Proposed County Status

SUGGESTIONS

OSIEKO - YIMBO COUNTY

For many...many years, we've heard senior community members (Community elders and professionals) discussing about boundary demarcations and the decentralization in the region. Listening to them, their goal is usually to get more resources trickling down to the community.

Meaning: efficient and effective utilization of resources e g. revenue, natural resources, human capital etc.

As we are already aware, Osieko lies on the peripheries of Busia and Siaya counties. Combined together, these two counties have huge tracts of land and humongous quantities of natural resources.

To spur development and to better the living standards in these Communities, there needs to be more devolution, more decentralization and the optimal/ maximum utilization of the regions resources.

Getting a county status means institutional upgrades, better schools, elevation of hospitals, a fisheries or marine science university, a stadia, fish factory, a dam, good access roads, more employment opportunities etc.

OSIEKO-YIMBO COUNTY can be a good starting point.

Proposed county capital- Usenge

Proposed towns: Osieko, Usigu, Got Agulu, Nyamonye and Mageta.

DISCUSSION POINTS

Despite having devolution, the region is still languishing behind vis-a-vis other areas in the county/country.

Is development a mirage for certain regions? That has always been a puzzle for decades. At the end of each fiscal year, the community is usually engulfed with tall tales trying to justify the regions development paradox.

As enshrined in our constitution, the parameters for a regions elevation to county status should be realistic, equitable and reachable .

Unbeknown to many, the Osieko region has two County Governors, two Senators, two MPs,  and two MCAs etc. This representation gives hope to the community; in- retrospect, our african  narrative still takes precedence over our development expectations.

Here in Kenya, there are counties with two to four constituencies; and  all-over the world, there are some states which are even smaller than the  proposed Osieko-Yimbo county.

In our constitution; there are articles, sections and clauses which encapsulate on critical matters such as marginalization and underdevelopment. These should be invoked to accommodate marginalized groups and marginalized regions.

Else, the constitution should be reviewed to bridge on the existing gaps. This will not only reassure us about the common good, it will also serve the greater good.

There is nothing like luck as pertains to development. Don't  expect MIRACLES! If the community does not do it, NOBODY will be sent by ANYBODY to do it.

It's up-to the Osieko-Yimbo community to choose pragmatic, honest, accountable and visionary leaders to steer the process.

In conclusion:

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."- Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher

ROOT FOR OSIEKO-YIMBO COUNTY