Teso North subcounty police commander Charles Chepkong’a addresses a public participation forum on residents’ priorities for funding by the NG-CDF kitty on Monday /HILTON OTENYOPolice in Teso North have urged the National Government Constituency Development Fundto fund the rehabilitation of the dilapidated Malaba police station and build a new administration block at Amagoro headquarters.
Speaking during a public participation forum for identifying priority projects to be funded by the kitty in Malaba Central ward, Teso North subcounty police commander Charles Chepkong’a said the two facilities were in a deplorable state and requires urgent intervention
Chepkong’a said that Malaba police station has a leaking roof that threatens safety of essential documents while doors of the subcounty polive headquarters have since been eaten by termites.
He said the Amagoro divisional police headquarters offices which were constructed decades ago, have deteriorated.
“I propose that the NG-CDF Teso North should help renovate it and consider constructing a modern administration block for the subcounty headquarters," the police boss said.
Chepkong'a also urged residents to report criminal incidents promptly, noting that delayed reporting, particularly in defilement cases often hampers investigations and successful prosecution.
"We receive some defilement cases when it is already too late, making it difficult to gather evidence and prosecute the perpetrators. Such cases should be reported immediately they occur," he said.
Deputy county commissioner Solomon Kitai asked residents to take advantage of the public participation to prioritise their needs for funding by NG-CDF.
“Although communities have numerous needs, limited resources make it necessary to prioritise projects through public participation,” he said.
Kitai announced that the government will use school head teachers to facilitate the processing of national identity cards for eligible students.
"We shall use head teachers to identify and verify the students who will receive the ID cards in about three weeks," he said.
Construction of offices for chiefs and assistant chiefs emerged as a common priority across the public participation forum.
A resident, Joel Osiga, proposed the establishment of one-stop administrative centres where chiefs and assistant chiefs would operate from the same building.
Another resident, George Ndoto, called for an increase in education support for vulnerable learners, saying the current allocation of Sh 5,000 per student was inadequate.
"We propose that the amount be increased to Sh10,000 per student," he said.
Representatives of learning institutions listed various infrastructural development, including purchasing of land for expansion, construction of classrooms, ablution blocks, dormitories, library and equipping of a computer laboratory among others.
Mary Oshoromo,the chairpersonof the Teso North NG-CDF committee, said that the NG-CDF Act 2015 does not allow the fund to support sports activities but provides for climate change mitigation programmes, including the purchase and planting of tree seedlings in public institutions.
Bursary committee chairman William Okalio said that public participation was ensuring that projects reflect the priorities of local communities.
