By Mohamed Hersi
A myth repeated many times, people tend to start believing in it.
There is a concerted effort to portray counties in ASAL areas ( Arid & Semi Arid ) that they are being favored and in essence taking lion’s share of the pie.
Let’s address a few pointers.
1. Kenyans all deserve a fair chance in life and it will take very many years in fact decades before we reach a stage where the least developed counties would have been helped to fasttrack to catch up .
2. Let me also point out no community is superior . We are all Kenyans and equal . Respect is mutual .
3. ASAL suffered the most under successive regimes . In 2023 Turkana. Marsabit. Mandera . Wajir . Lamu are yet to be connected to electricity national grid, no piped water and terrible road network and insecurity aside. We had massacres in 1967 Isiolo, 1981 Garissa . 1984 Wagalla in Wajir. You see we are NOT the type that mourn forever we dusted ourselves and moved on.
4. In 2023 Mandera and Wajir don’t have any tarmacked road by Kenha. Kenha has just started to fix that gap with Garissa Madogashe road. The little that is there in Wajir town was through devolution . Even Marsabit & Turkana are beneficiaries of the African union and ADB initiative to connect African economies Ethiopia & South Sudan respectful.
The good MP is busy whipping emotions and playing to the gallery. The role of devolution is amongst others as follows:
A. Health. ( I have always said it was a mistake to devolve health )
B. Agriculture Livestock & Fisheries. ASAL counties occupy 70% of this country. How will you deliver on this mandate without adequate funding .
C. Pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft centers and childcare facilities. It does not anywhere say that secondary education and even primary education is the role of county government. If you look at Uhuru regime Education is taking the lions of share of budget allocation while county governments follow next.
Why would it pain an MP to see children from other counties ?
You the quota system helps to open up the minds of Kenyans. I left Marsabit Primary to attend Siakago High school in Embu now Mbere and for my A Levels at Meru school. Kalonzo Muyoka and late Dr Bonaya Godana are old boys of Meru school . It was not free . My dad a civil servant struggled to pay my school fees. Todate my best friends are from other regions of Kenya. I don’t blame the good MP having attended his primary education and secondary education in Kiambu he doesn’t appreciate we have more to Kenya than only Kiambu.
D. Looking at the payment per person on the county funds while it may look alot trust me it is a drop in the ocean. Getting medical help to someone living in Ileret close to Ethiopia border is 300km on treacherous road. The same in Turkana Lodwar to Lokichar 250KM + or Mandera to Wargadud 200KM+ .
E. Turkana County is 77,000Sqkm 3 times the size of Rwanda and more than the size of Rwanda and Burundi combined. It is also 32 times the size of Kiambu County at 2449Sqkm.
To Hon Kagombe I am choosing to remain respectful and decent in my rebuttal . You can drive leisurely around Kiambu in half a day , please come and attempt to reach constituents in Turkana, Marsabit or Tana River you’ll spend weeks to do that and trust me you will give up on the 3rd day .
My advice to the good MP please dont drive this divisive baseless narrative that funds are being allocated to empty land . We have Kenyans in all those corners who also expect service in return. If you feel it’s a cool thing to live in Wajir or Marsabit please free to ask your people to come and settle in Ileret Marabit or Ashabito in Mandera.
Hon MP let me also remjnd uou that Secondary education is a national government mandate hence all secondary schools are expected to admit students from all corners of Kenya it’s NOT a favour. It also helps in building cohesiveness but again I can excuse since you never left Kiambu to study anywhere else save for the short matatu ride to University of Nairobi.
Hon MP I notice that you were born in 1984 when Kenya missed by inches to go the way of most other war torn African counties in 1982. Well you were two years old when a man from ASAL General Mohamud Mohammed saved this nation from military rule. During the infamous post election violence you are a student at University of Nbi again another man from Asal Gen Ali Hussein IG Police saved Kenya from another meltdown .
Mheshimiwa please take time and learn the painful history of Kenya before you utter such divisive words to please some quarters.
My advice to you Hon Kagombe
1. The current allocation is still very low to the counties 15% . You should push very hard to get more funds to the counties instead of eying the little that is going to this ASAL areas. Please get out of this terrible scarcity mentality .
2. Kenya is free for all , my primary teacher in Marsabit Mwalimu Benny Makara is from Mathira. He has now retired, and he has opted to live with us in Marsabit he is one of us.
3. Kiambu have had the Presidency for 25 years and if we add Kibaki it means central have had the Presidency for 35 years. You will also agree with me having your own on the house on the hills does not count for much . Today central and your own constituents are battling illicit brew alcoholism not to mention the vulgaris of jiggers. Please FOCUS on this serious issues.
4. Mheshimiwa your constituents are free to migrate to any of the ASAL regions and they can also ” enjoy” both the hardship and the bursaries. Trust me It’s not that easy to make it in life from ASAL regions. It’s sheer hard work and dedication.
In conclusion we must learn to tolerate each other , loving each other is a bonus and no one has invited the other. We all find ourselves in our country where the white man drew borders using a ruler named Kenya. It is what it is .
Mheshimiwa yes we also have thieves in ASAl region just like you have them in your own County of Kiambu. You see the corrupt are shameless lot and they have no decency so I will never defend any corrupt person.
On the other hand the continued assertion that the investment being made in Eastleigh and South C is from corrupt county leaders is not entirely true, i leave that for bar talk. We have many serious investors, and it is a known known that Somalis make good businessmen, and they are here to stay, imagine they ain’t going anywhere. You are still very young , you better get used to that as a reality.
As always yours truly is choosing to remain. An optimist
