Kisumu County Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has unveiled a Sh330 million strategic plan to stimulate economic development in the lakeside county.
The five-year plan (2023-2024) is hinged on food security, enterprise development, human and institutional capacity development, infrastructure development, social protection and the blue economy.
Through the plan, various projects and programmes targeting women, youths and people with disabilities (PEDs) have been lined up.
Speaking at Tom Mboya Labour College where she unveiled the plan, Odinga said Kisumu has a lot of potential which her office through support by partners would tap into to transform the lives of the community.
She said food security remained a big challenge adding that farmers particularly the youth and women would benefit from training after which her office would allocate funds from the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) kitty to support them venture into agriculture.
“I have gone around and found out that many people are actually doing agriculture but they don’t have the right tools and inputs,” she said.
The training, to be rolled out in partnership with the county government and farmer training institutions, will ensure that farmers have the right information so that they could double production to boost food security.
Through support from the county government and partners, she said her office would root for the establishment of agro processing plants across the county to add value to farmers’ produce and reach a wider market.
She added that to create jobs for the youth, her office has partnered with the National Industrial Training Institute (NITA) to train and secure government trade tests for them in order to access opportunities in government.
“I realized that most of our youth, despite having the skills, cannot access opportunities in government,” she said.
The beneficiaries will also get training on technical courses among them plumbing, masonry, plant operations and building and construction to equip them with the requisite skills to survive in the job market, the Woman Rep said.
She noted that over 700 vulnerable households stood to benefit from free medical cover courtesy of her office during the period.
The scheme, dubbed Nyakamami Care, will cater for the health insurance premiums for the identified households for a period of five years to ensure they have access to quality medical care.
“We had proposed to channel the funds through the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) but since it has challenges, we are sourcing for another service provider before rolling out the scheme,” she said.
The strategic plan also seeks to establish a safe house in Kisumu as cases of sexual gender based violence continue to rise, she added.
On blue economy, she said that funds have been allocated to build capacity of the fisher folk especially women to contain cases of sexual abuse and spread of HIV.
“We are working with women at all the fish landing sites to build their capacity so that they can venture into alternative sources of livelihood. This targets to end sex for fish issues along the lake,” she said.
The launch was graced by Homa Bay Woman Representative Joyce Osogo, Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo, Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu, Nyando MP Jared Okello, Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili, Kisumu Speaker Elisha Oraro and several Members of County Assembly (MCAs).
The leaders lauded Ruth Odinga for the initiative saying the move was set to unlock opportunities for the youth, women and PWDs in the area.
By Albright Medaline and Yvette Obunga
