Former Attorney General Amos Wako from Busia and President Kibaki. Pic-Files

“River Nzoia has been flooding constantly during the rainy season with residents of Budalangi mostly affected.” This is considered as the major problem that mother nature has bestowed on Busia County. It is a problem that can be addressed. The County is the gateway to the East Africa countries and three of its major towns of Busia, Malaba and Mulwanda are currently positioned to become world class cities. Former Attorney General, Amos Wako who retired last month and is best known as Kenya’s longest serving AG and from Busia may find his telephone ringing as Busia residents seek his wealth of experience and contacts around the world to help Busia County grow at a faster pace with the set-up of county governments. The question is: “Will he answer the call?”

Busia County is currently made up of a land area of 284,000 acres and has approximately 500,000 residents.  The borderline towns of Busia and Malaba every year generate millions of shillings in trade as the main route for imported and exported products that go through Mombasa port to and from Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. 

The main economic activities in the county include Farming of Cassava, Millet, Sweet potatoes, Beans, and Maize.  Other economic activities include fishing in Lake Victoria, tourism at Funyula Hills and revenue collected from the border trade between Kenya and Uganda.

The County has no major factory except the stalled Busia Sugar Factory that was started in the 1990s but never operated.  The Government made several promises to revive the factory through investors but nothing has been forthcoming. There are also several defunct cotton processing plants and local people pray for their revival so that farmers can continue with cotton production. This will go a long way in boosting them economically.  A fish cooling plant at Marenga in Budalangi was established by European Union and the local community but later stalled after Bunyala Fishermen Co-operative Society purchased a sub-standard cooler that could not be as productive as was intended.

As the Busia voters look to move their county forward they will have to listen carefully to the leaders and hear how they will attract investors. In addition to the above, leaders who aspire to lead must also put together plans that harness the flood waters of the River Nzioa for agriculture and electricity generation. These are some of the areas that the Diaspora Kenyans could work closely with Busia residents in the creation of new industries and jobs that will spark the economic growth and development of Busia County.

It is anticipated that the Governor’s position will be fought for vigorously and several names have started emerging. The Diaspora Kenyans are also being encouraged to step up and seek the leadership. The person who aspires to get the mandate of the voters will have to paint a good future for Busia. One that may include a major university, building new and reviving failed industries as he or she constructs the county 3 cities to become strong business gateways to the East Africa community. The Busia County dream is just starting.