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\u201cWe want to raise the red flag on the marginalization in the budget, for the\nWestern Kenya economy \u2013 and indeed the entire Lake Basin Regional economy,\u201d\nread part of the presser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mudavadi while reading the joint statement, he blasted Treasury Cabinet\nSecretary Ukur Yattani for not allocating anything towards the revival of the\nailing sugar millers like Mumias Sugar Company that is currently under\nreceivership as well as Nzoia Sugar Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe note with profound concern that the sugar industry, that has been the\nmainstay of our economy in Western Kenya, remains marginalized. Not a single\nword of hope has been given to the sugar farmer and to all those whose lives\nand livelihoods have been defined around the sugar industry \u2013 from Awendo to Nzoia\nand from Mumias to Ramisi,\u201d said Mudavadi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: \u201cWe are left wondering whether this is a factor of the State\ngiving up on the industry, or is it erroneous human omission, or deliberate\nmarginalization? Whatever the case, this must be corrected immediately. We call\nupon Parliament to attend to this concern,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mudavadi said that the government has marginalized some Kenyan communities\nthat seem not to have support the jubilee administration development agenda,\nsaying Western Kenya has gotten a raw deal for the last eight years Uhuru has\nbeen President.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that most projects have been centralized within the Nairobi\nMetropolitan area instead of having regional balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe take note, for example, that while the Health Sector in the budget has\ntaken a formidable allocation of funds, the mainstay in this budget is focused\non the Nairobi Metropolitan Area. While we appreciate the fact that this is the\nepicenter of the new coronavirus menace, we also wish to state that the Nairobi\nMetropolitan Area is not Kenya. Let all Kenyans benefit from equitable budgetary\nallocations in all sectors,\u201d said Mudavadi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Wetang\u2019ula on his part said the plight of farmers and pastoralists have\nnothing to smile about given that they are facing challenges with farm inputs\nand markets for their produce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is big irony that the country sometimes goes through waves of staple\nfood shortages, while farmers are lumbered with staples that they cannot sell,\ndue to terribly low production prices, set by the state. This matter requires\nurgent addressing,\u201d said Wetang\u2019ula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wetang\u2019ula said despite Uganda being the country\u2019s biggest trading partner\nin the region, communities living adjacent to the Kenya – Uganda border are\namong those who benefit least from the cross border trade between the two\ncountries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is true all the way from the Nyanza Lake Basin Region, all the way to\nthe greater Mount Elgon Region. This anomaly is a factor of the underdeveloped\neconomy in the Lake Basin, the North Rift and the Mount Elgon Regions,\u2019 said\nWetang\u2019ula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He added: \u201cA deliberate blueprint to revamp the regional economy, all the\nway from the Central Rift Valley, the North and South Rift, the Lake Basin and\nWestern Kenya, is of paramount urgency. In the coming days, we are going to\npush hard for this, both at the level of the National Government and Devolved\nGovernment,\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wetang\u2019ula also blamed the government of the congestion of truck drivers\nalong the Busia and Malaba border, saying they are now spreading Covid19 at the\nwatch of the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe possibility of a terrible outbreak of the covid-19 disease in Western\nKenya is very real. We call upon the Kenya Government to move swiftly to\ndecongest the affected border points. This must be a matter of priority. We\nwill closely monitor the developments and will not hesitate to address them\nagain, should the situation persist,\u201d said Wetang\u2019ula. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Wetang\u2019ula said they were concerned that the rehabilitation of the metre\ngauge railway from Nairobi to the Uganda border has remained a singsong, saying\nif it was functional; it would ease some of the pressure on road transport of\nheavy goods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He said it would also decongest the roads and make them less accident-prone.\n\u201cWe call for expedited action here. Indeed, the region must also benefit from\nthe extended Standard Gauge Railway. National resources must serve the entire\nnation,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ends<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nairobi By Collins Matubwi and Wilson Abiri Political leaders from Western Kenya led by Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart have faulted President Uhuru Kenyatta over marginalization of the region after nothing was allocated for the ailing sugar industry. The sugar industry is the region\u2019s economic backbone bringing together […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kenya-news"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/horizonnews.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/103941957_305414400848484_4285600356289922411_n.jpg\")
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