Social media is awash with reports that some Nyanza Governors asked Businessman Sam Ondiek for a bribe before he could set up a fish processing plant in any of the counties.
Mr Sam Ondiek is reportedly the Lutonye Fish Processing plant manager in Kakamega County.
The factory was opened last week by Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparaya.
Several people said the man hails from Nyakach and that his attempts to start such a plant were thwarted by Governors who demanded bribes and feared he may use his influence to dethrone them.
“Mr. Ondiek had lived in Italy for several years, he then partnered with some Italians and convinced them to start a fish processing factory in a County in Luo Nyanza. He approached the Governor who refused even to see him thinking that if he sets up the fish factory, the guy will snatch the governorship from him” said one Job Owino on facebook.
He tried several Counties, and the script was the same.
He was just looking for land.
“Someone advised him to visit Oparanya, he was accorded VIP treatment and Oparanya identified a space with buildings in Kakamega town that previously belonged to the municipal council of Kakamega and leased it to him,” Owino said
Oparanya went ahead and created Kakamega Fish Farmers Cooperative Society run by the farmers themselves and even gave them a building next to the factory.
The county government started sensitizing farmers and even dug for them ponds and stocked them for a start.
He even arranged with Unga feed to give farmers the fish feed at half the price and the county pays the difference.
This started two years ago and now farmers are ready to start supplying the factory with fish which is processed and flown to Italy using Kisumu Airport.
Kakamega farmers are getting ready market.
“They are getting richer and richer from cane farming, chicken farming and now fish farming. While Luos are left to lament. What a sad situation,” Owino lamented.
He said that they are not opposed to the fish factory in Kakamega adding that such ideas should have been implemented by the Governors whose Counties boarder the lake.
Efforts to get a comment from Ondiek were futile since we could not reach him.
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