KSH 500,000,000 FOR THE GOVERNOR; IT'S PARTY TIME IN TURKANA

Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe, in his Biafra War memoir, 'There Was a Country', declares that, "a man who does not know where the rain began to beat him cannot say where he dried his body." 

In this, he was referring to the partitioning of the African continent into colonial territories occasioned by the Berlin Conference of 1885. He states, in his own words, "The rain that beat Africa began four to five hundred years ago, from the 'discovery' of Africa by Europe, through the transatlantic slave trade, to the Berlin conference in 1885."

Closer home, this historic episode is re-enacting itself. But only with some little modifications.

This time round, the 'partitioning' is engineered by natives - the sons and daughters of the soil. The 'conference' is held closer home - in county headquarters, lodges, lounges, hotels, beaches. Yes, in those posh 'heavenly' places where the 'commoners', the taxpayers cannot access. 

As opposed to the Berlin conference, the partitioning here entails sharing and ‘eating’ the spoils of devolution – what others would call ‘lootocracy’.

To put it into perspective, I am talking of the 'eating culture' that has began to corrode DEVOLUTION - that much touted bellwether and peoples' development machine. 

No doubt, devolution is the single well thought creation that Kenya has ever gifted its people. Many believe, which I also do, that this is the only mechanism to grow and develop hitherto marginalized and economically disempowered communities.

But the greed and senselessness displayed in the management of devolution largess will eventually be the game changer and the needed powder keg to assemble a powerful, 'destructive' bomb to clean up the 'eaters' of today and replace them with a people with eyes, ears, mouths, hearts and brains of the masses.

Those who feel the heat underneath. Those who share in the aspirations and dreams of the people - the taxpayers. I mean the ones who speak the language of the poor. A people with concrete plans and will-power to pull Wanjiku up the economic, social and political ladder. Not eaters.

But the road to achieving this is not smooth. There are manholes to fill and bumps to clear. 

Look, Turkana County, of all places in this planet can afford to 'reward' its governor with half a billion shilling handshake to roam around the world (in trains, jets, limousines, tramways and what-have-you) to 'study' and bring home goodies in those far lands.

The life of the governor, it seems, carries more weight than those of his employers. So to 'secure' him, they say, he must enjoy a publicly-funded 50,000,000 shilling-life insurance scheme. 

As a top-up for his 'exemplary' services, they propose to build him a Ksh 115,000,000 taxpayer-funded kingly mansion to cover him from mosquitoes and polluted air that only the employers can contain. After-all, diseases, cold, heat, insecurity, hunger are meant for the overtaxed mama-mbogas, cow herders, unemployed youths et al. 

It is not over yet. My people are so generous and selfless, you see! They are 'ready' to entertain and accommodate guests. Ksh 50,000,000 is budgeted for this 'critical' sector of the county.

Don't forget this is where hunger has a field day. It is killing and decimating populations at a rate never seen before. This is the same place where mothers and children trek for hundreds of kilometers in such of drinking water and health services. 

Don't even consider education. Eighty-percent of folks here have never stepped in any classroom. Schools, just like hospitals, are luxury 'commodities' reserved for the who-is-who in this land of oil. Schools are far apart that you have to decide either to ‘live’ at home (and ‘forget’ about getting an education) or you relocate completely and ‘live’ in schools.

Youths roam villages and towns; and in drinking holes for lack of meaningful employment. Unwanted pregnancies and upsurge of street families is nothing new. Life is hot down there. People are burning. But their leaders have a different agenda. You see, they don’t share in the same predicaments.

Roads are non-existent - or as my people will say - you don't need a road to walk. The leg knows where it sleeps. They can only be likened to those dusty camel routes!

And back to where I began; the enemy of the people is not lack of resources. It is not Nairobi and all the trappings of national power. It is the egos and greed that dot the streets and villages of our counties. It is the 'eating-culture' that shapes any thinking and action vis-à-vis matters public funds.

This is the monster in the room. It is killing and raping my people. It is responsible for the painful deaths of babies and mothers. It is the reason why, for generations, people must be fed, instead of being taught to fend for themselves.

It is imperative, therefore, to note that for devolution to succeed, this monster must go. Those who feed it must go. Those who use it to 'scare' and silence the people must go. They must go to Hell!

And when this monster is finally ‘gone’, we shall confidently rise up and sing, “Our lives changed – for good - the day we discovered where the rain began to beat us!” 

But before shouting hallelujah, perhaps, we should ask ourselves if its actually raining. And if yes, where did it start to beat us? Failure to which we shall always be moving in circles as the people of Turkana County keep on lining up for food rations!

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A short note to the Turkana County Assembly:   You enjoyed the music, right? You found it fit to call our local artists and talented musicians to grace your forums. You promised to pay them, at least for their sounds and dances. But you have failed to honour this.

The tears of Miss Madonna Erupe and the Turklife squad will always flow until you pay them their dues.

