MIGORI: Uriri Member of Parliament Mark Nyamita has broken his silence on the failures plaguing Migori County.
The lawmaker pointed directly to what he describes as a total collapse of healthcare infrastructure, a chronic lack of clean water, and an severe energy deficit crippling the region.
Nyamita argued that administrative misprioritization is aseverely costing residents their lives.
According to Nyamita, Migori’s severe water crisis has directly triggered a healthcare disaster.
He highlighted the painful irony of a county that borders Lake Victoria, yet its residents, particularly in towns like Sori and Muhuru, are left without access to clean, safe drinking water.
The situation is equally dire inside the county’s flagship medical facilities.
Nyamita revealed that even the Migori County Referral Hospital faces an acute water shortage, forcing patients and their families into unimaginable conditions.
“If a mother goes to give birth today and needs to wash, she is given a basin and told to go fetch water from the external tank herself,” Nyamita stated adding that, “There is no running water.”
Compounding the hospital’s operational woes is the complete absence of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), more than a decade after the inception of devolved government.
Billions of money
Despite the county receiving billions of shillings over the years, patients requiring critical care must still be transferred out of the county to facilities in Kisii, Eldoret, or Kisumu.
The lawmaker further alleged a massive misprioritization of public funds, drawing a sharp contrast between cosmetic county projects and severe shortages of medical essentials.
“Migori County Referral Hospital doesn’t have an ICU, yet it is now over ten years since the devolution government was formed,” Nyamita noted.
“Right now, they are building a new entrance gate instead of prioritizing the key things that can improve the health system. Critical medical supplies like gloves are frequently out of stock, and the renal unit remains non-functional.”
No electricity
Beyond healthcare, Nyamita highlighted a severe electricity connectivity deficit that continues to stifle local development.
In his own constituency of Uriri, power connectivity stands at a mere 40 percent, a reality he attributes to historical regional discrimination and the frequent diversion of energy budgets.
Even for the minority who are connected to the grid, the lawmaker noted that frequent blackouts, low voltage, and power rationing remain a frustrating daily norm.
When pressed on potential solutions to steer the county out of the crisis, Nyamita urged the local government to fully utilize its existing borehole drilling machinery and overhaul the management of the local water company.
He claimed the utility has been severely crippled by constant leadership turnarounds and manual revenue collection systems prone to corruption.
However, the lawmaker expressed optimism regarding a major upcoming energy intervention, which include Sh5 billion KenGen project at Gogo, which is expected to upgrade local power generation from two megawatts to between eight and 12 megawatts.
It will also feature a Sh500 million Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program specifically aimed at expanding grid connectivity to Uriri residents.
