Beautiful Vihiga hopes to strike gold

Vihiga is a moderately densely populated county of 600,000 people whose economy relies heavily on agriculture.

It is made up of four constituencies: Sabatia, Hamisi, Emuhaya and Vihiga.

The county has a fairly smooth network of tarmac roads, but residents have raised concern over the poor condition of the Majengo-Luanda road and the busy Kisumu-Kakamega highway that is battered and full of potholes.

The poor condition of the roads has dampened the enthusiasm of residents, who are calling on the government to repair the two key roads and other infrastructure to boost the new county’s economic prospects.

Senate seat

The battle for the posts of governor and senator has already begun to shape up, and Hamisi MP George Khaniri has declared an interest in the senate seat in 2012.

The MP has served for three consecutive terms and would like to try his luck in the senate race.

“I have done my best to serve the residents of Hamisi as their MP, but in 2012 I will be going for the senator’s position,” Mr Khaniri said after throwing his hat in the ring.

The scenario is similar for the position of county governor, and several candidates have already lined up for the contest.

Those in the gubernatorial race include Alice Kirambi, the chief executive officer of the Christian Partners Development Agency, a non-governmental organisation involved in rural community development projects.

Others being mentioned in the governor’s race are Gaylord Avedi and former Sabatia MP Moses Akaranga.

Deputy Prime Minister MusaliaMudavadi, the Sabatia MP, has not publicly declared whether he will run for county office.

Unit of development

In a series of public meetings, the Local Government minister has maintained that the county should be viewed as a unit of development and warned that politics should not be allowed to overshadow county functions.

Vihiga MP Yusuf Chanzu and his Emuhaya counterpart Wilbur Otichillo have not indicated whether they would seek any county posts.

Vihiga County boasts the leading tea factory in Western Province located at Mudete in Sabatia constituency which serves 13,514 farmers from Sabatia, Shinyalu, Ikolomani, Hamisi and Vihiga.

The factory, located on the Chavakali-Kapsabet road, produces more than 10.6 million kilogrammes of tea a year.

Vihiga County is a unique region with captivating and contrasting geographical features.

The Kaimosi forest straddles Hamisi constituency and parts of Sabatia.

The breathtaking beauty of the undulating rocky hills to the west in Emuhaya and Vihiga constituency could become a major tourist attraction.

Prospecting for gold and other minerals is under way at Kichutu mines in Vihiga and Kaimosi forest.

Families in some parts of the county eke out their livelihoods from tiny patches of land etched on rocky hills while others have turned to selling of food and other income-generating activities.

But despite the small size of the land owned by individual families, residents are excited about prospects of better times to come as leaders try to identify the unexploited potential in the region.

The mayor of Vihiga municipal council Eliud Kihusa said there was no doubt the county had a huge potential in terms of agricultural production that could turn around the high poverty levels among communities.

“Our biggest strength as a county is the enormous potential we enjoy in terms of human labour and the challenge for the leaders is to identify opportunities to convert the potential into productivity,” said Mr Kihusa.

Political leadership

Ms Kirambi says poor political leadership is to blame for high poverty levels.

“For a long time we had leaders who were out of tune with the needs of those they represent, and that has contributed to the poor show in terms of development and infrastructure in the county,” Ms Kirambi said.

Rural electrification is considered a major boost to small-scale industries, while the good climate could support horticultural production as well as dairy farming.

Health facilities in the county include the Sabatia “eye” hospital, the Kaimosi mission hospital and Kima hospital in Emuhaya.

The main government facility is located at Mbale.

Masinde Muliro University has opened a campus at Ebunangwe in Emuhaya while a private university, the Kaimosi Friends University, has opened its doors to students.