Leaders reject Infotrak survey report findings
Alvin Mwangi and Mathew Ndungu
Leaders yesterday expressed mixed reactions over the report released by research firm Infotrak which was targeted to gauge the performance of legislators.
During the survey conducted between November and December 2019 and January 2020 the pollsters posed only one question to voters: “How would you rate the overall performance of your Governor/Senator/Woman Rep/MCA/ MP on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is extremely poor and 10 is excellent?”
Kiambu Woman Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba dismissed the survey as corruption-filled, a poll conducted by research firm Infotrak and which ranked her the worst performing lawmaker.
In the survey that sought to establish how constituents rated the overall performance of their elected leaders on a scale of 1-10, Wamuchomba took the last position in the women representative’s ranking with only 39.0 per cent.
Kisumu Woman representative Buyu Roza scooped the first position followed by her Homa Bay counterpart Gladys Wanga with a score of 61.5 and 61.0 per cent respectively in a survey that was conducted between November/December 2019 – January 2020.
“The poll is fake as it did not elucidate the bills drafted by those said to be leading,” she said.
She said that she has sponsored three bills in parliament among them the Geriatric Bill 2019 seeking to give compulsory priority to the elderly in all public hospitals, Amendment of health Act and Amendment of the Sexual Offences Act (2006) to introduce stringent regulations on handling sexual assault evidence, bills that were not recognised in the poll.
Wamuchomba further took issue with the research firm for failing to recognize work done by elected MPs at the grassroot saying she has initiated drug addicts’ programmes, donated mobility equipment to disabled and elderly persons and issued income generating agricultural inputs such as banana seedlings and chicks.
“I have also introduced Tusome, a programme that has been helping adults who dropped out of school for various reasons to go back and acquire knowledge. If these programs were not recognised, I wonder what they were looking for,” she said.
Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo dismissed the report saying it was done to favour some legislators.
“Infotrak by Angela Ambitho (director Infotak) must be desperately broke to revert to the kind of polling. Stop clan politics couched as opinion polls,” she said.
But Kabete MP Githua Wamacukuru attributed his constituency’s high ranking to prudent use of NG-CDF monies and prioritising education.
He said he initiates all projects through public participation adding that his constituents had chosen refurbishment of schools as their first priority.
She noted that education standards in Kiambu county had deteriorated in the past five years with education officials attributing the same to poor infrastructure, child labour, drug abuse, alcoholism and negligence by a section of parents.
Drastically changed
However in Kabete sub county, the same has drastically changed after Wamacukuru made frantic efforts to regain the areas lost glory in matters education.
To boost education standards in Kabete, area leaders under the leadership of Wamacukuru started an ambitious and bold schools refurbishment initiative two years ago whose fruits were evident last year.
‘You can’t not believe that all the 26 primary schools registered remarkably good improvement in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) results,” he told scholar during a tour of some of the refurbished schools.
Twenty two of the area’s 26 public primary schools have been refurbished using National Government-Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDF) with the scope of work including putting tiles in all classes, and plastering in and out of all classes after putting ceilings in them.
Primary schools whose rehabilitation is already complete include Wangige, Gataara, Rukubi, Mahia-ini, Ngure, Muguga, Kirangari, Muguga Model, Kingeero Nyathuna, Kamuguga, Kibiku, Gathiga, Kahuho, Uthiru, Kanjeru, Kanyariri, Kubichiko, Karura ka Nyungu and Ndurarua among others.
The refurbishment is giving private school owners a run for their money with pupils leaving their facilities to public ones in droves.
School feeding programmes is also mandatory in all the schools with the area leadership chipping in where necessary.
‘When I was young, my parent’s couldn’t afford lunch for me and I depended on a friend who we used to go for lunch at his parents home.
It’s why, after completing my education I committed to start investing in lunch programmes in schools such that locals started referring to me as Githua Wamacukuru (schools)’, he said.
