A member of the Nyamira County assembly has urged contractors who win road construction tenders to consider using local residents for labour.
This comes after a section of residents from Mokomoni village accused the county government of allegedly giving out tenders that did not benefit residents financially.
Speaking on Monday during an inspection of Kebirigo-Mokomoni road, the chairman of county road’s committee Ben Sironga urged contractors to consider using labour from the villagers or risk losing tenders in any subsequent applications.
Sironga, who represents Rigoma Ward, said they have recived numerous complaints from the county residents, and wants action taken to ensure locals benefit from such projects.
“The community must be involved in any process of road construction, and the contractors ought to know that. We cannot continue entertaining incidents where labour is imported from other regions. That is another way of promoting our people,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Buttah Omanga, who urged contractors to incorporate the local residents in such projects in a bid to boost their daily livelihoods.
“Sometimes back KERRA (Kenya Rural Roads Authority) used to give residents a chance to offer their labour and that is why we need to have contractors working with the locals. We need to make their lives favorable to match the environment they come from,” Omanga said.
This comes after the county government of Nyamira launched a massive 220km of feeder roads construction that will cover the 20 wards in the region.