President Uhuru Kenyatta wrapped up his tour of Bungoma County on Sunday with an assurance that all integrated Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Western region will be compensated.
Addressing a mammoth public rally in Bungoma town after a meet-the-people tour that saw him make several stops to acknowledge greetings from residents, President Kenyatta said the compensation for the IDPs who were affected by the 2007/2008 post-election violence in the region will start in Bungoma and followed by Busia.
Integrated IDPs in the remaining counties in the region will also benefit in due course as the Jubilee administration steps up efforts to address the challenge, President Kenyatta said.
“We are determined to ensure that no IDP will be left uncompensated. We have embarked on a journey to ensure that we bury that challenge once and for all,” President Kenyatta said as he promised to deploy Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa with cash to compensate integrated IDPs in Bungoma County.
Last week, President Kenyatta handed over Kshs 828 million as compensation for IDPs in Kisii and Nyamira counties. Kisii County received Kshs 358 million while IDPs from Nyamira got Kshs 470 millions.
The Head of State also spoke on his administration’s commitment to support sugarcane farming – a key economic venture in the Western region.
He said the Government will release Kshs 300 million to pay Nzoia cane farmers as it works to refurbish the Nzoia Sugarcane Company to ensure that the farmer reap maximum benefit from their toil.
President Kenyatta pointed out that his administration has already released Kshs 74 million to pay workers at Webuye Pan Paper Mills – which he reopened last year, creating employment to many residents.
President Kenyatta censured the Opposition for feeding the nation with lies and propaganda claiming the Jubilee Government is only for Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes.
“We who want to see know that we have Cabinet Secretaries Eugene Wamalwa and Judy Wakhungu who are in Government and yet they come from the Western region. We also have Raychelle Omamo – the first woman Cabinet Secretary for Defence in the country – who is former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s neighbour in Bondo among others,” President Kenyatta said.
The President said the Jubilee Government embraces all Kenyans and unlike the opposition, it does not condone tribal and politics of discrimination.
“Our main goal is to unite all Kenyans as we spread development across the country. We do not dwell on empty politics. We deliver on the promises we make and our development track record speaks for itself,” President Kenyatta said.
He told the opposition to sell their policies to the electorate instead of concentrating on inciting and planting the seed of hatred in Kenyans.
Deputy President William Ruto said Kenyans know that what they require from their leaders are policies that will transform their lives which the Jubilee Government is doing and not the divisive politics propagated by the opposition.
“That is why we are requesting you to vote for President Kenyatta and the Jubilee team so that we can continue on the journey of development and transformation that we started four years ago,” the Deputy President said.
As part of the Jubilee development initiatives in Bungoma County, the Deputy President said Bungoma and Webuye hospitals have been provided with modern medical equipment at a cost of Kshs 420 million.
“We provided the medical equipment that has ensured that residents no longer have to travel all the way to Eldoret or Nairobi for specialised medical care,” the Deputy President said.
He said the Jubilee Government has also connected over 60,000 Bungoma residents to electricity in the last four years compared to only 25,000 connections done in the last 70 years.
Leaders from Western region allied to the Jubilee Party said their decision to support the Government was for the benefit of the people unlike their counterparts who are embracing the National Super Alliance (Nasa) for selfish interests.
The leaders were Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, Governor Ken Lusaka (Bungoma), MPs Dan Wanyama (Webuye East), John Waluke (Sirisia), Ababu Namwamba (Budalangi) and Reginalda Wanyonyi (Women Rep, Bungoma).
Mr Waluke said their colleagues from the region who were supporting the opposition were doing so for their personal gains.
“Nasa plans to create new positions which are not even in the Constitution for our brothers from Western. This means there is no room for the outfit to address challenges facing us,” said Mr Waluke.
The leaders said the Jubilee administration in just four years has revived the Mumias Sugar Factory and the Webuye Pan Paper Mills as well as improvement of roads in the region and yet those in opposition who had the capacity to help the region when they served in previous governments failed to initiate projects that ‘we can be proud of’.
“If those in Nasa failed to solve our problems when they were in positions like Prime Minister, Vice President, deputy Prime Minister and Ministers, do you think they will even remember what they are promising us when they win elections?” asked Mr Waluke.
The leaders pointed out that it was now clear that Jubilee would win by a large margin come the August General Election.
Mr Ababu said the Western region has greatly benefitted from the Jubilee administration compared to the previous regimes that those in opposition were part of.
“They say numbers don’t lie and you have seen the reality of issues as we head to the August polls. Jubilee will win by a landslide and you should not be left behind,” Mr Ababu said.
Mr Lusaka said the future of the people of Western was better off in Jubilee than in the opposition and urged voters in the region to turn out in large numbers to support the Government.
“I want to ask my sisters and brothers in Western Kenya to turn out in large numbers and support Jubilee because our future here is secured and not in the opposition,” said Mr Lusaka.
The Governor thanked the Government for dispatching Shs 74 million to pay salaries for those working at the Webuye Pan Paper Mills.