By Philip Barasa, DevReporter, Busia County
Hegemony of political parties in some regions of Kenya, the so-called strongholds of parties, had for a long time taken over civic awareness in the electoral processes.
But according to a resident of Busia County, the trend of blindly following political parties is slowly changing.
Further interviews from a cross-section of residents of Busia show that the people want positive change in leadership rather than following political parties without much thought.
Ms Bernadette Otiku, a resident of Busia County, explained that it is unacceptable that 10 years since the advent of devolution, the poor and marginalised in the rural areas are not able to access clean running water and medical services.
“We want a leader who will bring development” was a common phrase on the lips of most residents interviewed.
According to Eugene Buluma, also a resident of Busia, misinformed voting mostly leads to people electing leaders who underperform in their duties. Most voters tend to prefer candidates from one political party that is dominant in a given area without focusing on the individual candidate’s abilities beyond political party affiliation.
In the recent past, among the candidates voted into positions within Busia County, 97 percent were from one political party. Nelly Asere, another resident of Busia, claimed that it was easy to win a political seat if an aspirant belonged to a specific political party. Could this mean that capable aspirants from other political parties had a slim chance of taking up leadership roles in Busia?
Arrested Development
Arnold Panyako, also a Busia resident, explained that if you take a tour within Busia and the neighbouring county of Kakamega, you will notice a tremendous difference especially in terms of development since the inauguration of devolution. Kakamega County has experienced a lot of positive change that is worth mentioning because of the kind of leaders elected.
According to a report by the Controller of Budget, Busia County was ranked as one of the worst performing counties in the country as regards funds utilization in the period between July and December 2021.
Better Late than Never
A gender and inclusion expert in Busia, Bernadette Muyomi, had this to say on the subject matter: “We ought to consider if an aspirant commands the respect of development partners and whether they carry the vision of development for our county. Politics determines budgetary allocations and geographical distribution of projects. Politics determine the conviction that people have towards believing in a cause. Elect a visionary leader who commands the respect of different players”.
The Government, and in particular the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, should enhance provision of voter education to the people if we are to have informed voters who will make informed decisions during elections.
Public and private media, political parties, and non-governmental and international organisations can also play vital roles in spreading the message so that our people make informed decisions during elections. Designing and implementing creative strategies would ensure that information spreads further and is better understood by the Busia County residents so that they will be able to make informed decisions in the forthcoming general elections of 9 August as well as others to follow.
Related Stories
https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/13-counties-huge-spending-appetite-poor-baking-cake–3759446
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FttJWokSEK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXjlpR5GG-I
https://www.talkafrica.co.ke/busia-residents-raise-concern-over-poor-state-of-county-mogue/
