Angry Lodwar residents say they did not benefit from hosting Senate Mashinani sitting

Residents of Lodwar, Turkana County have decried that they did not make any financial gains from hosting the third round of Senate sittings and proceedings outside of Parliament as part of the Senate Mashinani initiative. 

According to the Senate Business Committee, the sittings are meant to provide interlinkage between the National and County levels of government and enhance the interaction between the Senate and county governments as a means of bringing the Senate closer to the counties and the general public.

Speaking to Citizen TV, angry Turkana businessmen lamented that commodities such as refreshments used during the Senate sittings were not procured in Lodwar but rather ferried from Nairobi, denying local entrepreneurs the opportunity to reap from the increased activity.

"We had acquired a lot of commodities prior to the event knowing that the legislators would purchase them but everything they used at the sitting was brought from Nairobi," Francis Ngikito, a Lodwar resident, told Citizen TV.

The residents likewise claimed that seats, tents and transport services used during the sessions were also procured from the Capital.

"Transport services were given to non-locals and not us despite the fact that we have plenty of comfortable buses. We thought when Lodwar was selected to host the sessions we would be given the opportunity to benefit from the event but that was not the case," Lodwar Drivers Association chair Ronald Manywele said.

Area residents likewise claimed that they were not given a chance to meet and interact with the Senators on a personal level.

The Lodwar session was the third assembly held under the Senate Mashinani initiative after Uasin Ngishu and Kitui counties hosted the first two.