|
|
Kenya: Minister Drums Up Support for Project
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Nation (Nairobi)
9 July 2008
Posted to the web 9 July 2008
Daniel Nyassy
Nairobi
A Cabinet minister Tuesday criticised leaders from the pastoral community opposed to the Sh24 billion sugar project in Tana River District.
The leaders said at a meeting at Minjila that they opposed the project because it would rob them of pasture for their livestock and displace thousands of villagers.
But Regional Development minister Fred Gumo told them to change their attitude, "embrace change and welcome development".
"Even Dubai was a camel centre but now it is an international business hub," he said.
Earlier, Tana River county council chairman Salim Kolo Gure said the pastoralists were not involved in the Mumias Sugar Company project.
"The Tana and Athi River Development Authority (Tarda) acquired the land illegally and they are now forcing a project on the community. They should leave the pastoralists alone," Mr Gure said.
Assistant minister Danson Mungatana urged the pastoralists to support the project saying the opposition was only due to political influence.
He said the project would change the lives of the local people, make them flourish and reduce poverty. However, he insisted that the Government must address the concerns raised by those opposing the project.
Mr Gumo said the sugar factory would open up the area, create employment, improve the road network and general infrastructure.
He said the Luhya community had initially opposed Mumias Sugar Company but today they have the best schools, roads and hospitals.
"The Government has no intention of harming its own citizens but to lift their living standards," he said.
Earlier, a nominated councillor, Mr Abaloni Racha, had accused Mr Mungatana of sidelining the pastoralists during awareness campaigns over the project.
He also opposed a plan to move herders to the 200,000-acre Galana ranch land for grazing their cattle saying the area was infested with tsetse flies.
Being forced
But ambassador Hussein Dadho said the pastoralists were not opposed to the project but were worried about the way it was being forced onto them.
"The community is full of doubt on the sincerity of the Government, Mumias Sugar and Tarda and the way the project is being brought here. Let there be binding agreements between the community and the company," he said.
|
Another community leader, Dr Mohammed Bute, said the pastoralists were victims of historical injustices and would not allow the project to go on.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
