A Multi-Million Market That Turned To Be A White Elephant In Laikipa North
Part of Naibor market that is yet to be occupied falling apart. Photo/PAUL WANJIRU
By Paul Mwangi
A multi-million shillings market that was constructed under Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu during his first tenure in office is yet to start operation.
The market, located at Naibor township in Segera ward, was meant to serve hundreds of traders from the entire Laikipia North constituency.
A spotcheck at the facility shows that it remains neglected over the years, with its ablution blocks having curved in as it has never been occupied since its completion.
Traders lamented that the facility was constructed without involving the local communities who were the direct beneficiaries as there was no public participation process as it is required by law.
According to Mary Maleyan, a local trader at the Naibor Township, those behind the erection of the facility never bothered to seek their opinion before embarking on the project.
“This is a big project that was initiated and completed without involving us. Public participation is mandatory. That is why you are seeing this facility totally delapidated. Simply, we did not accept it,” Maleyan said.
“We did not agree on the exact site for this project. We had planned to have it constructed elsewhere for us to have a conducive environment to do business,” she added.
Another resident, Peter Ndirangu said the market has been neglected for about ten years but area leadership has failed to address the matter.
“Ever since this project was completed, we have held elections with leaders promising to revive it, but it has remained a white elephant with no activities,” said Ndirangu.
Efforts to get comments from Governor Joshua Irungu’s administration futile, as his officials remained non-committal.
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