Two of the ways in which you know that a region does not have any political clout whatsoever are quite easy to identify. First is that you will find institutions in such regions are being allowed to collapse with no effort being made to revive them.
Examples of these are what happened to the coffee sector in Central Kenya during the Moi era; what happened to the Kenya Meat Commission on which the herders of Northeastern Kenya depended for a ready market for their cows; and even what happened in the education sector in Northeastern, where the few prominent schools in that region, such as Garba Tulla Secondary School, more or less closed down at one point.
When you see the institutions required for the economic empowerment of a region collapse while in other parts of the very same country new institutions are being created and old institutions are thriving, then you know you have been marginalised indeed.
The second thing that reveals active marginalisation of a region is the fact that white elephant projects which greatly enrich the powerbrokers of the day but do not function as expected and paid for, will always be parked, or located, in just such marginalised regions.
I could give the example of the multi-storey provincial headquarters in Kisumu, a Moi era project. Despite adequate funds being set aside for this office bloc, for many years after completion it could not be used because it had not a single lift.
I could also mention plans I once heard of for a 20-storey office building that was to be put up in Malindi by the now-defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation. Hundreds of millions of shillings were reportedly set aside for this building, but not even the foundation was ever dug because all that money reputedly went into “consultants fees”.
My point here is that there are “enlightened” regional leaderships that allow the planning and abortive implementation of a project in their region that would swallow up hundreds of millions or even billions and yet yield no tangible benefits to the ordinary people of that region.
This is why although I am sure I will surprise many in saying this, as far as I am concerned, the giant Galana-Kulalu Ranch Irrigation Project of Tana River county, far from being a benefit conferred on the region by the national government is actually just one more proof of the tragic marginalisation of the Coast region.
And just like the unfinished provincial administration HQ in Kisumu and the collapse of the coffee subsector in Central Kenya under the Moi regime, is exactly the same way this giant irrigation project underlines the ongoing marginalisation of the Coast.
Consider the facts: The government sets aside a vast area, larger than the total acreage under irrigation in Israel, for an irrigation project intended to grow maize and there are promises made that this will be a real game-changer in making Kenya self-sufficient in food production.
The National Irrigation Board’s justification for integrated development of the Galana-Kulalu Ranch reads in part:
“The Galana/Kulalu Ranch occupies 1.75 million acres, comparable to the Gezira Project in Sudan which has an irrigable area of two million acres. It is instructive to note the production from the Gezira Project has a noticeable impact on Sudan’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP), and is one of the most critical sources of foreign exchange after petroleum, oil and gold exports.
“It is also instructive that the agricultural production of the whole State of Israel is 1 million acres. In addition to feeding Israel’s population, this area of land contributes US$2.08 billion per annum in exports. When appropriately developed, the Galana Ranch has the potential of being a major contributor to both the coastal regions and the nation’s economy, provide jobs for millions of people directly and indirectly, and trigger a multiplier effect on local commerce, industry and services.”
Billions of shillings have already been sunk into Galana-Kulalu and declared as spent on the preliminary stages. The first stage involved just 500 acres planted with maize as a pilot project, but when the harvest was in the output of maize measured in standard 90kg bags was found to be 10 bags per acre, instead of the projected 40. By this stage, a billion shillings has been declared spent on the feasibility study alone.
A number of questions arise to which, so far, no answers have been offered.
First, if indeed a new mega project was to be initiated for a vast agricultural project at the Coast, were the leaders of this region consulted? Were any attempts made to consider whether providing these new seed varieties, advanced fertilisers and irrigation to tens of thousands of smallholder farmers all over the Coast might not yield the same proposed benefits while financially empowering these farmers at the same time?
In other words, how is it possible that billions of shillings are being spent on a vast white elephant agricultural project at the Coast while the hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in that region have never been offered what was supposed to be the foundation of the Galana Kulalu Scheme – that is irrigation, improved seed and better fertiliser and, above all, a ready market for the harvest?
By any measure, this is an incredible injustice. Here is a clear example, in real time, of what happens when a region does not have a leadership strong enough to stand up for its people and to demand that local priorities must point the way for any new development project. It would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. Because, from our point of view at the Coast, all those billions dedicated to the Galana-Kulalu Ranch might as well been poured out into the Gala River and washed out to sea.
This money did not create any jobs worth talking about for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed of the Coast. It did not produce economic opportunity for the local farmers. It did not educate any local farmers in scientific agricultural methods for boosting their maize production. And it did not create any new infrastructure that might benefit the local people, whether the project succeeded or failed.
Speaking to the press during a parliamentary committee investigation into the Galana-Kulalu project, the MP for Mukurweini, Hon Kabando wa Kabando, was quoted as saying: “There is a problem at Galana. One could be excused for thinking this is another cash cow: This could turn out to be another scandal.”
He should have added this will always happen to any region that does not have a leadership strong and aggressive enough to promote its own people’s interests at the national level.