News story (by Jonathan Manyindo) - Coast MPs fire warning shots

Ref:http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=2&newsid=119202


Story by JONATHAN MANYINDO
Publication Date: 3/17/2008

Seven ODM MPs Sunday urged coastal communities to embrace the spirit of unity to promote peace following the political and inter-ethnic crisis that rocked the country after the disputed Presidential election.

ODM pentagon member Najib Balala
Mvita MP Najib Balala said ODM agreed to form a grand coalition with PNU to unite communities and restore peace in the country.

Speaking at the burial of Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu’s father, Charles Mwadeghu in Mgange in Taita District, Mr Balala said the coalition is aimed at addressing social and economic injustices that prevailed during previous regimes.

“We want the grand coalition government to check all excesses that had earlier locked out minority communities from benefiting from equal distribution of resources and senior government appointments, among others,” he said.

Mr Balala, who was accompanied by MPs Dan Mwazo, Calist Mwatela, Hassan Joho, Ramadhan Kajembe, Benedict Gunda and Jeffer Kingi said they will table a motion in Parliament seeking the downgrading of Tsavo National Park to a game reserve to benefit the local community.

He said despite the district having enormous resources that include wildlife, minerals and water, the community remained among the poorest in the country.

“What we want to do is to downgrade the park to enable the County Council of Taita-Taveta to collect revenue from the facility to develop the area,” he said.

Mwatate MP Mr Mwatela said politicians from different parties were bound to bury their differences and embrace unity now that the two protagonists have agreed to work together.

“This country is ours and no one should think that he/she is better than the other just because of the community they were born in,” he said.

Mr Mwatela singled out resources like tourism, water, wildlife, mining and the port of Mombasa as major contributors to the exchequer and yet the region was the least developed.

Mr Mwazo said the Coast MPs were now speaking with one voice, making the fight for their share in government easier.

He said it was unfortunate that Taita and Taveta districts are owned by two families when the entire community is landless.

“These are some of the injustices we are fighting to eradicate by tabling a motion that will curtail influential people from holding a whole community to ransom,” he said.

Earlier, the MP warned owners of huge tracts of land to brace for a radical change in land ownership in the area once their lawyers take the issue to court.