Ndindi Nyoro endorses Raila for AU job

Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has supported Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya leader Raila Odinga's bid for the African Union Commission.

Speaking during a church service at St. Andrew Catholic Parish in Bondo Town on Sunday, March 3, Nyoro expressed his admiration for Raila's vision, noting that Raila's interests extend beyond Kenya.

Nyoro was optimistic that Raila would succeed in his ambition.

"Ninaona mnajipanga, mnaona Kenya ni ndogo sana. Ama hiyo maneno aiko poa…mnataka headquarter ikue hii area, ya continent mzima (I can see you people strategizing for the Africa position. You are going for position beyond Kenya, do you want continental headquarters to be here)," Nyoro said.

Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda and his Suba South counterpart, Caroli Omondi, also endorsed Raila's AU Commission chairmanship bid.

“The president should take the lead in ensuring Raila succeeds in his bid. In fact, there should be shuttle diplomacy to take the initiative.

"We should discard the discordant talks that are likely to jeopardize Raila’s bid, and so few politicians in the Central region doing so should be tamed,” Omondi said.

Peace, unity call

Njoro said that for the country to grow to prosperity, there must be peace and unity among Kenyans.

“We must embrace one identity that unites all Kenyans, which is to be proud of our own country and partake in equal development across all the regions. I want to assure you that all developments will be equally distributed across the country, irrespective of the voting pattern.

“We do not believe in the politics of discrimination. We are committed to serving all Kenyans, and as Assembly Budget Committee Chairman, we are keen on ensuring every part of the country is included in the budget,” Nyoro said.

All Kenyans are taxpayers and deserve to be served so as to benefit from the developments being initiated. To ensure that projects previously launched in Bondo, including Bondo-Liunda Road and Goye Bridge, are executed, we are going to put in the supplementary budget enough resources to complete the projects.

He also revealed that a huge share of the 2024–2025 budget has gone to the education docket.

"As the Assembly Budget Committee, we have increased the ceiling or money that is sent to the Teachers Service Commission, and already an extra Sh 26 billion has been volunteered," the MP stated.

“The funds are aimed at confirming teachers who were recruited on an internship program on permanent and pensionable terms. We have 46,000  intern teachers who were previously contracted, out of which 26,000 who deal with JSS will be confirmed on permanent and pensionable terms, and that would consume Ksh26 billion in the 2024/25 budget of Ksh4.188 trillion."

Nyoro said they have also put additional funds in the education sector to hire another 20,000 teachers in the next financial year.

“We have also allocated Ksh3 billion to the immigration department to facilitate passports for Kenyans, arguing that the majority of Kenyans seeking jobs abroad are stranded.

He further revealed that Kenya is facing acute shortages of nurses, adding that out of the 2000 nurses demanded for jobs, only 500 applied for jobs.

“The Labor Ministry had posted job advertisements for nurses, but only 500 applied and secured chances, and we lost 1,500 slots, so we want to urge Kenyans to consider embracing such opportunities.

He told applicants not to view job advertisements as reserved slots, "Just apply. We are not leading the country in that direction; once you see such advertisements and you feel qualified, just apply."