Major political parties in the country have been challenged to expand their mandate from engaging in politics to supporting visible social programmes that tackle poverty in the country.
According to the Kenya Sugar Board Chairman, Eng. Nicolas Gumbo, who is also the former MP for Rarieda, some of the major political parties in the country receive more than Sh4 billion annually from the exchequer but have never invested in social programmes that directly benefit the people.
Eng Gumbo observed that there is no provision in the Political Parties Act that bars the political parties from supporting social programmes such as education and health among others, adding that engaging in visible initiatives must now find its way into the political parties’ manifestos.
“That’s not private but public money. What is stopping them from engaging in community development initiatives? We must now ask our people to focus on development rather than blind loyalty to political parties that year in, year out do not do anything to help them,” said Gumbo.
He added that the country has already undergone political liberation and the next frontier for political parties should be economic liberation.
“It cannot be just politics 360 degrees, from morning to evening. Let us now see what the big political parties can do to emancipate the people from poverty, because politics is about addressing the needs of the people,” he said.
The former legislator spoke in Rarieda, where he issued cheques worth Sh 2 million from Rarieda Education Support Action (RESA) to support education for over a hundred students from Kagwa, West Uyoma location.
He said the best honour the country can accord to Raila Odinga is emancipation of people from poverty and extreme deprivation, which the former late premier fought hard to achieve.
“It’s okay to engage in politics, but just remember that our children are going back to school, families are struggling to raise school fees, the youth remain unemployed, while other people as well have no food on the table,” Gumbo remarked.
Gumbo who is the patron of RESA disclosed that he intends to rope in government support in 2026 to benefit more students, even as the organisation marks 30 years of supporting student education in the region since its inception in 1996.
By Brian Ondeng
