Leaders in Baringo have agreed to build the Sh 500 million university that was put on hold for four years ago after leaders disagreed on the location.
Senator-elect William Cheptumo while speaking during Governor Benjamin Cheboi’s swearing in ceremony presided over by Justice Hillary Chemitei at the ASK showground in Kabarnet on Thursday said the priority of the new administration was to spearhead construction of the university that had remained on-hold for a long time.
“Now that we have been elected and we are from the same party, we will have a common agenda of development and the first thing we will do is agree on the location of the university,” Cheptumo said.
Cheptumo pointed out that the challenge they experienced was that someone went to court to block the said construction and further noted with concern that most counties had universities hence Baringo was lagging behind.
Baringo North MP Benjamin Makilap who was also present during the function said the institution would employ over 2000 residents and was of the opinion that the best location would be at the county headquarters and expand branches to the rest of the sub-counties with time.
“The best location is at the county headquarters here at Kabarnet and as leaders, we should not pull and push but rather settle and build it with speed,” Makilap said.
Mogotio MP Rueben Kiborek who echoed the sentiments said it was important for leaders to agree on the location of the university so long as the university was within the county, there was no problem hence construction ought to speed up.
“This is the leadership to deliver a university to the people of Baringo and we should not let the people of Baringo down as it will in turn bring about development which has for long been a hindrance,” Kiborek said.
Eldama Ravine MP elect Musa Sirma also said his Sub-County was ready to have the university constructed there if they could not agree on the location as the area had large chunks of Government land that could be used.
In a rejoinder, Baringo South MP Charles Kamuren said despite his constituency having a branch of Egerton University, the financial challenges the university was experiencing was forcing them to shut down hence a need for the proposed university.
Other leaders present during the inauguration ceremony were woman MP Florence Jematia, CS Labour Simeon Chelugui and former Governor Stanley Kiptis.
Source: Kenya News Agency