Ruto's Nyanza visit comes as locals seek answers on Handshake projects

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

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President William arrives for the 88th National Youth Service Recruits Pass-Out Parade in Gilgil, Nakuru County on August 26, 2024.

Photo credit: PCS

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By Nation Team

Nation Media Group

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President William Ruto is set to kick off his four-day tour of Luo Nyanza on Wednesday, August 28, as locals demand to know the fate of the 'handshake projects'.

This comes as local politicians have called for patience from anxious constituents who are concerned about Ruto's plans for the region as most of the projects are yet to be completed while others have stalled.

Read: Nyanza wish list as it rolls out red carpet for Ruto

President Ruto is also expected to hold a meeting with local leaders on Wednesday evening to take stock of the project on the first leg of his visits to Migori County following the formation of the broad-based government that saw four opposition leaders appointed to the Cabinet.

MPs from the region have pledged to raise the concerns with the Head of State and are hoping to get explanations on the status and completion of the projects during the meeting, which will be held at Kisumu State Lodge.

Expectations are high among residents who want Dr Ruto to make a commitment on the status of stalled projects in the region initiated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga.

They include the Soin-Koru dam, the Kabonyo Kanyagwal Fisheries Aquaculture and Training Centre of Excellence and the tarring of the 63-kilometre Mamboleo-Miwani-Chemelil road.

Others are Kisumu Boys' Roundabout-Mamboleo Road, Ahero Interchange, Kimira-Oluch Smallholder Farm Improvement Project and Mbita-Sindo-Magunga-Sori road linking Homa Bay and Migori counties.

Read: Raila’s plan to exit local politics triggers succession jostling in ODM

The visit will take place in the region that has long been Mr Odinga's political base.

Mr Odinga is eyeing a continental seat and Dr Ruto launched his candidacy in Nairobi on Tuesday August 27 in the presence of several heads of state and other African leaders.

In Migori, Dr Ruto will launch the Kegonga Cluster Water Project, Ngere-Mapera road and inspect the Lower Kuja Irrigation Project.

In Homa Bay, he will inspect Homa Bay Fish Market and Rusinga Ring Road.

In Siaya, Dr Ruto will commission the Mageta Island Solar Project and inaugurate the ESP Market and Siaya Rice Mill.

The Head of State will conclude his tour of the region in Kisumu on Saturday August 31, where he will launch the construction of the Lumumba Affordable Housing Scheme.

Mr David Amimo, a resident of Kano, Nyando in Kisumu County, said now that their leaders will have a face-to-face forum with the Head of State, they must emerge from the meetings and tour with valid answers as to why the projects seem to have been ignored.

"During the floods, we saw millions of shillings being poured into helping victims in camps and other mitigation measures. This has proven not to be a solution to the challenge of perennial flooding. We want the President to make a pronouncement on the Koru-Soin dam because it is a permanent solution to the flooding and will help irrigate sugarcane and rice plantations," said Mr Amimo.

But leaders, including Uriri MP Mark Nyamita, said the president might not cover all the projects, but would surely plan another visit in the future to address the outstanding ones.

"We have already raised some of these issues with the President but there will be a meeting between us and him on Wednesday evening where we will raise the issues again. We will also discuss in detail the larger plan for the region in terms of pending projects to be completed in the next few years," said Mr Nyamita.

He urged his constituents to accept the President's goodwill towards the region, saying Dr Ruto will launch projects that have been allocated in this year's budget.

Mr Nyamita pleaded with Nyanza people to also understand the challenges posed by national budget cuts that may not allow all pending projects to be completed within the year.

"We urge our people to remain calm as these are the first steps towards achieving total transformation of the region through development. Let us not focus on our political differences but use this new found relationship with the government for the benefit of the people," said Mr Nyamita.

His Muhoroni counterpart, Mr Onyango K'oyoo, who spoke to the Nation.Africa, revealed that the visit was more of a homecoming for the Cabinet secretaries appointed by the President, hence the President's decision to launch selected and ready projects.

"The President's Nyanza tour is mainly for the homecoming of the new CSs but he did not want to leave without launching some projects that are almost completed or already funded in the budget," said Mr K'Oyoo.

He explained that the President would not want to visit some projects that have been stalled due to controversies.

"We do not want President Ruto to visit the stalled Mamboleo-Kispitet road where only one contractor is left while the other two who were supposed to construct the remaining part of the road have pulled out," Mr K'Oyoo said.

