A section of Civil societies in Migori County has expressed their discontentment with the resolutions of the 11th Lake Region Economic Block (LREB) summit.
Michael Odongo of Migori boda boda Savings and Credit Society said that the summit left no visible impacts, leaving more unanswered questions from the residents.
The CSOs also admitted that the summit did not exclusively discuss or resolve concrete measures to tackle the socio-economic challenges to their satisfaction.
“The bare fact is that there is nothing to boast about from the concluded LREB 11th summit held in Migori a few weeks ago.
It did not provide the best solutions or the implementation policies,” said Mr Odongo.
“The leaders should in the first place ensure that the directors of management boards of the companies are qualified to avoid the mismanagement of our industries,”
Odongo
Odongo noted that the summit failed to highlight the challenges faced by the fishermen on Lake Victoria, who are often attacked and arrested by foreign authorities over border conflicts.
He also castigated a proposal for the privatization of sugarcane industries, citing that it will leave many cane farmers whose lands were grabbed to reclaim the lands that are currently under plantation.
“The governors ought to have rolled out a strategic plan to invest in the sugarcane farming sector, owing to the many end products of sugarcane,” he added.
Other areas of consideration
Odongo has alluded to the poor performance of the sugarcane sector in most component counties of the bloc to the unqualified board directors that mismanage the companies.
“It is unfortunate how the governors have ignored the sector that they kept close to heart during the campaign period. The sector needs to be identified as a potential investment area,”
Odongo
“The leaders should in the first place ensure that the directors of management boards of the companies are qualified to avoid the mismanagement of our industries,” Odongo said.
He also pointed out the reluctance of the LREB governors to invest in the transport industries, especially motorbikes.
He said that as the highest revenue source in the country, the summit resolution ought to have factored in, a way of investing in the sector.
“It is unfortunate how the governors have ignored the sector that they kept close to heart during the campaign period.
The sector needs to be identified as a potential investment area,” he added.
Referring to the president’s bottom-up economic model, the bodaboda sector should be the main centre of focus in capacity building in the counties forming the bloc. He explained.