Pay them. Give these talented sons and daughters of the soil what belongs to them. Don’t say you were not reminded. Yes, pay them. Pay them now!

Twitter: @mlemukol. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com.

NEEDED: THE WORKING SPIRIT OF TEACHER NOOR GURE

In his autobiographer "Up From Slavery", educator, author, orator and African-American black empowerment program pioneer, Booker T. Washington, underlines education as the key that opens the eyes and the minds of a people; to boundlessly imagine and re-imagine their destinies with a view to making them fruitful and dignified. 

Education, he argues, is the foundation over which other freedoms are anchored. It is what gives power to move and pursue what we aspire to be.

Yet close to one hundred years since his death this is yet to be achieved in some remote corners of the planet. Turkana County, of course, can't miss in this list. It is a victim of absence of light - yes, education. It is crying and wailing. And we can hear her lamentations from far. It badly needs this light.

Straight to the point. A humble Head-teacher, Mr Noor Gure (a Kenyan-Somali born in Turkana County), in Nanyang'akippi Primary School, of Kerio Division along the shores of lake Turkana is proving to be the needed torch through which this light can reach my people. He is a man with a big heart, firm spirit and the vision of an eagle. 

In a classic "Washingtonnian vision", Mr Noor has achieved (and continues doing it) great strides in less than five months. Let me take you to the heart of his story.

The guy was transferred to his new station early this year. The school had only two semi-permanent structures that served as Head-teacher's office, staffroom and classes 1 to 8. The institution had also suffered from poor management, political influence in deployment of staff and dealings/procurement and the perennial drought affecting northern Kenya.

Compounded by all these, the school had no chance to boast of good grades or even competing with other big and well endowed schools around the county. It resigned to its fate. Failure.

So to counter the challenges, this darling of the people resorted to the only powerful weapons at his disposal: creativity and the peoples' participation. To cut the costs (since no financing existed) he plastered all classrooms with red ochre, locally known as "emunyen".

He wrote letters to all and sundry. He tapped into the largess of the existing non-governmental organizations and other development stakeholders operating in the region. And voila, the fruits of his efforts are brightening. Classrooms are up. Kids are smiling. Good grades are there for all to see. You see, all these in a record five months!

With this priceless ingenuity, he has managed to offer a lifeline to hitherto hopeless generation. But the job is not yet done; he still has humongous mountains to climb. The local leadership is still fixated to the 'eating-culture' that has sunk many schools in the region into ungovernable failure-prone entities. He needs our support to bring 'light' closer to sons and daughters of God in Turkana.

With more minds like Noor’s, I see us achieving and accomplishing what Booker T. Washington thought of more than one hundred years ago – beaming light into the minds and souls of our people.

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For any support to Nanyang’akippi Primary School Mr Noor can be reached via Mr. Nabenyo Ekai @ ikainabenyo@gmail.com. 

                             

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Meanwhile, I want to salute Mr. Kablit Samuel and Mr. Nabenyo Ekai for their tireless and focused efforts in serving the people. These two gentlemen are spending long sunny days and sleepless nights crisscrossing valleys and hills of Turkana to send messages of hope and empowerment. Keep up brothers!

Twitter: @mlemukol. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com

IT'S TIME CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS SPOKE ‘UNGA’

Ever since the emergence of civil society groups in Africa questions still linger on what their "true role" is. There is no clear understanding of what their mission is. For the common man and woman in the streets and villages, civil society groups are just but an offshoot of the usual non-governmental organizations. A sought of foot-soldiers bankrolled to achieve certain ends. For the hoi polloi, civil societies have just been as good as aid-dispensers. 

Following this confusion, I think, it behooves for the civil groups to come out boldly and declare what responsibilities they carry and what people should expect from them. Perhaps they should borrow a leaf from the political class and use what is sell-able to the public to win them and move along with them in the journey to full emancipation.

As evidenced by their actions, it is clear that these pressure groups are guided by the philosophy of: empowering the people to rise above all challenges (social, political or economic). That is; to shield the people from the dangers of their own shortcomings and the excesses of their governments.

But a look into their activities leaves many questions than answers. The public is still far from standing on its own. It still is unable to boldly and confidently point out the excesses of governments. Its susceptibility renders it prey to rogue government officials.

Put it another way: civil societies have achieved little in empowering Wanjiku. They have reduced Wanjiku to a cry baby - a helpless and confused Wanjiku who must be supported to walk, talk, think and act. This is the farthest she has "progressed". 

This is not a blanket condemnation. Civil societies have done a great deal of work. They have received bullets and blows in defense of Wanjiku. But they have not achieved the much needed goal of growing a healthy, focused and bold Wanjiku who can receive the bullets and blows on her own.

This is why. They have devoted much of their time in endless talks and shouts, and write-ups and reports. It seems, they believe, too much talk will put ugali on Wanjiku's table. Far from it.

Wanjiku can only stand on her own if she is economically empowered. 

