Former Aspirants Sensitized on Governance

Nandi Hills, Thursday, May 18, 2022

KNA by Ruth Mainye

Underit Youth Group (UYG) which is an Implementing partner of Uraia Trust and Act in Nandi County funded by USAID on Wednesday sensitized former aspirants on how to be peace promoters in their community as well as on how to enhance service delivery.

The group which targets Special Interest Groups (SIGs) partnered with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials to hold a lesson learning forum for the members of the society who vied for various elective positions in the last general election.

Speaking during the forum UYG coordinator Jacob Sanga said all leaders in their capacity whether elected or not can support the community in terms enhancing service delivery and ensuring unity among the residents through the different ideologies they possess.

Sanga noted that a community need to understand that it's ideologies that they vote for but not a political party or the amount of money, age or gender.

"Leaders have different ideas that they wish to implement if accorded the positions vied for. Being leaders in your capacity you can enhance service delivery by ensuring the community understands that they should vote for leaders based on ideologies rather than on a political party, amount of money a candidate has, age or gender," explained Sanga.

Francis Ng'eny, the project officer noted that aspirants should be at the fore front in representing their community by participating in public participation forums as well as promoting peace by uniting their communities.

Ng'eny urged the aspirants to identify the different gaps in their communities that need to be addressed noting that this can only be possible by having a clear understanding of the constitution as well as the budget process.

"There is no failing in leadership. It's either win or lesson learning. Even when you have not made it to take the position be a voice of the community by addressing issues affecting people at the ground," he pointed out.

"As leaders avoid discrimination at all levels ranging from gender, tribe, age among others. You should have a dream of contributing to the development of your community. Be the people's voice by advocating for good governance," said the project officer.

North Rift ORPP regional coordinator Hope Nandwa sensitized the aspirants on how to manage electoral outcomes noting that losing or winning in an election can be overwhelming.

Nandwa said that responsibility and sobriety for both winners and losers are key pillars for life after any political contest.

"There is life after winning or losing in any election. Once the results are publicly announced there is need to have a solid plan on how to move forward," noted Nandwa.

She further advised aspirants to ensure they endeavor to keep, maintain and build networks and partnerships as a way to continue exchanging information and ideas as well as getting fresh ideas to gain more knowledge to raise own profile.

Other areas that ORPP coordinator highlighted include the mandate of their office, functions of ORPP, positive gains, ICT reforms, legal reform, Special Interest Groups performance, political party registration process and areas of improvement.

On her part Nandi County IEBC Deputy Returning Officer Maxmilla Lagat noted that the basis of good leadership is to encourage eligible citizens to register as voters so that they can be able to take part in the elections.

Lagat advised the leaders to ensure they understand the time frame of all activities that take place in IEBC so that they can be able to meet all the requirements.

She further challenged them to support the sitting candidates as a way to ensure service delivery to the people.

"You don't have to be a winner in order to work for your community. You can support the sitting candidate with your ideas as well as oversighting on the projects in your locality," she noted.

Lagat used the platform to sensitize the leaders on delimitation and review of boundaries noting that some of the factors considered during boundaries review include population, historic features and culture among others.

The aspirants utilized the forum to raise the various challenges they faced during the election period.

Courtesy; K.N.A