Godhana fronts his Tana River residents for KPA jobs

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Tana River Governor Dhadho Godana has moved to ensure residents of Tana River are recruited at the KPA.

Godhana led a delegation of Tana River residents to meet KPA managing director Captain William Ruto, where he presented several resumes that show highly qualified personnel from Tana River who are languishing in the county without jobs.

The KPA boss said he would try to give some slots to the residents so long as they are qualified.

This comes amidst the hullabaloo over the recent recruitment, where some 296 vacancies were announced, applications received, people shortlisted and interviewed, and successful applicants received their appointment letters.

Leaders at the Coast, including Mombasa governor Abdulswama Nassir and Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi, however, said not enough people from Mombasa were recruited.

It is, however, not clear how many applied for the jobs and from which regions.

However, Godhana said leaders should take the initiative and help their people who are qualified to apply for such jobs.

The Tana River governor, who is also the Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani (JKP) chairman, said public outcry over such recruitments are usual and not new at the Coast.

“We have to find a cooperation framework so that we and KPA engage in a structural way so as not to make either party feel aggrieved,” Godhana said.

He noted that the KPA is a major national asset that should benefit the whole of the country, having ports across the country.

“But it should also be seen to benefit the Coast people because it is situated on the Coast where we are naturally endowed with the ocean,” the governor said.

During the meeting with Captain Ruto, Godhana said he believes strengthening cooperation between the JKP and the authority will greatly benefit the Coast people, who he said are equally qualified to hold any positions in the authority.

“That is why I always insist that we should build relationships, strengthen cooperation, and work towards ensuring the region’s development agenda,” Godhana said.

He said there are many ways in which JKP and KPA can work together on infrastructure which will benefit the whole region.

Captain Ruto said KPA has a lot of expertise on water transport, and projects in that sector are possible.

“For a better Coast region, we can always have a structured consultative meeting between KPA and JKP so as to further explore opportunities and other areas of collaboration,” Captain Ruto said.

He said since KPA is big on environmental matters, it will seek ways to address key environmental concerns affecting the Tana Delta, particularly the challenge of seawater intrusion and the collapsing sea wall in Kipini.

The two parties said they will jointly seek solutions to the same.

INSTANT ANALYSIS:

The recent KPA recruitment has seen a push and pull between politicians and human rights activists, with the two groups clashing over the process. While politicians say not enough of their people have been recruited, activists say the politicians should remove the logs in their eyes first.