By Ndira-Uradi in Kisumu City
The Minister for Health Services Prof. Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o is reported by impeccable source to have expressed his wish to switch from defending his Kisumu Rural parliamentary seat and is said to be gearing to go full blast for the Kisumu County Senate seat.
However, political pundits and observers alike have been quick to dismiss the Minister’s candidature as inconsequential and political blunder, which he will live to regret for many years to come.
One opinion leader from the Minister’s Seme backyard has termed the Minister move as “political suicide, arguing that Nyong’o popularity in his home turf of Seme has waned drastically to an extent that he might not even recaptured his Kisumu Rural parliamentary seat in an already drastically realigned constituency, whose registered voters have now been separated from those of the old Kisumu Rural. Close to half of the electorate in the old Kisumu Rural have been transferred in the new boundary alignment and include in Kisumu Town West
Prof Nyong’o the man who is credited for being so mean, the pundits says, will be no match to the two Nairobi based business tycoons whose campaign is sad to have hit the ground like Tsunami. The other contenders for the same seat include a Nairobi architect Ocholla Ogoda from Muhoroni and Eng.Maxwell Otieno Odongo,the Managing Director of Otieno Odongo and Partners Engineering Company Limited with consulting and engineering businesses in Kenya and beyond.
Ocholla Ogoda hail from Muhoron ,district but he has a strong root in Nyakach his original home, and could easily marshal votes from Nyakach district an event which could complicate the matter and make it worse for other aspirants.
Reports merging from Nyando indicated that there will be no other aspirant from the same seat from the populous Kano sub-clan, to which Otieno Odongo belonged to. This community is well spread in three districts of Nyando, Muhoroni and Kisumu Town East.
Otieno Odongo is a well known investor whose vast investment in chain of hotels, sugar cane farming and rice and maize milling plants has employed hundreds of workers is favored as a possible winner. When it come to gambling for the votes from the Jo-Kisumo, Kajulu clans as ell as the cosmopolitan voters within Kisumu City, he is much ahead of the two other aspirants.
Reports also indicating that the electorates Kisumu Town West constituency would be the most hostile voters to Prof Nyong’o due to his poor track record of development in the constituency which he ha represented for the last ten years.
Other sources claim that Prof Nyong’o who is said to be a confidant of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga is banking mainly on the ODM party leader for support at the needy hours. There is, however, no assurance that such support will be readily available, because Raila also would be involve n cut-throat campaign or his presidential bid and might to have free time to come down to Kisumu and campaign for Prof.Nyong’o to capture the Senate seat in Kismu County.
Rumors making the round say that more aspirants for the same seat would emerge within the next two months or so from either Kisumu, Nyakach or Kajulu. But as the situation stands today, the battle is expected to be fought between the three candidates led by Eng.Otieno Odongo.
Ends
Why would an investor with with huge business investments join politics at the expense of and rather than expand his businesses that are dearly needed in Kisumu County to create job opportunities and expand the local economy? WE luos should concentrate on what we know best; if its business let us remain and expand our businesses instead of everyone once money has come their way joining politics which has in fact added no value to the local economy! After all, even if people join politics they never represent the interests of the region but the party leader, leaving the region in its usuall state of affairs decade after decade.
Secondly, we need to elect leaders to serve for only one term to ensure spread of development, extend opportunities to all, and eradicate the culture of people perpetuating themselves in power af if only they can lead and as though power belongs to only them. That is why such leaders never perform, for instance the MP for Kisumu Rural who has done completely nothing worth talking about for the many years he has been in power. And the culture too of believing and association advanced education to competence for leadership has contributed much to Nyanza’s underdevelopment for there’s no evidence in the world that education spurs development for if that were the case, Nyanza would have been a success story long before and even now given the huge number of those boasting advance education.
Let us elect people based on deeds, credibility and vision and discard the culture of readily voting for someone based party choice, association and relations with the party leader as if adds value to leadership credentials.
The coming elections should not be influenced by political parties when it comes
voting the right candidates.For a long time, kenyans have been cheated by money- people who are ready to buy party leaders for nomination papers. At the end of
day ,we, the voters are forced cunningly to vote for worthless leaders because of
the party affliations.Most of the leaders who found their way to leadership have refused to be answerable the voters. They are just surrounded by hypocrites and
conmen who are always lying to get something small .. Kenyans are tired
of these leaders. Most of these leaders get lost from their respective constituencies
once they have been elected. It is really shameful to find a mp reasoning as a child
by saying that his work is only in parliament. This is wrong because their main work to the voters is to explain to them the meaning of any law passed in the parliament. These mps should be visiting their constituecies freguently to attend the prolems of the voters.
These leaders do not have time because some are busy making deals during crucial bills in the parliament;some are busy doing funny things in nairobi.
As a voter in kisumu county, i have high regard to otieno odongo who has been with people though not elected leader. He has invested within kisumu heavily unlike
some of our leaders who just concentrate their investments in nairobi and mombasa
ignoring their place of birth. Such people are the ones when elected to the leadership move immediately to roam in nairobi. They only visit their constituencies
during funeral of famous persons. They are not concerned with funeral of the poor
even if the poor is a close relative. Kisumu county must not vote in opportunists this time as their leaders.
Another problem the kisumu people having facing is the influence of asians. They are always the engine of corruption to influencial people in the position of leadership and authority.They are always treated as special people when it comes to wealth ownership . They are given first preference in everything because provincial heads are in their pockets and
they boast about it. Therefore, we want leaders who treat everybody equally respective of genda, tribe,race and wealth. This is where odongo will excel because he will need no bribery since he made his wealth through hard work. He started his
business at a very young age without any element of corruption. He is the one who can
pass the temption of asian money in kisumu. If we are not careful , be warn ed ,you kisumu
residents,electing corrupt leaders ,we are not going to see the benefit of the devolution.
Let us elect otieno odongo as a senator and kisumu county will see the benefit of a real leader.We need somebody with business acumen who can be trusted by pontential investors and businessmen within kenya and beyond. There are many
investors who are ready to invest in kisumu provided we can elect incorruptible leaders. We should not lose the opportunity of job creation in kisumu by electing people who always go to indians in kisumu to beg just like their workers whom
they pay peanut in the name of wages.
Indeed Eng.Otieno Odongo is what Kisumu County has been waiting for..he has created employment to hundreds of people not only from his nyanza backyard but beyond,,this is one person who does not look at your race ,creed,religion or education to give assistance..always a measured professional,Kisumu has a chance to elect an astute Manager of this new County to invoke Professionalism,Development and Industry..His emphasis on education is boundless,he has sponsored countless irrespective ,developed and nurtured many careers and offered many opportunities to all.Constituents look no further this is the person.