Is there any planning happening at your local level?

I once read somewhere that a business that doesn't have a plan is planning to fail and my question today is, is planning really happening at your local level? Infrastructure projects that have the potential to change the livelihoods of many are being implemented all over the country. At the national level there is a plan that guides this plans from my understanding all projects of significant note being implemented at a national level are being guided by vision 2030 but the question is at your local level this is at your county level and constituency level are there plans to take advantage of this projects? As a Kiambu native I will stick to what I know and concentrate on Kiambu. In Kiambu there are three significant projects that have taken and are taking place that are potential game changers if well taken advantage of, these are transformation of Thika road into a superhighway and the eastern and southern bypass. 

Thika and eastern bypass road projects in my opinion have not been well utilized to take advantage of the massive piece of infrastructure that was placed there, all that the roads has done is move the population from Nairobi but there has been no significant transfer of industry from the capital yet all the factors of production that would make the transfer of industry happen are present. And the shocking thing is that people are proud of being the bedroom county of the capital even with the low level of employment that it brings. At the constituency level I have not heard of one single Member of Parliament lobbying for the setting up of industrial parks in Thika or Ruiru not one single county rep lobbying for this to take place. The cost of land in that area now makes it extremely unattractive for industry as compared to other counties such as Machakos who have enough land that they are planning to give it out for free. These projects were done prior to the current crop of elected leaders were in place so they are given the benefit of doubt but the Governor who was then MP for Juja cannot escape blame as to how such massive projects were implemented and he did not even plan as to how he can use them to change the lives of his constituents.

The southern bypass is being implemented and for me it is an acid test for the current crop of leaders that are present so my question to them is are they thinking of how that road can change the lives of their constituents are they looking at how they can move the stopover for trucks from Mlolongo to areas such as Kikuyu or Thogoto and create jobs locally? Or are they looking at how areas such as Ndeiya with land when compared to other areas in Kiambu is relatively cheaper and they can be able to turn them into manufacturing centers? Are they cognizant of the fact that with no middle level colleges even if this were to happen we have  people will have to be shipped in to perform the jobs that should be done by locals and the benefit of such projects will be non-existent?

Aside from the national projects, the projects that are being implemented by the CDF are they analyzed to make sure that the projects that are being implemented have the maximum input into the development of their localities? Of the CDF projects is there a strategic plan as to where they want to see their constituencies by the end of their current term or are we just pursuing projects that will not lift the livelihoods of locals significantly? Is the governor being consistently harassed to announce where they are setting up the business park that they budgeted 300 million for? Are they guiding local businesses such as the abattoirs in Dagoretti to embrace modern technologies and expand and in the case for Dagoretti enabling them to get government contracts and even prepare them for an export market. These are questions that everyone should ask their elected representative to answer. For what use will roads be if they do not create employment? For what use are hospitals and health centers being built if the local population even if healthy has inadequate jobs and can’t feed themselves.  

My challenge to you is demand the answers to these questions from your elected representative from your MP to your county rep