Note the dividing lines between the upper and lower classes in Kenya, for instance. It is not tribe. It is not geography. It is not religion. Not even language does separate the two. The dividing line is money. It is unga. Money is the cohesive force that keeps members of the upper class together. Nothing else!

Economic fiat, it seems, is the answer to our self-inflicted differences and "nothingness".

The 2007-08 Post-Election Violence is a true testimony of what money can do to keep the affluent from slaughtering each other. An empty stomach is our greatest enemy. It must be torpedoed for all to live in peace.

Similarly, it is almost impossible to find the la crème de la crème of the Maasai community parading their girls before knife-wielding grandmas in some bushes in Kajiado County to mutilate their genitalia. You see, such acts are the preserve of the poor (not in a negative sense though).

Which leads us to the crux of the matter: economic empowerment should take center-stage in all Wanjiku-centric activities. 

A bellyful Wanjiku can think, speak and act boldly, independently and authoritatively. Put ugali on her table and you see her spring up!

Twitter: @mlemukol. E-mail: lemoseh89@gmail.com.

BUREAUCRATIC TURKANA TO BLAME FOR POVERTY, HUNGER DEATHS

We must blow up those redundant ideas holding people from progressing

I love to say this: solutions (no matter their complexities) are with the people. What impedes their extraction - and which remains a humongous obstacle - is the absence of a will and the needed stamina (not essentially monetary) to make this a reality. 

Allow me to drive the point home. The alarm bells ringing up north, and particularly in Turkana County, can be silenced once and for all. Poverty and hunger deaths over there can be stopped.

But wait, something doesn't add up. The other day I received an email from a Lodwar-based friend of mine lamenting about the increasing number of street children in major towns along the Kitale - Lodwar - Juba highway. The so called village-towns of Kainuk, Lokichar, Lodwar, Kakuma and Lokichoggio are now famous for one thing - their surging numbers of destitute populations - street children, prostitutes, drunkards, jobless youth, widows et cetera. 

For this group, life is uncertain, the future unknown. This is neither good nor bad. It just is, like gravity. Yet the task remains: how can we pull them up the economic, political and social order? 

But before reaching there, let me lead you down the processing line that churns out the final product that is destitute, poor, hungry population. 

To major on this suffering mass is to miss the point. The underlying problem is bigger than the number of destitute populations I have listed above. The enemy of the people is the disjointed, late and bureaucratic intervention of those entrusted with decision making and "leading the way." This is the typical antithesis of the needed development to free the people from hunger and poverty. 

Let me peel this hot potato for you. Turkana County is a major recipient of government and donor funds. In fact, if development was to be measured by the concentration of non-governmental organizations Turkana County would win the contest - square, clear and clean! 

Grab your pen and note this down: This year alone The County Government of Turkana was allocated close to Ksh 10 billions. Each of the six constituencies in the county received on average of about Ksh 70 millions as Constituency Development Funds (CDF), giving us a total of about Ksh 420 millions. 

The county hosts a retinue of donor organizations each with a budget of not less than Ksh 100 million for "development". 

Just look at this. In education sector alone, there exist bursaries from CDF, Tullow Oil, The Catholic Diocese of Lodwar, World Vision Kenya, Child Fund, Share International, Government of Kenya bursary through the Education Office, Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and County Government. 

Which beggars the questions: why do we still see bare-chested kids dotting our streets when they are supposed to be in school? Why should our mothers trek for kilometers in such of water? Why, why, why?

Clearly, there is a big cancer here. It is deliberately caused by a clique of well-connected chaps to keep the sons and daughters of Turkana in perpetual state of poverty. It is a classic case of an enemy within.

With all those taxpayers’ and donor billions one will be excused to believe that at least the basics – plus education and health have been achieved.

Have a look at all the “development” committees – from village committees to county ones and you will know where the rain started beating us. Times have changed but the thinking and philosophies guiding these peoples’ forums are still the same. Recycling seems to be the only qualification for constituting these committees.

You see, to bestow the future of a community to same old, fixed-minded bulldogs whose greatest stride is to “prune any competing twig” is to strangle generations and deny them of their lifeline.

But I believe something can be done. We must seal this bottomless pit that consumes peoples'  mali. Those briefcase NGOs must be asked the hard questions. Those blood-sucking cartels must be eliminated.

And this is the little I can contribute toward achieving this: The County Government of Turkana should, as a matter of principle, craft and effect a framework through which all development stakeholders should work. It must lead by example - let it move from the comfort of Lodwar offices to where services are needed most.

Meanwhile, they must purchase water drilling machines, deploy them to the grassroots, scale down that redundant pro-starehe bureaucracy and you will see people-centric results.

And in the words of Roald Amundsen; "Victory awaits him who has everything in order - luck people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck." 

Will Turkana emerge victorious? Is it time for the sons and daughters of Turkana County to drink from the cup of happiness and abundance?

Twitter: @mlemukol.