Writes Leo Odera Omolo

ANY sane person who is conversant with the traveling across Nyanza Province would definitely agree with me in principles that the Kenya government has done wonders in key area of economic infrastructure.

The key areas include road networking at highway levels, rural electrification and communications system. These are the key areas of economic growth and development in general.

Rural electrification has gone very well as planned. In fact in most districts and particularly constituencies, the residents are now enjoying the usage of power in their homes, schools and all government institutions.

Telephone communications network is now everywhere. Thanks to the several networks providing mobile phone service providers companies, one can now even phone to a friend in far a field like Ringiti and Migingo fishing Islands in side Lake Victoria.

At the present time, most district headquarters in this region could be reached on tarmacked roads and / or on well maintained good and all weather roads.
Inside Luo-Nyanza, the recent construction of an ultra modern Ndori-Luanda Kotieno beach in Rarieda district is a milestone of good planning and excellence engineering work taking into account some portion of bad land terrain on the side of Asembo locations.

This particular road has since become a good asset to he residents of Suba region of Mbita and Gwassi districts. It also provides quick links to the numerous big and small fishing islands, which are scattered all over Lake Victoria.

A drive in an ordinary motor vehicle, which used to take a couple of hours between Kisumu City and Luanda Kotieno, has now been reduced to between 40 minutes and an hour. The same good work is supplemented with the recent re-carpeting of Kisumu-Bondo-Usenge road.

Another important road worth mentioning is the Katito-Kendu-Bay and Kendu-Bay-Homa-Bay road. It will wind up in Mbita Town when the on-going construction of Homa-Bay Mbita road is completed in due course; the work is very much in advanced stage.

The re-carpeting of Rongo-Homa-Bay road is a big credit to the government and its planners and those in-charge of the implementation process, who are of course is the Road Ministry under the able leadership of Hon Franklin Bett as the Minister in-charge And again the extension of the branching off at Rodi Kopany to Sori in Karungu-Bay is worth praise.

A further important development of road network is the on-going construction of a new road from Misori in Uyoma west location traversing via Bondo town, crossing River Yala into Siaya Town and winding up at Rang’ala in Ugenya constituency near Uganja town in Ugunja district.

Also envisaged to under go the construction is the Mbita, Sindo, Magunga and Sori road. The road network in these areas which were previously considered as the remotest part of the region was announced last month by he Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

While addressing a mammoth crowd of mourners during the tearful sending off the former Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Michael George Okeyo, at his Kaswanga village home in Rusinga Island the PM also hinted that the construction of the same road may b extended to cover Karungu-Muhuru-Bay in Nyatike district.

It could be remembered by many older Kenyans that during the post-independence cabinet headed by the founding President the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta had planned to construct all weather road along the entire of the shorelines of Lake Victoria.

The Ministry of Economic Planning and Development’s docket under the late Tom Mboya had announced in one of his many economic blueprints that the construction of such road was to commence at Rwambwa in Bunyala, Budalangi constituency and traverse as a ring road along the lakes side.

Mboya died in a hail of bullets fired by an assassin in July 1969 and these plans were shelved and kept back in the drawing board. However, some of the plans such as the construction of Katito-Kendu-Bay-Homa-Bay and Mbita as well Rongo-Homa-Bay and Rodi Kopany Sori roads were implemented, though much later.

Mboya had put up a strong argument at the time saying that such a road would be very crucial for the national security of Kenya or for rapid deployment of security personnel in the event a hostile ruler coming into power in one of the neighboring counties of Tanzania and Uganda.

The government, however, stands blamed for failing to adequately supervising the millions of shillings it had allocated to District Road Boards to serve in constructing and maintaining feeder and access roads within the various parliamentary constituencies.

However, with the recent dissolution of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission {KACC}and untimely removal of its hard working executive director PLO Lumumba, millions of shillings set aside for the feeder and access roads traversing constituencies will go into the dustbins and remains unaccounted for.

The district road money is under the district road engineer and the MPs representing the various constituencies within a given district in the same fashion like the CDF.

In some constituencies a good work done is visible to anybody on a visit. A good example of the government revolving funds being put into proper use could be seen in Alego-Usonga constituency where Siaya Boro Nyadorera road has been constructed, and now a motorist can driver from Siaya via Uranga, Nyadorera and cross River Nzoia into Budalangi constituency. In the same trip one can easily drive from Uranga or Uradi mission via Hawinga back to Siaya following the route below Obambo Hills and Via Yala Swamp Rice project and back to Siaya town.

The credit goes of the area incumbent MP Edwin OchiengYinda. town. The same good work and credit goes to Kasipul-Kabondo MP Joseph Oyugi Magwangs, Karachuonyo MP Eng.James K Rege, Ndhiw MP Joshu Orwa Ojode, Nyatike MP Edick Omondi Anyanga, Migori MP John Pesa,Mbita MP Otieno Kajwang’Nyakach MP Polins Ochng Daima,Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo and Bondo MP Dr Oburu Oginga

But the work which is not very credible could be seen in constituencies like Muhoroni, Nyando, Rangwe,Rarieda, Kisumu Rural, Kisumu Town West, Kisumu Town East, Uriri and Nyando.

In one particular constituency, which I cannot mention here owing to legal complication and process, the rumor goes that the area MP after having seen millions of shillings deposited into his constituency’s road account immediately rushed into forming his own road construction company with his wife as its chairman and managing director and awarded all road construction work contract to himself.

All the money meant for road construction and maintenance in the rural constituency which is located in greater Southern Nyanza it is being alleged to be unaccounted for. It is being alleged that huge sums of money was paid for the road construction work which was never done. And that this MP in particular is among those who were reported to have burnt their midnight lamps plotting for the disbanding of the KACC.

Reports and rumors making the round says that the KACC was disbanded when its sleuths were actively investigating where the road money had gone to and who benefited from it, because all the feeder an access roads in this constituency have remained unrepaired for close to four years and even became impassable.

It would be good and to the satisfaction of the taxpayers if the government could re-launch investigations to unearth the scam and punished whoever benefited unfairly from the money meant for road repair work in this particular constituency where the MP and other collaborating agents are said to have become millionaires over night. But all the roads remained in a pathetic state, and yet the money has already been spent.

Ends