Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Kericho Town.
SIGOWET sub-district hospital was built in 1985 / 1986 at an estimated cost estimated to be slightly in excess of Kshs 150 millions.
But the facility is semi-abandoned. It has resident doctors and is operating on skeleton staff, but cannot serve the local community adequately and sufficiently enough though, it has some of the best buildings and other facilities.
The hospital construction work was commissioned by he retire President Daniel Arap Moi and was later visited by President Mwai Kibaki in 2005.
Their magnificent building stands next to the main Sondu-Kericho road via Sosiot and Kapsoid trading centers.
It is also catering for patents from the surrounding districts of lower Kericho, in Belgut and Ainamoi constituencies and also catering for residents from the neighboring districts such as,North Mugirango-Borabu, , Kasipul-Kabondo, Nyakach and Nyando districts.
Despite the fact that the institution is serving thousands of patients from the areas mentioned above, the institution is grossly under-staffed, lacks reliable water supply and it is operating without a resident qualified medical doctor. Sigowet Hospital is only manned by two clinical officers, six nurses and two laboratory technicians.
The residents want the Prime Minister to visit Sigowet and see for himself how the institution is neglected and perhaps rehabilitate an opening, and even promote it to a level Four sub-district hospital status.
They told this writer who visited the institution that they wanted the Prime minster to visit in the company of the Medical Services Minister Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o and the Water Development Minister Charity Kaloki Ngilu so as to see for himself how the institution is in a pathetic state of total neglect,
Such a visit, said one resident, ”Would clearly give Raila Odinga a political mileage over his parrots like talking rivals in the 2012 presidential race.”
Despite the concerted efforts by Raila Odinga’s main challengers who have gone over draft polluting the air thinking they are fixing the Prime Minister, the residents of this region still believes and maintains that the Prime Minister is the only Kenyan politician who means well for the Kenyan people and their well being.
Sigowet residents heaped a lot of blames to their MP Charles Keter whom they scathingly criticized for spending his most valuable serving interests of the Eldoret North William Ruto at the expenses of his constituents.
Keter has since declared his interest in contesting the Kericho County governor position. This is meaning he is abdicating his responsibility as an elected MP after having failed to deliver.”In fact he is the one who should invite the Prime Minister to come and help us improve the facilities Sigowet hospital, which he has neglected and abandoned though he has represent he area ever since 2002″.
The Belgut MP, however has burned the bridges between him and the ODM leadership, which led to his sacking from the cabinet two years ago as an Assistant Minister for Energy. ”His continued representation of Belgut in Parliament is no quite irrelevant,” said Mr Soi a resident of Sosiot.
Asked whether he believes Raila can still garner a reason portion of the votes from the region in the forthcoming general elections (2012) Soi said the hearts of the majority of people in Kipsigis land still believes that Raila I the only politician who could turn the country around if given a chance.
“Millions of shillings of government devolving funds have been disbursed to Belgut constituency through the CDF, but our MPs seemed to have forgotten Sigowet Hospital and its role as an important Medicare serving a much wider areas and regions,” said another resident of Sosiot who requested his anonymity.
One civic leader within the County Council of Kipsigis said that MPs and Councilor allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto have been criss-crossing the region in the recent past while polluting the air by telling the people of how bad is Raila Odinga, but offering no alternative political agenda for the better future.
Ends