NEGATIVE POLITICS AND GREEDINESS FOR THE CHEAP CHEAP HANDOUTS MONEY IS THREATENING TO DERAIL MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR US INVESTOR’S RICE PROJECT IN SIAYA COUNTY
News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo
Negative politics and anti-development attitude of Siaya politicians is now threatening to derail a multi million investment by an American entrepreneur who has sunk close to Ksh. 10 billion in River Yala Swamp land reclamation project.
Mr. Calvin Burgess an American investor from Okhlohama, US has invested a lot of money in mixed Yala river swamp land measuring about 17,500 hectares in the farm which is located near Ratuoro in Central Alego, Siaya district, Siaya county.
Yala swamp land reclamation project is a multi purpose farm producing thousands of top grade rice, maize, beans, cotton, sorghum, millet, bee keeping, citrus fruits, fish ponds, and other cash crops.
The vast swamp land on both sides of Yala River is covering Bondo, Bunyala, Budalangi and Siaya district. Before Mr. Burgess started this multi billion dollar investment project the massive swamp, now farm land, was home to crocodiles, hippos, pythons, and highly poisonous snakes.
Dominion Farm Limited has now been turned into ultra-modern mixed farm which of late has become the hub of food production inside Luo-Nyanza. However, the work has not been going on smoothly as expected due to gross interference by lead politicians and some local NGOs, environmentalists and local civic leaders, who had turned this most important project into their punching box, thereby incessantly polarizing its progress and expansion.
The war of words intensified earlier this week after the outspoken Gem MP Washington Jakoyo Midiwo fired the first salvo by issuing threats that he will mobilize and lead a mob of ODM supporters to evict the company.
Meanwhile the Dominion Farm Limited has persistently come out to defend its clean record and dismissed numerous allegations of reneging on the agreement signed between it and the defunct County Council of Siaya and Bondo.
Midiwo’s threats prompted the nominated MP Dr. Oburu Oginga and Siaya County Commissioner Joseph Kimigwi to tell Midiwo off over his threats to lead the company’s eviction by the mob of ODM followers and supporters.
Oburu, the elder brother of the ODM party leader Raila Amolo Odinga said it is naïve to evict the investor who has sunk down Ksh. 10 billion in the Yala Swamp rice development project. The MP warned the County Reps and villagers who are reportedly harassing Dominion Group for cheap hand-outs, jobs and other goodies.
“Let us not fight the investor. This behaviour will scare away other potential investors” said the MP, adding that the Government of Kenya and Siaya County residents should instead protect the US Company which has also created job opportunities for thousands of locals.
Dr. Oginga said there are channels of addressing grievances raised by the residents and their leaders and which should be followed. “Because the investment is of great importance to Siaya County and cannot be wished away over petty issues”
“Such a multi billion shillings investment cannot be shut down at the whim of county leaders. It is inconcurrable”, said the administrators.
The commissioner defender the Dominican Group and vowed to beef up security around the project to thwart any attempt to disrupt its operations.
Mr. Kimigwi went on “ Infrastructure that has been brought up by the Dominican Group will always remain the property of the local community and residents should not just look at immediate gains or hand outs.
Midiwo had issued the threats to evict the US company for allegedly failing to comply with agreed and signed with the former County Council of Siaya and Bondo when it leased more than 6, 000 acres of the swamp land for a rice project.
Some local politicians demanded for fresh negotiations at the agreement arguing that the residents have allegedly been given a raw deal by the US multinational company.
The proprietor, Calvin Burgess, has however dismissed Midiwo’s claims saying the project has employed thousands of workers from the surrounding villages and locations both skilled and unskilled.
This US multinational firm has also revived the old ginnery in the region which went burst many years ago due to poor management by co-operative sorcery and is now encouraging cotton growing in the region
It has established the honey processing plant within its own compound. The firm is known to have freely supplied mosquito nets to the villagers in the malaria prone region for free.
Dominion has vehemently denied the allegations and claims that it is not helping the local RESIDENTS.
Ends