Uasin Gishu County Development Implementation and Coordination committee (CDICC) has directed a contractor implementing the Eldoret-town road bypass project to ensure women are integrated in the workforce.
The committee asked the contractor, China Wu Yi, to ensure the recruitment of workers takes into consideration the two-thirds gender rule as provided by the constitution.
“It is a constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of membership in any engagement, including employment shall be of the same gender,” committee members informed the contractor during a site visit of the Sh5.079 billion project.
The committee observed that out of 269 local employees in the contractor’s establishment, only 19 were women representing a paltry 7.6%.
They asked the contractor to put in place deliberate measures to ensure more women were integrated in the project and added that there were qualified women from the county who can work on the project.
The CIDCC observed that the County government of Uasin Gishu sponsors youth in technical institutions to train in various fields including plant operators, drivers and others have graduated from the National Youth Service hence there is no reason for contractor failing to incorporate the services of women in the workforce.
Members of the committee faulted the contractor for assuming that women are only capable of doing light work.
The committee was however satisfied with the progress of the project with the contractor having access to 8.21 kilometres of the 32 kilometres the project is expected to cover.
Earlier on the project took long to start because of delayed compensation of persons affected by the project, (PAPs).
The committee was told that the government has released another tranche of Sh197m to the National Lands Commission, NLC through the Kenya National highways Authority, KeNHA to pay more PAPS.
This brings the total amount released for compensation to more than Sh1 billion. Sh676m has already been paid to more than 180 beneficiaries.
296 parcels of land and 449 buildings/structures will be affected along the project corridor that will start at Cheplaskei along the Nakuru-Eldoret highway to Leseru at the junction of Eldoret-Kitale and Eldoret-Malaba highway.
By Kiptanui Cherono
