Regeneration of Kisumu
Five-Point Agenda
Revive Agriculture
Foremost, we will grow our food. For a long time, the tragedy of Africa has been the paradox of consuming what it does not produce and producing what it does not consume (Ali Mazrui). No wonder 39.8% of Kenyans live below poverty line and 18.7 million people faced the triple burden of malnutrition: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies. In Kisumu, 71.3% of the county residents face food insecurity. Yet food security remains a priority of both the Vision 2030, Africa Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goal 2. We have a clear strategy on how to make Kisumu County food secure and healthy.
Next, we will ensure that Agribusiness becomes a source of gainful employment through industrial-scale farming and value addition. Cotton, sugarcane, coffee, fish farming, horticulture, rice farming, millet, sorghum, and other indigenous crops will be revived. We will also leverage the immense potential that our neighbors have within the Lake Region Economic Block to create an ecosystem of food production, processing, manufacturing, and market access.
In our plan, each sub-county will engage in one major industrial-scale agribusiness activity under the One Village One Product model. We have created seven agricultural zones according to the natural potential of every subcounty. This segmentation will ensure that we maximize productivity, minimize costs, and create a cyclic economy whereby we become a market unto ourselves even before venturing into exportation
[Read our manifesto to find out more]
Revamp Healthcare
In my village they say, "Ngima e maduong'" to mean that health is wealth. It reflects our ethos that strongly anchors on the belief that when you are alive and healthy, you can achieve anything in the fullness of time.
It is therefore an imperative that the government safeguards the health of the population. For what reason are governments instituted among men if not to midwife the process of enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms?
That is why Right to Life is unalienable. Both Article 43 of the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, the Social Pillar of Kenya's Vision 2030, Africa Agenda 2063, and the United Nations' SDG-3 emphasize the need to have healthy populations as a crucial component of the right to life.
Our view is that healthcare requires much more than having bick-and-motor hospitals.
We will build upon the hospitals that the previous regimes have built and shift the focus the much needful ecosystem of Prevention, primary healthcare, diagnostics, medicines, specialized care, health technology, financial protection.
While recognizing the much work that has been done to make these a reality, we are also alive to the fact that glaring gaps still exist. Especially when it comes to diagnosis. Additionally, nutrition, income status, and social amenities like water and sanitation have a significant bearing on health.
That is why Jeremiah 8:22 seems to be referring to Kisumu County when it poses the question; "Is there no balm in Gilead. Are there no physicians there? Then why is there no healing for the wound of my people?"
We have a clear strategy on how to turn things around. [Read my manifesto to find out how we plan to go about it]
Revitalize Education
It is a matter of fact that education is the greatest equalizer. But not just any kind of education.
Sustainable Development Goal number 4 emphasizes that "when people have access to
quality education, they can finally break free from the cycle of poverty".
Our view is that quality education is the product of multiple interconnected moving parts.
We must begin with the end in mind. And the big question is, 'What do we need the education to do the people'.
In our manifesto, we not only answer this question but we also demonstrate how we are going to ensure that the quality of education within our borders is one that leads to innovation, gainfu employment, and global competitivness.
We have practical insights on how to transform knowledge into an economic sector through university-industry partnetships smart cities that breed innovation, and research that proceeds to patents, prototypes, and products.
2,000
Digital Economy Jobs
We will connect every household to fiber optics internet to ensure that the educated young people can engage in gainful employment at the comfort of their homes. Through this approach alone, we will limit the rural-urban migration and the desire to flee to oversees countries in search for jobs that often led to brain drain and capital flight.
4,300
Healthcare Sector Jobs
By allocating at least 15% of county budget to healthcare (Abuja Declaration), we shall employ 860 medics every year until we achieve the WHO recommended ratios of doctor to population (1:1000) ad nurse-to-population ratio of 1:120.
2,500
Innovation Jobs
Our plan is to build one model city that will serve as the epicenter for innovation. This sector will grow gradually, attracting progressive investments in health tech, fintech, startups, and medical research. Our vision is to build a Grenoble Alpes of Nyanza.
12,000
Agric & Industry Jobs
Agriculture is going to be the backbone of our economy. We have put measures in place to ensure that agriculture and the chain of value addition not only supplies our subsistence but also creates the majority of employment opportunities.
Stewardship of Resources
Stewardship is the central pillar that will support the achievement of all the aspirations of the people of Kisumu. In our view, this has been the weakest point in our country since independence. And the challenge cuts across many other jurisdictions within the continent. That is why the third aspiration of The Africa We Want puts great emphasis on accountability. Vision 2030 and SDG-16 also view accountability with the same lens.
We recognize that accountability goes beyond just fighting corruption. It entails proper utilization of all public resources for the benefit of the current generation and generations to come.
Proper utilization of resources also makes it possible to attract more resources. No wonder in the parable is of three servants, the servant who did not multiply his resources was considered wicked and lazy, just like the servant who squandered everything.
We have a clear strategy on how to optimize the utilization of the equitable share, to ensure that equitable share increases, and to attract conditional grants for the benefit of our people. There is no good reason why a county like Kiambu should get higher equitable share than Kisumu County.