A bodaboda operator ferrying passengers in Kisumu. [Photo/ Roberto Muyela]
Bodaboda operators in Bondo have urged the government to come up with viable development programmes to support the sector, which they say is currently under threat. Led by their chairman Oliver Kaja Hawi, the bodaboda operators lamented that the industry was now congested, hence the need for the establishment of other development projects to supplement their little income. “Our income has tremendously dwindled since the industry is now overcrowded. We plead with the local leadership to come up with ways through which they can support us,” said Hawi.Hawi pleaded with the Kisumu and Siaya county governments to shelve their plans of levying taxes on bodaboda operators.The move to impose taxes, he said, will only culminate in driving the already devastated youth out of their low-income venture.His colleague Robert Odinga Oburu stated that the bodaboda industry needs to be protected and effectively supported because it has greatly contributed to spurring the economy of the country.He said that contrary to the previous days when cases of burglary were rife, such cases have currently gone down as the bodaboda industry has provided employment to many youth.