mkuu
titchaz ;D za leo?
just curious.
of course we can see through
joho.what do we know about this
suleiman shahbal? i am asking this in consideration of the stringent requirements for the gubernatorial slot.
ask your folks down here to send you a copy of the latest issue of the weekly that our biggest o ;D introduced us to (
jukwaa.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=3014 ) it has a juicy take on this subject on its inside pages. the cover story is also a must read.
heshima kwako natanguliza dadangu nikiamni ubuheri wa afya.
Shukran kwa swali lako na kwa kweli sio wengi tunayemjua huyu bwana kwa undani wake. Habari ninazopata kutoka kwa vianzo vyangu ni kwamba jamaa anapesa kishenzi!!...na atazimwaga when the opportune time comes. Tetesi ni kwamba ana hela kumshinda hata Joho. Natamani niwahi fika kabla kampen hazijachacha maana naona hela ya kuiwa ipo eti... ;D
Bado mwenzio natafuta angalau copy ya Sunday Express lakini watu wangu bado wananiyeyusha tu!
MOMBASA POLITICS
Former Tourism Minister faces new challenges
He received ‘direct nomination’ and cruised to victory on the ‘wave’ first NARC in 2002, then ODM in 2007.The rise and fall of Mvita MP, Najib Balala, is instructive on the need for successful politicians to combine effective technocratic skills, with the common touch which endears politicians to their grassroots voters. Although the former tourism minister was deeply respected by the tourism sector, and is recognised as having played a key role in increasing tourism arrivals during his tenure, reports from the Coast all concur that Balala has never had any serious support at the grassroots, and mostly relied on getting uncontested nominations from his seniors in politics.
His entry into the national limelight, was with his being voted in as a new mayor of Mombasa in 1997. But although he had to get votes from the councillors to become mayor, he was not an elected councillor, but a nominated one. Likewise, both in 2002 when he made his entry into parliament; and in 2007 when he retained his Mvita seat; he was not subject to any rigorous grassroots campaign for the party ticket. He received a 'direct nomination' and then cruised to victory on the 'wave' of the party, first NARC in 2002, then ODM in 2007.
Thus, although he did an exemplary job in his ministry, he was left vulnerable to the machinations of his political rivals in Mombasa, who managed to isolate him from the top ODM leadership, and thus deny him the patronage on which he had built his political career. With the coming of the new constitution, there had been much speculation as to what position Balala might aim for. It was taken for granted that a man who had held such senior portfolios in government could not possibly be content being 'a mere MP' under the new dispensation, and Balala was mentioned as a possible governor as well as a possible senator.
Now with his exit from government, he has the opportunity to dedicate himself to the kind of grassroots mobilisation that will be a necessary preliminary to any serious effort to win either seat. His strong point in this, will be his national name recognition and his close association to the wealthy Mombasa Arab community, who have for the past decade underwritten the costs of his campaigns. But he will still face the same old accusations of being an out-of-touch elitist who is more at home dining with European tourism operators and potential investors at the Berlin Tourism Fair, than sitting down with ordinary Mvita residents to listen to their perennial problems.
The race for Governor
Political analysts in Mombasa say several factors are likely to influence the voting pattern and who to control the seaside tourist destination. Mombasa based lawyer Abubakar Yusuf says ethnicity and more specifically the local people will be the ones to provide a swing vote that will determine who becomes the governor of Mombasa.
Voting may also be divided into three blocks namely, Luo/Luhya ODM, Kikuyu/Kamba PNU voting blocks and local Mijikenda, Arab and Asians voting blocks. “By this arithmetic, it’s automatic that the Luo ODM block will vote for whoever will be in the party and the Kamba/kikuyu PNU block is likely to support Mwaruwa. The remaining locals are likely to provide a swing vote that will determine the winner,” Yusuf puts it this way. He also adds that the one likely to benefit from this arithmetic is Mwaruwa who is being looked at as the true native of Mombasa.
Ali Hassan Joho“Mombasa is known to be a tourist hub but to me it won’t be tourism only. Infrastructure to boost local trade will be top on the agenda once I assume the office as the governor. I want to transform Mombasa into a trade tourism and economic centre, says Joho. He also shares how he plans to use the Mombasa port in brightening up the seaside city. “I also intend to make Mombasa port a free port like the one in Dubai to attract more investors and businesses which will benefit most of the Coastal locals,” he says.
