying youth protesting the high cost of living and fuel prices.

The Prime Minister was also confronted by hundreds of boda boda and motor bike taxis operators who pleaded with him to intervene with the Kisumu Town Council to allow them resume their operations within the Central Business District areas {CBD}. The meeting came in the wake of conflict of interest in which the Council had introduced stringent measures barring Matatus, Boda boda bicycle and motorbike taxis from ferrying their passengers into the Central Business District. The Council had designated certain areas where the Matatu, boda boda and motorbike taxis are required to stop and park their machines.

Flanked by the Tow’s Mayor Sam Okello, the Prime Minister told the taxi-men that the plan of locking them out of the CBD was in line with the economic blueprint and development agenda for the town.

He said the decision to relocate the matatus, boda boda and motorbike was arrived at after consultation with stakeholders and called for support of development plan.

The group had told the Prime Minister, The Council has locked us out of town center and they are constantly harassing us. Kindly intervene to allow us =0Aoperate in our former areas.

Raila, however, came face to face with rowdy placard carrying youth in Muhoroni constituency when he visited the new site of the Great Lake University at Kibos areas. Accompanying the Prime Minister was Mrs Rebecca Garang, the wife of the former Southern Sudan freedom fighter the late Dr.John Garang De Mabior. The PRIME Minister’s wife Mrs Ida Odinga and Mrs Garang were the joint guests of honor this year graduation ceremony at the Kisumu based University of Great Lakes.

The youth shouted “Njaa Njaa {Hunger Hunger}” while displayed placard reading “Vision 2030 ni njaa being ya unga ni juu”.

These shouts reigned in the air at Number Kondele and also at the Kisumu Bus Terminal, The Prime Minister, however, ignored the protesters and went about his business undisturbed.

Meanwhile rumors and speculation are high in Kisumu that the Kisumu Minicipality is currently involved in what the residents alleged as rampant landing selling ahead of the coming of the Counties under the new constitutional dispensation.

The Council, the residents say had sold almost every vacant parcel of land available in town. The Council has also sold some of its housing estates in hasty also ahead of the coming of the Counties.

Unless the government moved with speed and stopped the rampant sales of vacant land and Council property in hasty, the coming Counties will find no more land for offering land attracting investors in Town.

The residents say they are puzzled in the way and the manner in which the land sales transaction is taking place in Kisumu City.

It is as if the looting of the Council property and land is in the offing. These sales are taking place when the area is just about to fall under the new County under the new constitution.

Something must be done to bring this to an end, this beautiful lake side City will be left empty with no more land or future development. Even investors wishing to invest in the town will not do so because there will be not even one single piece of land in the areas to accommodate new development.

Both the Town Clerk and the Mayor were not available for comment over the allegation of rampant sales of Council property, which includes the Council housing estates and land spaces.

Ends