Residents of Koduogo village in Uriri sub-county have expressed their grievances over the poor state of infrastructure and social amenities, which has affected their livelihood.
Among their concerns was the unavailability of a reliable source of water with their main water supply which is a community borehole that often runs dry during dry season.
This thereby forces them and students from Koduogo Secondary School to walk for a distance of two kilometres outside school premises in search of water.
Bernard Ojowi, a resident of Koduogo said that the borehole does not produce water all year round, alleging that it was shallowly dug.
“This borehole is our only source of water, but it cannot provide water throughout the year as it was not drilled to the level of reaching the water table to tap the underground water;” he said,
Concurrently, the ongoing heavy rainfall has left a trail of destruction to most of the roads linking them to social amenities including schools and local dispensaries.
Ojowi said that as schools are reopening for the second term, their children are finding it difficult to access schools because the bridge they had been crossing has been swept away by floods.
“We call upon both the National and County Government to reconstruct the affected roads and bridges to enable school-going children and residents to safely access schools and dispensaries,” pleaded Ojowi.
Adding to their woes on inaccessible roads and lack of a reliable water source, Nicholas Odemo, another resident from Koduogo revealed that they have gone nine months without electricity despite power cables running through their homes.
He outlined that they had been informed by the Kenya Power officials that the blackout was due to a disconnected electrical cable, but months later their efforts to get the problem fixed have been futile.
He added that the lack of electricity has affected their businesses and increased insecurity in the area, stating that they are forced to close shops early to avoid run-ins with crooks.
“We cannot operate our shops beyond 8:00 pm because of lack of electricity. We request our local leaders and Kenya Power to step in and fix the cables so that this centre can thrive as before,” he said.
Moreover, they extended their plea to Migori County the Governor, Dr Ochillo Ayacko, the area Member of Parliament Mark Nyamita and their Member of the County Assembly George Omamba to ensure that their concerns are addressed.
“It is unfair that we have not had electricity for close to a year and we face challenges of insufficient water and inaccessible roads, yet the leaders we elected to tackle our issues have done nothing,” said one Ms Damacline Ogutu.
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