President Uhuru Kenyatta will not after all attend the highly publicised Kisii Entrepreneurial Summit scheduled for end of the week, a move that has angered a number of professionals from the region.
Kenyatta left for Israel on Monday for a three-day official visit after which he will be attending an East African Summit in Arusha, an event that will be held concurrently with the summit.
State House reportedly confirmed the visits to the region, a move that led a number of professionals to identify key areas that need urgent fix from the national government among them pyrethrum and coffee sector.
On Monday, the professionals led by David Nyameino termed the snub as a ‘letdown’ and questioned the government’s commitment to developing the region.
“We are happy as a community because it’s important that he (Uhuru Kenyatta) attended the function. We have very weighty issues such as pyrethrum and a coffee sector which needs to be fixed but that is now a dream. His coming would also have boosted the theme of the summit by wooing many investors. This is a big letdown,” he said.
They faulted Statehouse for allegedly contradicting the president’s itinerary and insisted the two foreign visits should have been put to a halt for the sake of the summit.
“We all know how the president is important in such functions and as professionals, we feel betrayed. State house should have suspended the two foreign trips because the Kisii team had made its intention known all along. This is a huge blow to the region and we don’t think there is no concrete explanation behind it,” he added.
They, however, called for allocation of Sh4 billion to Nyamira and Kisii counties by the government to revive diminishing pyrethrum and coffee sectors.
Among those present were Dr Erick Ogwora, Dr Stella Omari, Prof Albert Gebatu and Prof Nyachieo Bogonko during the Kisii Hotel meeting.