The first time I met you, honourable, it was a university's student's forum in Lunar park Nairobi. I must thank you for the kes 250 you gave us, I afforded some chicken and bhusuma in town on my way back to college. But most importantly, I shall thank you for providing a platform where young and promising leaders like we could share our opinion with how the silent generation can run matters. By then, it was a campaign mood and at least we were sure, honourable, you were going to go to the books of history as the first governor of Bungoma county. It came to pass, and there you are, in the big office, managing budgets in billions, enjoying the glory of fuel guzzlers complete with a security detail, ooh Mr. Governor, you are really rolling big, how I envy your position.
Forgive me for being critical, it is human nature. I remember, when you were declared winner of the Bungoma gubernatorial position, I could not hide my joy, I knew that the lives of my people will be turned around, our hopes rekindled and the synergy to build this nation re-energized. This was premised on the belief that you had no background in politics and thus, you were not yet corrupted by the absolute power. A week later, in a conversation with my boss, one Mr. Patrick, he left me thinking, is it possible that you were a good choice but not a very good one. Mr. Patrick told me, a politician and bureaucrat are both poor choices for the gubernatorial position. Of course at first, I had to challenge his perspective, I really thought he was taking his criticism too far.
But I came to think of it, you were serving in the former provincial administration right? Am also aware you served as a permanent secretary before we endorsed you as our governor. Maybe my boss was right? Sometimes I tend ignore his perspective especially that he just wants to be smarter than me. But I guess this time he was right. Yes he was right, a bureaucrat, especially one with a background in the provincial administration was not the best choice for a governor. I stand to be corrected honourable governor. Not like you lack the aptitude for that position, but because you have been bred in a culture away from wealth maximization and rich with expenditure maximization. Of course, you do have a mindset, a right mindset for that matter, but in our context the mindset is in a wrong position. This was a hard fact that I had to stomach once I learnt that so far one year down the line, your development track record was below average.
Mr. Governor, I am not sceptical about your ability to deliver, I am sceptical about your ability to make Bungoma a commercial capital of western Kenya. Development in the sense of the old Provincial administration was all about, constructing roads, donating desks to schools, connecting electricity to this and that village, going for fundraising in schools. That remains part of the fundamental parts of our development, that I do not dispute, because we can't move forward without accomplishing this. I am informed Mr. Governor, you ve done a good job, improving the road network within our county, congratulation for the work well done. However, I need more profound solutions to the problems bedevilling this county. Personally I come from Chwele and the state of the market is not worthy the stature of a second largest open air market in east and central Africa. the Place is actually more of a dump-site than a market place. What about the facility you started way back in 2011, the chicken facility to be precise, am still waiting to see any smoke of hope from that facility ever since you came into office.
Mr. Governor, it is my belief that your office needs the mindset of a technocrat. This is a mindset of doing this differently, the mindset of creating utility where there was none, the mindset of wealth maximization, reformation and restructuring of structure, the mindset of innovating new ways of doing things and breaking away from the orthodox of complacency. Honourable sir, I would wish that you have the mindset of an entrepreneur and not just a governor, the mindset of a manager and not an administrator, I would also wish that you have the mindset of a consultant and not a ruler for I believe these are some of the underlying contemplations of devolution. Now that you are our governor we cannot change that for sure, but I choose to support you both critically and morally. I ain't a sycophant to flirt you with congratulatory comment event in the event you ve failed.
My input is, beyond construction of roads can we also construct parks as public utilities and invite private investors to develop restaurants and recreational facilities, it will create jobs. Beyond construction of poultry facilities, is it possible we establish marketing agencies to engage both the local and international marketing clients. What if we revamp our dairy industry by bringing on board conglomerates, establish collection centres in each village with complete structures including coolants. If community participation in such conglomerates is an issue, then your government can tailormake a shareholder's agreement for the interest of the locals and the investor. Is it possible you engage consultants to crack down on how best we can lengthen the value chain of our products including onions, tomatoes, sunflower, coffee and even tea in Mt. Elgon.
Is it possible Mr. Governor that you be on the front-line for capacity building to empower the farmer and in the long run realize full commercialization of agriculture. If the external market won't be easy to crack, can we preach the purchase of Bungoma products to support and promote the Bungoma producer. Am just thinking loudly, honourable governor, can resource mobilization be narrowed down to the village level. Is it possible the economic stimulus programme can be materialized at the village level to realize full exploitation of potentail. Can you leverage this by engaging consultants to educate the residents on basic issues in entrepreneurship, agribusiness and business management.
Your excellency, sorry for downgrading your bureaucratic ability, but i just hope that you see my point. That actually, we can generate revenue not from central government allocations only, but from our ability to mobilize resources at the grass root level. That we can innovate ways of creating wealth for the common good and set a precedent for the other counties. That we can see Bungoma County as a business entity and not a political jurisdiction. Your excellency, I hope you get my point that all we need is to reform, restructure, refabricate, rebuild and reorganize and we shall pull out the masses from poverty.
Your Citizen Eugene Wanambisi
nice one bro..this article is spot on.
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