Some West Pokot residents have protested against Senator John Lonyangapuo’s decision to bring in a new investor to build a cement factory.
“We cannot allow the senator to make decisions without involving the community,” resident Wilson Lokeris said. Speaking to the press on Sunday, residents said Lonyangapuo has a hidden agenda.
Governor Simon Kachapin has also accused the senator of not involving the county government. “We had elaborate discussions with an Indian investor and he is ready to start the job anytime now. It is wrong to shortchange him after so many years of negotiations,” he said.
Speaking in Ortum Secondary School on Sunday, he said the county has signed a contract with Indian company Cemtech and no other investor will be allowed to take on the project. “Cemtech has not refused to put up the factory. It has been organising itself. There are no negotiations with any other investor. The senator should stop interfering with investment plans,” Kachapin said.
Speaking to the Star on the phone yesterday, Lonyangapuo said: “The other investor has failed us. They have only been coming to take photographs. They are only making friendship with the county government.”
