by Jeff Otieno 

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:30:47 

KISUMU – Civil Society, Environmentalists and local leaders within Kisumu city have expressed their anger and disappointment following this weeks Kisumu city council demolition of Maendeleo park next to the refurbished bus park.
   
Investigation by this journalist can reveal that the last council regime under Mayor Priscah Auma deliberated and Approved that the park be ear marked for a multi-million hawkers complex which is to be funded jointly by the council and the European Union (EU).
   
 The 25 million construction work which is to start soon will be under the tutelage of a local firm – GEMKAN ENGEERING SERVICES LTD which according to James Goro Oronge the chairman of the tender committee who talked to the press, won the bid late last year before the polls were called. Oronge emphasized that the construction of the units will help decongest the town main streets where hawkers seems to have taken over. This writer could not however immediately establish the role of Oronge when he visited the park during the demolition exercise. 
   
 A group of environmentalist have, therefore, threatened to take legal redress to stop the construction arguing that it was hurriedly done without in depth consultation and consideration of certain aspects of the environmental issues.
   
Sources at the cash-strapped civic body further confided to this writer that the manner in which the bidding was pushed to zero on a sole construction firm was suspicious and allegedly fraudulent and therefore should be investigated.
   
Sources at the council engineering department also cast aspersions on the credibility and capability of the said company to be awarded such a gigantic work.
   
Kisumu city’s other parks, like Oile market, are literally abandoned and at the mercy of street urchins and hawkers.  Taifa Park has become a den of muggers.  The expansive and once refreshing Victoria Park has also been abandoned and left for private security guards to train in.
   
New leadership under the auspices of Mayor Sam Okello is slated to wage a sustained war against corruption in various council departments which have denied revenue culminating in the nonpayment of workers salaries for over ten months.
   
The Mombasa-based business guru is expected to invoke his experience to address the grabbed council plots late last year by chief officers and members of the civic wing.
  
  END