Be ready and prepare yourself for various investment opportunities set to be witnessed within the Lake region, ODM Leader Raila Odinga has told residents.
Raila noted that the region is lined up for a myriad development opportunist as a result of the revamping of the Railways line, rehabilitation of Kisumu port and the established of the Special Economic Zone in Miwani that will see factories being constructed in the area.
Raila said they want to transform the lives of people living within the region and this will be through industrialization, value additions of raw materials being manufactured within the region.
“We don't want to be exporting raw materials but exporting finished products,” he said.
He said Kisumu is strategically situated because it has regional market and opportunities for investments are going to be many.
However on the Standard Gauge Railway, Raila noted that this will also come to Kisumu.
"Meter Gauge being rehabilitated but does not mean SGR is not coming. Its just a matter of time," he said.
He was speaking at the Kisumu Hindu crematorium where Sardar Channel Singh Chatthe, the founder of Chatthe Group of Companies was being cremated.
Raila lauded the Chatthe family and the Asian community in the role they have played within the county in building domestic economy by putting up various multibilion industries in Kisumu.
He called on Kenyans to embrace cultural diversity because with it comes a myriad of benefits when people of different races come together to do business, stay or work together.
Raila stated that nobody is more Kenyan than the other and called for tolerance, equal treatment of all Kenyans.
"Nobody should ever discriminate against you that you are Kenyan and every one of us is a first class Kenyan citizen and we have a right and responsibility to build this country together," he told them.
"We don't have Indians in Kenya, but we have Kenyans of Indian origin just like Raila is Kenyan of Sundanese Origin, just like Kambas's to Tanzania, Kikuyu's amongst others from different origin hence we are all immigrants of this place called Kenya."
