Kibumbet residents from Chebyuk Ward in Mt Elgon constituency are still unsatisfied with the progress made by devolution in the County, adding that there suffering and grievances haven’t been dealt with.
In a tour done in the region, West Media Limited exclusively found the residents literally rehabilitating the Toywondet-Chebyuk road using jembes yet they said money had been allocated to cater for the road’s rehabilitation by the Bungoma County government. They had waited for the rehabilitation to be done but nothing happened.
Joseph Kiyien, a Kibumbet resident, says being an agriculturally rich area where they farm onions and cabbages, it’s been very hard for them to transport their produce to the market especially during the rainy season adding that the only donkeys can be used to transport goods.
He added that transporting the sick to Kopsiro health center has also been an uphill task given that many residents come from the most interior places in the area, and lives have been lost due to time wasted on the road.
“School going children arrive late for classes and they are normally very dirty, and thus can’t even concetrate in class,” he said, “This will contribute to poor results in the national examinations.” Another resident Selina Cherop lashed at the area Member of the County assembly Enoch Chemorion for having failed to address the issues affecting the residents who came out in large numbers to vote for him.
She said he has been constantly reminded to push the road construction agenda in the County government but he has always dilly dallied.
Mrs. Cherop further said the area lacks water and they have always been forced to travel long distances on donkeys to fetch water. Cases of waterborne diseases have also increased.
Another resident proposed that the Ugandan government should consider extending its boundary up to Chebyuk ward so that they can be part of Uganda, a proposal that shows just how neglected they feel.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with the way the County government, led by the governor Ken Lusaka, is running its affairs by excluding other areas in terms of promoting development. He added that even the Deputy Governor who comes from the region has not been able to help either.
However, they promised to continue rehabilitating the road by themselves since they are natives of the region but called upon leaders from the area to be responsible enough and help address the pertinent issues affecting them as quickly as possible.