According to Joho, this will also create jobs for the jobless youth in the county and, at the same time, generate revenue that will help run the county operations as well as improve service delivery to the people of Mombasa. The Kisauni MP also says opening up of the Mombasa Island to the north and south will ease congestion and the always chaotic traffic situation at the Likoni ferry. He says delays at the Likoni destination makes investors lose millions with tourists missing flights due to congestion and traffic snarl ups.
Joho says the speedy completion of the Dongo Kundu by pass is the only solution to that problem. “We also have to open up the Mombasa island to the north and south by fast tracking the completion of the yet to start construction of the Dongo Kundu by pass. This will ease transport and reduce traffic snarl ups at Mombasa’s only link to the south Coast, Likoni ferry,” Joho says.
Asked on how he intends to create surplus resources to run the populous county at the coast, the Kisauni MP says Mombasa county under him will generate much more revenue than what will be allocated by the central government “I also intend to put in place mechanisms to create extra resource mobilisation strategy since 15 per cent of the national budget to be shared out by the 47 counties will be too meagre. Land rates, proper business licensing, freedom from fraud will help raise revenue to smoothly run the county,” he says.
Joho says low standards of education in the county are likely to hamper his development agenda. Consequently, he has promised to invest more in the sector so that more youth are empowered to take up jobs to be created under his leadership as the governor. “Strengthening institutions through sufficient resource allocation will be part of my role as the governor. Universities and colleges, schools and hospitals in the region need to be strengthened to empower the youth,” he says.
He adds that this will be achieved through creating education awareness in the whole county. “People in Mombasa have to embrace education as the key investment anyone can boast of,” he says. “You visit the institutions of higher learning in Coast and the number of the people from the indigenous communities is worrying. This is something I have to put a spirited campaign to try and combat when I will be elected the governor,” he reiterates.
The drug menace is another issue that has to be fought jointly and according to Joho, the root cause of the menace must be relentlessly fought. “Leaders who are using the drug issue as a political carrot to dangle to voters about me is misplaced,” says a furious Joho. He says at no time has he been involved in the drug syndicate because as a leader he knows the impacts of the vice. Joho says the marginalisation problem at the Coast has been covered by the new constitution.
He says the thorny issue of land will be adequately addressed by the yet to be formed National Land Commission in consultation with local leaders. “The constitution, which I actively campaigned and voted for, will tackle the the land issue since all the problems are catered for in the land chapter,” Joho promises.
Abdalla MwaruwaThe former KPA boss, who will be running for governor on a Wiper Democratic Movement ticket, says he intends to reclaim the lost glory of the East and Central Africa’s tourist destination. The soft spoken Mwaruwa plans to use his vast experience as the KPA managing director to try and bring order at the almost dilapidated seaside city. “Mombasa county is a small county. Managing it will not be a problem to me. It only needs a few technocrats to put things in order and the rest is history,” Mwaruwa says.
He also points at infrastructure as one area that he will do all within his ability to improve. This, he says, is the only way to improve the economic position of the people of Coast province. He promises to establish strong ties with donors, improve on the revenue collection and proper land rates collection as a tool to supplement the funds to be allocated by the central government.
The resources, according to Mwaruwa, are likely to improve service delivery in the city and also create employment opportunities for the youth. “Most youth in Mombasa are unemployed.This is one of the reasons why drug abuse is on the increase in the region. The best weapon to combat the menace is to create jobs for our youth. Expansion of the infrastructure in the city will open up the county to other counties like Kwale and Kilifi which in turn will boost trade,” Mwaruwa says.
He also promises to scale Mombasa as renewed tourist destination in the region by improving the state of roads within Mombasa and those leading to hotels and tourist points. He singles out the Jomvu Miritini road and the yet to be constructed Dongo Kundu by pass linking Mombasa to South Coast as the major roads to accelerate economic growth. “Opening up these roads will ease delays . Missing flights and traffic snarl ups will reduce significantly under my leadership as the governor,” Mwaruwa says.
He aims at transforming the education sector in the county. He is blaming local youth for their unwillingness to embrace education, something he promises to seriously wage war against. On land and marginalisation, Mwaruwa says he is the face of Mombasa residents and is promising to address the perennial land issue which past leaders have failed to address. “As the governor, I will be better placed to address the problem with sobriety and ensure the decent handling of the problem rather than using the chaotic tactics being used by the current leaders,” he says.
