By Christopher Omondi.
Kosawo Hospital in Kondele Ward, Kisumu County, has had numerous concerns raised regarding its completion. Residents claim that corruption is a significant reason for the stall in the project, which commenced over ten years ago, yet the facility has been allocated millions of taxpayer pounds over the years. During these ten years, the building was constructed, then demolished, despite not being completed at that time. It was rebuilt again, but it is yet to be completed, with all construction work currently halted.
“This hospital has been under construction for the last ten years. It was first constructed in 2014 when the Honourable Gabriel was the Member of County Assembly for Kondele Ward and His Excellency Jack Ranguma was Governor. Although construction commenced, it was not completed and was subsequently demolished when the new regime took office after the 2017 general elections. The new Governor, Anyang Nyong’o, and new Member of County Assembly Joachim Omieno cited disputes with the contractor and corruption from the previous regimes, who were their competitors in the 2017 general elections, as reasons for halting work and demolishing the building, which was at the first floor at the time. Work later resumed around 2018, but eight years later, with the same leaders in office, the hospital is once again at the first floor, and as of today, no work is ongoing. We know that the county government should be accountable for this hospital, as we have to travel longer distances to get services at Migosi Hospital, even though our own hospital’s funds are being siphoned into the accounts of a few individuals,” stated John Odongo, a local resident of Kondele Ward.
Earlier this year, the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital board announced that Kosawo Dispensary, which was still incomplete at the time of their announcement, would become their annex, meaning that Kosawo Hospital was now part of JOOTRH. Plans were made to complete the ground floor to allow them to start operations, which they did. However, things did not proceed as expected, and currently, the hospital remains closed to the people of Kondele Ward, who depend greatly on its services.
“Earlier this year, in March, our area MCA, Honourable Joachim Omieno, announced through his social media handles, specifically Facebook, that this hospital was open to the public and even posted pictures of mothers with infant children receiving services at the facility. But the truth is that this hospital is not operating at the moment, and there are speculations that the security personnel use the compound as a parking space at night. Now that they have pulled these public relations stunts regarding its operation, could it be that money is being allocated to this hospital while we are not receiving the services we deserve?” This statement was made by Brian Oduor, a local resident.
