The community of Jirme, located in Saku Constituency of Marsabit County, is appealing to President William Ruto to intervene in the ongoing construction of Saku Technical Training Institute (TTI), whose development has been delayed for nearly a decade now.
The community pointed out that insecurity, increased costs of construction materials and an attempt by a private developer to grab the community parcel of land on which the project stands have frustrated efforts to complete it.
The project that was expected to absorb school leavers for technical courses in order to equip them with skills for the job market and self-reliance was commissioned in April 2015 by President Ruto, then the Deputy President.
Led by Ms Mekelina Lepalo, who is also a member of the project committee, the residents noted that the venture has so far gonebbled up Sh 44 million but there are no signs it will be completed soon.
Ms Lepalo told KNA at the site that many of the youth who were to benefit from the institute are wasting away in the villages and Marsabit town, where they are exposed to drugs and illicit alcohol.
The residents further said that intrusion into the parcel of land set aside by the community for the project by a private developer has for a long time negatively impacted the progress of the project.
A local women’s leader, Ms Adhi Kalicha, appealed to the president to come to their rescue, saying at no time did the community give out the disputed land to an individual.
“This community has filed a case at the Isiolo High Court in order to deter further claims and continued frustration in the development of the parcel of land to the community’s benefit,” she said.
Ms Kalicha pointed out that mothers were pained by lack of an outlet for their children to acquire skills and knowledge, despite an effort towards that endeavour having been made about nine years ago by the community and local leadership.
The contractor, Malach General Construction Limited, which has since been paid Sh44 million by the national government, has suffered losses owing to vandalism and theft of building materials whenever insecurity sets in.
The company director, Galgalo Guyo, said his firm has lost goods like steel and wooden doors, electrical goods and ceiling boards worth millions of shillings to thieves and now wants the government to allocate him Sh17 million to enable the company to complete the project.
Mr Guyo said that some little work was on-going after he secured a donation of Sh2 million from the local MP, Dido Rasso but now requires the quoted amount in order to finish the project, which is at 90 percent completion.
The contractor said that he could have finished with the project a long time ago were it not for disruptions by the said factors, especially insecurity, which left three people dead, including a security guard at the site.
The construction offers employment to about 80 people at any given time, whenever it is in progress.
By Sebastian Miriti
