Why Dr Lilian Gogo says a win for her is win for Rangwe

A lecturer and researcher in the Department of Dairy and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture at Egerton University, Dr Lilian Gogo does not pass as your standard-issue politician.

Her cool demeanour gives you the impression that she is cut out for an executive role.

However, when she starts to speak about her aspirations for the people of Rangwe constituency, one realises she is positioned to be a political leader that her constituents so much desire.

“I just want to do things in a different and better way for Rangwe constituents,” says Dr Gogo who started active politics in 2014.

“I have engaged with my party seriously and hopefully, as the party machinery has assured, it will be fair game in the nominations.”

Dr Gogo says if there is one person the locals would want to be their MP, then it is her.

She says her work in the community where she has implemented several programmes is evidence of her ability to turnaround the fortunes of the constituency.

One of the key areas she has undertaken is to sensitise women on being active participants in all spheres of life and making their existence more meaningful.

“We have been working with the girls, linking them up with role models who are successful professionals and business people.”

The idea behind this is to encourage the girls and make them understand and appreciate the benefits of having good education.

Her other area of focus and which she hopes to use to transform the lives of the Rangwe people is agriculture.

A current fellow at African Women in Agricultural Research and Development and a trained food security expert, Dr Gogo says she is not taking chances on ensuring her constituency is food secure.

“Hunger and poverty are not only issues in my constituency and the country at large, but they are also global challenges.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR FARMERS
According to Dr Gogo, there are good agricultural practices that could be brought down to the village level to help farmers to be food secure.

“There is also the question of post-harvest technology. Given the little that they have, we could also do value addition and make use of systems that they have.”

For instance, says Dr Gogo, there is a lot of pineapple farming in Rangwe and if investments are made on basic tools, income for farmers would increase.

She also plans to protect farmers from middlemen who exploit them by helping them form cooperatives.

“If the farmers come together and join various cooperatives, they would be able to eliminate the middlemen, increase access to resources or add value chain to their crops.”

Dr Gogo plans to improve the dairy industry as well. Although Rangwe constituency has a high potential for dairy farming, she believes this has not been exploited.

“Homa Bay County lacks fresh milk and fresh farm produce. If we could venture into dairy farming, we would sell milk within the county resulting in increased finance at the family level,” she notes.

“We could also partner with other institutions such as Egerton University, which would send experts to assist the farmers.”

But all this will only happen if she wins.

At the moment, to ensure she clinches victory, she is pursuing several strategies.

“Together with my team we have been able to marshal women to realise that they are capable of participating in politics by electing and representing the interest of women.”

CHALLENGES

Other strategies include increasing her visibility on various communication platforms including making media appearances.

Of importance is also coming up with strategies of dealing with the challenges that come with one going into elective politics, which she notes remains a big challenge for women.

“Hooliganism affects both the voters and the female aspirants. People want to pelt you with stones and do bad things for the mere fact that you are a woman seeking a political position.”

Lack of or fewer financial resources is another challenge confronting her and other female candidates.

As the clock ticks towards August, Dr Gogo says women need to be a little bit more strategic.

“They must be consistent, believe in themselves and believe in the people they expect to elect them.”