Kisumu casual workers bitter – Weekly Citizen

Workers at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports ground in Kisumu have complained of poor working relationship and highhandedness by the management.

The over 20 employees who have been working as casuals for many years now want Kisumu governor Anyang Nyong’o to move with speed and address their grievances.

The workers who spoke to Weekly Citizen on condition of anonymity for fear of a backlash said that they have been working on the grounds without protective gears for many years to safeguard their health.

They said the manager, a Tom Nyinya, has been insensitive to their plight and welfare despite the fact that such pertinent issues have been forwarded to his attention.

“We only have three slashing tools against the huge area we are supposed to cover,” they lamented.

The workers narrated how they work without gloves and masks which expose them to health risks.

Some of the workers said a security firm that used to man the grounds has since withdrawn its services due to nonpayment of its dues.

A survey indicates that incidents of robberies have risen over a period of time.

A worker indicated that a colleague known as Robert Baridi has been undermining other workers and pitting them against the management.

Investigations have revealed that toilets at the grounds are in a pathetic state yet millions of shillings were pumped into their renovation during a Unesco fete last year.

Those manning the grounds collect over Sh5,000 on a daily basis from its toilets yet nobody knows where the cash vanishes to. The funds are normally taken to the accounts section headed by John Arum who is a former worker at the revenue department at the defunct Kisumu municipal council.

Arum, we have since established, was planted in the lucrative office by a former deputy treasurer at the council, one Kephas Kacera for ulterior reasons.

The workers say that the manager does not have them knowledge to run the sports grounds since he has a procurement query on his face.

Nyinya was among hundreds of workers who were retrenched when Kenya Breweries Limited closed its Kisumu branch.

He have over the years been blamed for the decay of the grounds which was at some stage voted the cleanest park in East Africa during the tenure of Joshua Nyamori.

The grounds were renovated by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) but it withdrew its sponsorship after the council failed to meet certain obligations.

It was later taken over by the county which led to its decay that still persists.

Meanwhile, a large number of street urchins have invaded the grounds where they harass members of the public.

The urchins who roam aimlessly around the grounds harass and rob members of the public at will. Hawkers have also taken advantage of the confusion to sell their wares around the grounds