He added: "However, we will ensure that when we meet the President, we come up with an implementation plan that will ensure that funds are allocated to the projects so that the next time Dr Ruto visits the region, he will either have contractors on site or the projects will be nearing completion."

The residents' concerns come as MPs from the Luo-Nyanza counties to be toured met with Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo to lay the groundwork for the projects to be initiated. Mr K'Oyoo and Mr Nyamita were in attendance.

Mr Omollo said the meeting focused on the importance of the visit and its potential to have a significant impact on the local economy.

"As we prepare to welcome the President, we look forward to the opportunities this engagement will bring to the region," said Mr Omollo on his official X - formerly Twitter - account.

In his past tours of the region, President Ruto has promised that his government will initiate development projects across the region, which voted overwhelmingly for Mr Odinga.

With the new development and close working relationship between the President's once bitter critic, residents are optimistic that they will benefit from the initiation and completion of development projects.

While expecting a warm welcome for the President's gesture to form a broad-based government, fishermen from Suba area urged Dr Ruto to expedite the completion of the 74-kilometre Mbita-Sindo-Magunga-Sori road.

Suba Beach Management Unit chairman William Onditi said the region has never had a tarmac road despite being rich in fish production that requires a good transport network.

"Fish is perishable and should be transported to the market as soon as possible to minimise losses. Good roads are the best option to ensure good fish business," he said.

The Sh2.9 billion project was launched by several leaders including President Ruto himself when he visited Suba in October last year.

The tarmacking of the road started but suddenly stopped as soon as Dr Ruto left for unknown reasons.

Construction workers had paved the road inside Magunga town.

Construction of the road was started by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, but the company in charge of the project stopped work for unknown reasons.

In Rachuonyo North, the government started construction of a 44-kilometre Kadel-Alara-Pala-Kanyadhiang' bypass and an 18-kilometre Adiedo-Namba Karabok road.

The two projects stalled a few months after construction began.

The first road was commissioned by Dr Ruto in November 2018, when he was deputy president.

It was to be upgraded to bitumen standards, and the president has promised to complete it whenever he visits Homa Bay County.

His latest visit will be the sixth since he took office.

Currently, the most prominent feature of the project site is the plaque Dr Ruto left at the Kanyadhiang'-Pala junction on the Kendu-Bay-Homa Bay road.

Farmers in the region say the two road projects have been used by politicians as campaign tools, with various leaders promising to work for their completion, but to no avail.

Ager Kirowo, the chairman of Lolwe Farmers' Cooperative Union, said members of his group suffer losses when taking their produce to market.

He said the region produces sorghum, maize and other grains and farmers there have been contracted by giant organisations to produce different crops.

"The farmers have a partnership with East African Breweries Limited and the World Food Programme for the supply of sorghum and other crops. Our main challenge is to get the produce to the market or to look for raw materials," said Mr Kirowo.

But Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has reassured residents to give the Kenya Kwanza government time to deliver on its promises.

Mr Wandayi noted that the commissioning of the Sh232 million Mageta Island Solar Power Plant project in Siaya County by the President on Friday, August 30, will make history for a region that was not connected to the national grid.

"For the first time in history, half of the 1,744 households on Mageta Island will be connected to the grid and get reliable electricity," he told the Nation.

The completed project was implemented by the Rural Electrification and Renewable Corporation (REREC) as part of the World Bank-funded Kenya Electricity Modernisation Programme.

The project involves the development of seven solar mini-grids with battery energy storage and associated reticulation network in off-grid areas to connect public institutions and households.

Mr Wandayi also indicated that the scope includes the construction of an 801.9 kilowatt/hour solar power plant, construction of a substation, installation of five transformers with a cumulative capacity of 700KVA.

Others are the installation of a 100Kva diesel back-up generator and the construction of a 5.5kilometre medium voltage and 32.2kilometre low voltage distribution line.

"The electricity connection will facilitate the cold storage of fish at the six landing beaches of Kuoyo, Magare, Mahanga, Mitundu, Sika and Wakawaka," he said.

CS Wandayi said the mini-project is one of the seven solar mini-grids with battery energy storage and associated reticulation network in off-grid areas targeted to connect public institutions and households.

Apart from Mageta, other projects under implementation include Ngodhe and Takawiri islands in Homabay County, Kaeris and Kerio markets in Turkana County, Dabel market in Marsabit County and Wasini island in Kwale County.

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