Kisumu City Manager heckled at Governor’s function
By Dickson Odhiambo
February 1, 2022
Kisumu City Manager
heckled at Governor’s function
Kisumu
Acting City Manager Michael Abala wanga has been today heckled during a function
where Governor Peter Anyang Nyong’o has been presiding over.
The Acting
City manager was forced to cut short his speech twice after rowdy youth booed
and heckled and wanted him not to address them forthwith during a function in
which Governor Nyong’o was presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for Phase
two of the Kibuye open air Market.
It forced
Market/Mlimani ward Representative Seth Ochieng Kanga to intervene and pleaded
with the rowdy crowd to allow Abala address them but did not do so because of
the too much noise from the crowd.
Abala tried
to calm the crowd but his plea fell on deaf ears after chanting of we don’t need
you! We don’t need you! Rented the air.
“Abala demolished
our business and he is now here to address us as city manager. We don’t need
him at all,” part of the crowd said.
The rowdy
crowd seemed to have been infuriated by a move earlier where the demanded
Kisumu Central Member of Parliament Fred Ouda to address them but did not
materialize.
They insisted
that Ouda should address them as supporters of Kisumu Central Parliamentary
aspirant Dr. Joshua Oron also demanded that he too address the crowd.
It took the
intervention of the Governor Nyong’o who said the area Member of Parliament
should be allowed to address the crowd since he represent it.
Kisumu
Central Member of Parliament addressed the crowd and invited the Governor who
urged the crowd to be peaceful.
Kisumu
Governor said the Phase 2 of the Kibuye market which has been launched today, will cost approximately
Ksh 185m and will take in some 1,500 traders.
Nyong’o
says it will be completed by end of April this year.
He says the main objective of the facelift of Kibuye Market into a modern
business complex is to have a dignified trading complex that has socio-economic
amenities and good infrastructure.
“For a long time, the market has been operating without a proper
demarcation of boundary thus lack of trading order,” he says.
The Governor says that the market has also suffered
frequent fire disasters leaving the traders helpless and impoverished, adding
that on a rainy season, the market is inaccessibly leading to huge losses by
the traders which he adds is now history.
“The Construction of phases one and two of the
historic Market will comprise four ablution blocks, parking’s for shoppers, a loading
and offloading bay, a proper drainage system, storage tanks, and walkways in
the market with floodlights and street lights,” he adds.
Governor adds that it will have a boundary wall
which is already completed, with secure entry and exit gates.
He says the market will operate on a 24-hour basis.
Upon completion, blacksmiths, second-hand clothes sellers, foodstuff sellers,
and the furniture sector will be settled back in the market.
“I wish
at this opportunity, to sincerely thank our partners from the World Bank Group
and the Government of France for helping us to make Kisumu one of the fastest
developing intermediary cities in Africa.I want to emphasize here that it is
because of our good leadership and policies that have made development partners
come to Kisumu,” Nyong’o further says.
He adds that Country or County will ever
develop and meet the aspirations of the people without working with the private
sector and development partners.
“In Kisumu, we are proud that these
development partners have faith in us and have helped us in improving the
delivery of services to the people. This is why I find it strange and pedestal when
some people who managed this County before us, claim that we are depending too
much on development partners to build Kisumu,” he further adds.
.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment