Bungoma county government will go on to employ village administrators against the will of many ward reps to arrest joblessness amongst youths, Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has vowed.
While addressing Webuye pastor’s fellowship at Munyikana village in Matulo ward in Webuye West constituency, Wangamati said the most challenge at the moment is lack of jobs among youths of Bungoma County and the country at large and said that is why he is forced to employ village administrators.
He added that those opposing the idea of youth employment are enemies of development especially the ward reps and he said that he is ready to tackle them at any level so long as youths from poor families from Bungoma county get employed adding that when president Uhuru Kenyatta said MCAs be given car grants they were quick to work on it and pass the bill even without any procedure or funds allocation because it was benefiting them directly but when it comes to sons and daughters from poor families in the county government they oppose it on parameters of procedure and fund allocation and asked them to stop having double standards and support his initiative to help youths who have suffered for a long time be employed.
He affirmed his commitment to be the instrument of change and he will personally speak for the voiceless and appealed to the church leadership within the county to support his initiative and offer advise where they can particularly to the members of county assembly of Bungoma to ensure they support him for the benefit of electorates of Bungoma county.
“If employing the youths of Bungoma county will make me be taken where they want to take me then am ready because MCAs can’t be enjoying courtesy of the voters and on the other hand they don’t want youths to be also employed and on this I can assure you I don’t agree with them and whether they like it or not am going to employ village administrators ” said perturbed Wangamati.
On the issue of education, he said that this year he has added the number of students who are going to benefit from the governor’s scholarship which he began in 2018 to support the less privileged but bright students in the society because this year many class eight performed well and the government is aiming at getting a thousand students to benefit from the innovative initiative and said he will involve the spiritual leaders especially pastors to help identify the needy cases from the community so the right students can be benefit.
He asked those who can manage to pay school fees not to apply and compete with poor families and instead asked those in position to support the needy ones as the government alone can’t manage the overwhelming number of students who need fees support.
His sentiments were echoed by his deputy professor Charles Ngome Kibanani who accompanied him and asked the clergy to pray for the county leadership so that there can be peace, tranquility and unity of purpose in order for development to be realized saying there is a lot of politics of supremacy instead of development.
The Webuye pastor’s fellowship led by their chair Bishop Alex Masika appreciated the governor for his continued support and commitment to change Bungoma County and assured him of their total support and asked him to support their plan to build a resource centre to help youths from Webuye community.
Bishop Phillip Lusweti of Favour Church who is the secretary of fellowship asked Bungoma leaders to put aside or sort out their differences amicably and work together for the benefit of Bungoma people and appealed to the governor to embrace dialogue as political supremacy may not bore any fruits instead delay some projects.