By Anderson Ojwang
Yes, the dust is settling, tears are drying up, while the narrative of accountability is taking over the discourse in Homa Bay.
Yes, your tears have freely flowed over the description of Homa Bay as Yemen, and true, they do not understand the pain of the people of Homa Bay.
The Sunday revelation of the dust on the Mbita–Sindo–Kiabuya–Sori corridor told a story. A story of a people in chains of neglect.
A story that for the last four years has been on the lips of the people of Homa Bay. The county of endless potential with endless pain and suffering. Endless conferences and promises with no actualisation.
True, Governor Wanga, it is not the story of a people who have failed. It is the story of a region that has waited far too long for the infrastructure required to unlock its potential.
Yes, the subsequent regimes have failed Homa Bay in terms of development, and for decades it has been marginalised. But a sense of hope was witnessed in the projects by President William Ruto’s administration.
Indeed, Ruto’s projects included the 74km Mbita‑Sindo‑Magunga‑Sori road; the Lake Victoria Ring Road, covering in excess of 500km including spur roads, has been designed and financing obtained from the World Bank, set to be launched later in the year; the 20km Rusinga Island Ring Road was completely tarmacked, and the 54km Mfangano Island Ring Road was upgraded and tarmacking is already underway in the Sena section; the Gor Mahia Ring Road, providing a critical link through Ndhiwa Constituency, was launched and is already on course between Marindi and Magina; the Lake Victoria Public Ferry is under construction at the Kenya Shipyard in Kisumu; tarmacking of the Lwanda‑Osodo‑Kanyakiamo Road is ongoing; and tarmacking of streets in Sindo Town is ongoing; a 1.7‑billion irrigation project running from the lakeshore in Gingo, Sindo, was launched and is set to connect thousands of households and usher them into the cash economy; Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay, the upgrade of Kabunde Airstrip, the upgrade of electricity substations in Ongeng’, the Ojijo Oteko roads in Karachuonyo, the fish market in Homa Bay, affordable housing, Tom Mboya University Hostels, and various markets across all the sub‑counties.
Beyond the tears, where are the projects?
Rough roads in parts of Suba South became a visual metaphor, and a source of ridicule, for Homa Bay’s exclusion from development (including by their main sponsor).
For the people who live along these roads, however, their condition is no joke; it is a daily reality that shapes access to markets and services, the cost of doing business, and the pace at which communities can develop.
But Wanga, it is true that for a long time, Homa Bay residents have been treated to politics of rhetoric over development.
That is why earlier in the year Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo taunted and challenged you for a contest over her NG‑CDF projects against your county projects.
Millie said then that they would not allow projects by NGOs or the National Government to be paraded as County projects or NGCDF projects. Let me quote: “So do not put a photo of the Homa Bay Fish Market, the Homa Bay Stadium, or any other. Those are projects done by the National Government. The CEO of the National Government is President Ruto.” By the way, did you respond to the challenge?
The Assembly Ward Projects Committee
Ahead of the end of the last financial year, a report by the Assembly Ward Projects Committee on the status of ward projects for the FY 2024/2025 told the pain of the people of Homa Bay.
The report exposed failure to implement the projects as was stipulated in the budget, and the question that begs, beyond the tears, is: where did the funds go?
In the report, the Department of Roads, Public Works, Transport and Infrastructure was allocated Sh400 million for the implementation of ward projects across the county, which translated to Sh10 million per ward. The department reported that the road inventory and condition survey exercise had been completed and the final report compiled, and that the cabinet approved all the projects, which were at the tender document preparation stage. The committee observed that all the projects were awaiting the preparation of tender documents; therefore, there was no project status report.
In the Health Department, it was allocated Sh120 million for the implementation of ward projects across the county, with each ward having a budgetary allocation of Sh3 million. The department reported that 33 projects had been awarded, three were not responsive, four were completed, one document was not returned, and two facilities were to be supplied with assorted medical equipment. The committee observed that six projects were completed, 20 projects were yet to be started, ten projects were work in progress, three projects were not responsive, and two facilities were awaiting supply and delivery of assorted medical equipment.
The Department of Youth, Sports, Gender Inclusivity, Cultural Heritage and Social Services was allocated Sh40 million for ward projects for the upgrading of 40 playfields. The department listed 40 playgrounds to be upgraded and reported that no project had been tendered for and no work had commenced. The committee found that there was no tendering done, and so there was no project status report from the department.
The committee’s general findings revealed late commencement of procurement processes for the implementation of most ward projects, leading to failure to actualise them. Other departments, such as Roads, Transport, Public Works and Infrastructure, and Youth, Sports, Gender Inclusivity, Cultural Heritage and Social Services, gave no report on the status of project implementation. This was occasioned by a sluggish procurement process, which is contrary to the dictates of Articles 56 and 174 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
Surely, from the report, it tells a story of why Homa Bay rightly accepts being described as Yemen.
Mokwa
The former Prime Minister, the late Raila Odinga, launched Mokwa, and the shelves were expected to be flooded by Homa Bay’s own Mokwa. Where did it go to? Were the farmers paid for the supplies, and what is the state of the facility?
The list is endless. Beyond your tears, kindly put a smile on the face of the people of Homa Bay. We need no sympathy but development. We need no tears but success stories.
