Western Kenya leaders have started preparing to receive President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is said to be planning a tour of the region next month.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has asked residents to get ready for the Head of State’s development tour, during which he is expected to launch several projects.
Mr Wamalwa said preparations for the visit will focus on the commissioning of key development projects, including the planned construction of the Sh100 million Kakamega Gold Refinery in Ikolomani constituency.
President Kenyatta is also expected to tour Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya confirmed the President’s planned visit but said preparations were being handled by State House in Nairobi.
The county chief is expected to convene a meeting of leaders from the region next week and discuss the logistics of the visit. An aide to Governor Oparanya said the meeting will be attended by all leaders from the region irrespective of their party affiliations.
The planned tour comes hot on the heels of the President’s visit to Nyanza recently, which attracted murmurs from Western region residents, who felt sidelined.
It also comes when divisions have intensified among key local politicians as campaigns ahead of next year’s presidential poll take shape.
ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang’ula are pushing to popularise Okoa Kenya Alliance while Mr Oparanya, who is also the ODM deputy leader, has asked voters in the region to back the coalition in 2022.
It’s still unclear whether they will attend the planned leaders’ meeting to come up with a common agenda to present to Mr Kenyatta.
Several leaders contacted by Nation.Africa declined to comment on the tour. Majority Whip and Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, for instance, said: “We are waiting for official communication before we can comment on the issue.”
Aside from the Kakamega Gold Refinery, other key projects likely to be on Mr Kenyatta’s itinerary include the construction of a granite factory in Vihiga County and the Sh1.7 billion Vihiga Cluster Water project, funded by the Belgian government.
He is also expected to inspect the Sh6 billion Kakamega Teaching and Referral Hospital. The first phase cost Sh2.5 billion and the facility was to open its doors by June this year, but inadequate funding has delayed the commissioning of the project.
The Kakamega County government is reported to have approached the national government to take over the project, which will serve as a referral facility in Western Kenya.
Leaders from the region have been piling pressure on the government to intervene and ensure that the debt-ridden miller is revived.
Mr Wamalwa, who spoke in Kakamega on Monday during the commissioning of the Kakamega fish processing plant, asked leaders in the region to avoid engaging in toxic politics if they expect residents to benefit from development initiatives by the government and other investors.
“We need to clean up politics as leaders from Western region so that we do not scare away potential investors who want to set up here,” he said.
A team from the President’s delivery team was in the region last week to engage with local leaders and identify projects he will commission.
Governor Oparanya has been asked to mobilise his colleagues from the region to identify these projects for inspection and commissioning, sources familiar with the preparations said.