Asked on the strategy he intends to employ to ensure he bags the governorship seat, Mwaruwa replied that he has already embarked on a door to door campaign telling people not to look at the financial capabilities of the candidates but instead consider their problem solving capability. “As far as I am concerned, people have started gaining trust in me and I think I am on the right track. No one will be beat me for sure. The people of Mombasa will give me a chance to serve them,” he concludes.
Suleiman ShahbalShahbal, a businessman by profession, boasts of his plans to import the vast business knowledge into the management of Mombasa county. His plans to have the county shine economically are centred on having the people of Mombasa change their attitude towards development. “Mombasa people have given up and dealing with the apathy amongst the residents will be my first priority. Overdependence on the government will be a thing of the past under my leadership as Mombasa governor,” says Shahbal.
He says he plans to have Mombasa people control their own destiny by creating employment opportunities, expanding the region’s business empire and investing much in education, which he terms as the biggest empowerment youth in the county need. “Look at the education standard in the county by analysing the recently released KCPE exams. Things are not good on the ground and I am confident the people of Mombasa will be able to elect the person to steer the education standards a notch higher,” he says.
He outlines the approach he wants to use to tackle the key sectors of economy and education to transform Mombasa into a prosperous county, including how he intends to fund and operationalise the approach he will use. “We are going to break the county government here in Mombasa into a three-tier system with officers at ward, constituency and county level to boost service delivery to the common mwananchi at the grassroot level,” Shahbal says.
Education, health centres, police posts and an ambulance will be set up in every ward according to Shahbal to ensure basic services reach the common mwananchi. He says this is feasible with the resources available. “Mombasa county can generate close to Sh3.5 billion and the central government under the devolved system of government will provide Sh2.5 billion. This is enough to spur the economy and address pertinent problems under my leadership as the governor,” he says.
He says this will be done through established community centres with a fully operational secretariat that will be elected by the people and will include representatives of youth, men and women plus the disabled. Social services for women to avoid early pregnancy and for the youth to reduce drug abuse in the county will be set up at ward level according to Shahbal. “The centres will have an IT centre, a library where school going youth will conduct their private studies as well as creating employment for those working in the centres. This is the only way to improve the lives of our people,” Shahbal says.
Police posts, according to Shahbal at such centres, will offer security to locals as well as helping the police fight crime and the drug menace that has hit the county. Every ward, according to him, will be awarded Sh50 million for the first time in the history of Kenya to run its affairs under the tight watch established by the county government.
His desire to boost education at the Coast was evidenced by his recent efforts to set up a university in Malindi known as Coast International University, a brainchild of the Suleiman Shahbal Foundation which he chairs. This is likely to give him an upper hand over his opponents. The next level will be the constituency headquarters under the watch of the area MP. This, he says, will ease service delivery to people. Hospitals and schools with a national outlook will be set up at the constituency level to boost the standards of education.
He says he is planning to open the business empires of the region by investing in micro enterprises. “I have already set up a micro finance institution known as ‘Fursa Leo’ to help women get loans and start businesses in the county. I will spill over the same to the youth so that they can tap the business opportunities in Mombasa,” he says.
Another point he stresses is the utilisation of the fibre optic cable that landed in Mombasa two years ago. He says the internet space in the county has been under-utilised and he has plans to invest in it. “Setting up an internet based commercial centre in the city will also be part of his efforts to make business people utilise the available internet services. All this is geared towards creating employment and raising the revenue and capital base of the county,” he says.
Infrastructural improvement and setting up a strong tourism marketing team at the county will be his focus to improve the tourism sector in the region. “The tourism sector, not only in Mombasa but also in theentire country, has been underutilised. We need to do much tourism marketing to match the standards of Singapore, Dubai and Malaysia,” he says.
This will be done through involving all the players in the sector to boost local, international and business tourism according Shahbal. He says good roads, refurbished hotels and improved tour operation firms in the county will play a key role in making Mombasa an economic and tourist hub. He says Mombasa as has failed in development due to neglect by the political class who have no interest in improving the lives of locals. Shahbal says he want to change the face of politics in Mombasa county to improve the residents' livelihoods.
Asked about the party he intends to use in the view of the events that Kisauni MP Hassan Joho, has already locked him out of the orange party, he says ODM is the party that has the best interests of Mombasa enshrined in its manifesto. “We want Raila to revamp the party management so that sellable candidates get the party ticket in the coming elections. People that will steer youth employment and empowerment are the ones residents of Mombasa want. Nevertheless, whichever party that will propel me to manage Mombasa is the one I will use,” he says.
www.the-star.co.ke/weekend/siasa/69278-mombasa-politics
