Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong has asked President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to reject President Uhurus offer of land for a dry Port in Naivasha.
On March 28th during his state visit to Kenya, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta offered his visiting Ugandan counterpart land for Uganda to build a dry Port to ease cargo movement from the Port Of Mombasa.
The two also agreed that sugar imports from Uganda to Kenya will be increased from 36,000 to 90,000 tonnes per year.
However, local leaders from Busia led by Ojaamong are opposed to the creation of the Dry Port in Naivasha.
The leaders said that the dry Port will render Busia and Malaba ghost towns.
On Monday, Speaking at the burial of Toto Rael Emolot, wife to the Prime Minister of the Iteso Cultural Union (ICU) Paul Sande Emolot- at Koitangiro Village, Mella Sub County in Malaba Uganda -Ojaamong asked Ugandan MP’s to help him.
He said the dry Port in Naivasha will render hundreds of Kenyan and Ugandan youths jobless.
“Moving a dry port to Naivasha instead of Malaba or Busia would lead to unemployment and lack of business; the proximity of an IDP would be easy for residents of either side to pick their goods in handcarts (mikokoteni) ,” he said.
In response to the Governor’s concerns, Uganda’s State Minister for East African Community Affairs Julius Wandera urged the ICU to advise their members to allow governments to invest in their regions.
Wandera said the locals should avail chunks of land that they own as this will facilitate investment in large scale projects.
Ojaamong had earlier told him Busia County has enough land to give to the government to establish the dry Port.
The issue of the Single Customs Territory (SCT) that aims at ensuring seamless flow of goods to enhance intra East African Community Trade also took centre stage with Busia Woman Representative Florence Mutua starting off the debate.
Mutua said she is going to seek for the amendment to have clearance of goods carried out at both the port of Mombasa, and Malaba or Busia border points.
She was backed by Teso North MP Oku Kaunya and his Teso South counterpart Geoffrey Omuse.
Wandera said the review of SCT by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) is on-going with three months for MPs to make their petitions; EALA will then assess its impact and the necessary amendments.
ICU Cultural Leader Emormor Augustine Osuban was among thousands of mourners in attendance.