From: Leo Odera Omolo
Date: Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
DISCONTENT, mistrust and tension is rapidly rising up over the centrally situated place in Gem Constituency in the newly created Gem district, with the bulk of the population backing and supporting Nyangweso Centre as the right place.
This is opposed to the wishes of the minority group of the so-called intellectuals, who have insisted that the new district headquarters should be in Yala Town..
Other logistics favoring Nyangweso is that it has enough land for the D.C’s Office and other departmental offices as well as, living quarters for civil servants, public utility land plots and room for expansion to accommodate district heads of departments.
Several consultative meetings attended by leading personalities in Gem to have the matter sorted out have failed.
Some civic leaders have pointed an accusing finger at the so-called intellectuals, arguing that some of them have allegedly grabbed land and have constructed buildings in Yala Town, which they want to rent out to the civil servants.
Others, they said, had grabbed a number of land plots in Yala Town, which is to cater for their own selfish economic interests.
Geographically, Yala town is located only three kilometers from the Gem-Kisa boundary, in the northeast and two kilometer between Gem and Bunyore district in the Southeast. It is indeed a border town. The town is situated right on the border of Nyanza-Western Provinces.
Nyangweso market, on the other hand, is situated right in the middle of Gem constituency, and its elevation to a new district headquarters would give equal opportunity to people from West, North, South and East Gem areas, to be served by the Provincial Administration.
Gem has 9 administrative locations, two Divisions, namely Yala and Wagai. Yala has only paltry number of voters, and its population is a mixture of Luos and the so-called Gem Bantu. Wagai has the largest concentration of the electorate, boosting up to 60,000 voters in an area estimated to have a population of 184,000 people. It is the home of the indigenous Gem people with pure Luo blood.
Addressing newsmen in Kisumu on Wednesday, Gem MP, Jakoyo Midiwo said he had no quarrel with anybody or the so-called intellectuals, but he was serving the interests of the electorate. He himself hails from South Gem, near Akala, close to Gem Asembo and Gem Seme borders, but could not advocate for Akala or Ramula to be the new district headquarters, as the two centers are located right on the borders. “I want the new D.C. to be centrally based so that the people may have easy access to the services delivery by the government. This is why I have agreed with my people that the new district headquarters be established at Nyangweso Market. This will give the Gem people easy time consulting the administrators and experts on development matters” He said.
He said each time the resident called for a meeting, the so-called intellectuals skips it, and prefer lobbying through underground and clandestine contacts. ”We are serving the Wananchi, and now a few interested individuals are serving their selfish interests, “the abrasive MP said.
Civic leaders in Gem have accused unnamed one time MP for the area as the person who is fueling controversies over the issue, because he wanted the District headquarters to be close to his home. He is equally backed by some university Professors who wanted their posh houses to be rented by civil servants, because most of them live in Nairobi and in other towns and therefore are not bothered by what is going on back home.
Other sources says that some of the intellectuals have gone as far as renovating their houses, ready to have them rented to government officials, because they rarely go home. These are the people claiming that the township is the most suitable place for the district headquarters.
“But they should go by the wishes of the majority of Gem people who have decided and settled on Nyangweso Market. Let the greedy people apply for plots at Nyangweso and build the new town if they want to tap the rents from civil servants”, said one civic leader who requested for his anonymity.
Midiwo said he has always welcomed and is ready to work with those people with constructive ideas about how to develop Gem constituency, and now Gem district, but will not succumb to those serving selfish interest to continue causing confusion over the new district headquarters. “Le them come and listen to the people”, he said.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
– – –
Subject: THE MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS OF GEM WANT THE NEW DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS ESTABLISHED AT NYANGWESO TRADING CENTRE AND NOT YALA TOWN
As a Gem resident in Diaspora i also think Nyangweso is a good pick. Yala township has seen tremendous physical development and should be the natural choice,however i think Nyangweso is the best choice because it is centrally located and the district headquaters will help spread development in the area.
I would encourage those opposed to this arrangement to borrow from the US model where the administrative capital of a State is not the same as the economic capital. Yala should remain the economic capital of Gem while Nyagweso serves as the administrative capital.
solomon oluoch
Houston TX
I really wonder why people continue talking of new districts and there allocation while of recent it was clear by the court`s verdict that the newly formed districts are not legal since they are against constitution.
Indeed Nyangweso is the most ideal location of our new Gem district. The argument that Yala town is more developed and has better developed infrastructure is selfish because it can only imply that other less developed areas of Gem should remain underdeveloped! Locating the district headquarters at Nyangweso will mean that a lot will be done to develop the area and its environs, and this should be good for every Gem person of goodwill. Just imagine if only Nairobi had all the infrastructure one needs, where would other Kenyans live? We should learn to decentralize and be accommodating especially back at home.
Thank you.
I am in agreement with the view that Nyangweso would fairly serve as the administrative seat of the newly created Gem District. I would therefore propose that the name SAWAGONGO be used instead of NYANGWESO. Remember the name NYANGWESO is also shared with that of NYANGWESO in KOCHIA of RANGWE CONSTITUENCY ,HOMABAY. Do remember that this is also the reason why the POST OFFICE is called SAWAGONGO but not NYANGWESO to stop ambiguity.
We people of Gem Akala, we have suffered alot with this issue of District HQ. It started with Siaya. It is easier to Go to Kisumu, Bondo than Siaya. There was no direct road to Siaya. There was murrum road which was pathetic.
I support Nyagweso, but if They consider upgrading the Akala Nyagweso/Wagai Road, and may be introducing public transport there. Otherwise we will prefer to be included either in Kisumu rural or Rarieda or bondo district. All these are served with tarmac road and it takes few minutes to commute.
Plz Mr Jakoyo consider something about commuting to new district HQ
Dishon Owuoth
The issue of Yala and Nyangweso becoming headquarters is a very sad argument from an area with pedigree of leaders.Lets get down to serious business of making the new district be amongst the best.
I wish to take issue with Leo Odera omollo’s discriminative statement that people from Wagai division has pure Luo blood and people from Yala are a mixture of Luo’s and the so called Gem Bantu. First I don’t belong to gem Bantu . I am a descendant of ochuodhi of the Rading family. I am therefore a purely Luo but administrative headquarters is meant to serve people not tribes. If we buy your reasoning then the capital city of Kenya should rotate among the 42 Kenyan tribes. Most of the people you call Gem Bantu cannot utter a single word in any of the Bantu languages. I know are socialize with them
It is indeed true that Gem Bantu do exist and this has been rightly pointed out though they may not only be concentrated around Yala since they also trade and seek employment in other parts of Gem and Nyanza as a whole. The settlement of the Gem Bantu and Luos in the Yala area is so well blended that it is nearly impossible to demarcate the boundary between Luoland and Bantu land, more so around Yala/Luanda area. This is however not a surprise as it has resulted from intermarriage between the two border communities over a period of many years and indeed many of the residents speak the two languages very fluently. Professor Magoha, University of Nairobi vice chancellor is a case in point. This is not unique to Gem though. All other border areas exhibit similar situations, e.g., Ugenya, Alego-Usonga, Kisumu/Kiboswa