West Pokot: West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin has lashed out at leaders and residents in the region whom he claimed were fond of prioritising politics at the expense of the region’s development. Speaking at Sigor in Pokot Central Sub County during the development assessment tour within the constituency by the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) and Regional Development Principal Secretary (PS) Kello Harsama, the Governor noted that the County has suffered enough marginalisation since independence hence it is high time leaders and residents synergise to get out of the poverty bracket.
According to Kenya News Agency, Kapchin said he was committed to service delivery as per the mandate given by the electorate and called on other leaders to avoid dividing residents through premature political alignments. “Development should come first and politics later. If politics precede development, then as a county we are doomed and we shall never get out of the marginalisation bracket that has plagued our county since the country attained independence in 1963,” warned the governor. He maintained that he would work very closely with all development partners until the county acquired a better development index, regretting that the county, which is well endowed with huge land resources and fertile soils, was still depending on government relief food supplies.
Kachapin added that it would not matter how many times National Government entities tasked to initiate and assess development projects visit the region, saying they were always welcome, and that every interested development partner was welcome to tour the region unconditionally. “I am delighted with the frequent visits by National Government Ministries officials especially the State Department of ASALs and Regional Development. This county requires water projects and it shall be food secure,” stated the governor.
Kachapin said the rumours going around that some schools within Weiwei ward were on the brink of closure were so unfortunate since such utterances could mess up the economy of the area. “Closing down a school means a lot to the surroundings. It means landlords will lose tenants because the teachers seek accommodation services from landlords in the region,” argued the governor.
At the same time, Sigor Member of Parliament (MP) Peter Lochakapong said reports that some schools within his constituency were bound to close had reached his office and he was in talks with the concerned Ministry of Education about them. “Discussions doing rounds on social media seem to intimate that the schools being mentioned require change of management. I have talked to county officials in charge of the Ministry of Education about it, but we shall convene a meeting where resolutions reached will be forwarded to the relevant authorities for consideration,” said the MP. He said as a community, they could not afford to lose learning institutions that are well equipped and have been points of reference within the area.
The two leaders hailed the development record being set in the area by the Kenya Kwanza administration promising to give total support towards implementation of development projects within the region.