Siaya County Government: Here is how we performed in the last financial year

Introductory brief

A report on the state of the county is one of the most important deliverables of the County Executive Committee. It is indeed a requirement of the County Government Act, which provides that “the Governor shall submit the annual performance reports of the county executive committee and public service to the county assembly for consideration”, and that such “reports will be considered public documents”.

This summary of the Progress Report for the Financial Year beginning July 1, 2019 and ending June 30, 2020 gives the public a good insight into some of the key achievements of the County Government of Siaya in the specified period.

It classifies county programmes under three main pillars. The ‘Enablers’ pillar summarises progress in the areas of governance and administration, lands, information and communication technology and roads and public works.

The ‘Economic’ pillar covers agriculture, livestock and fisheries, tourism, enterprise and industrial development and finance, while the Social pillar concerns education, health and sanitation and water, environment and natural resources sectors.

Performance under the Enablers Pillar

Governance and Administration: The 2019-2020 achievements of the Governance and Administration Department include reconstitution of the Siaya County Public Service Board, the establishment of a Governor’s Service Delivery Unit, hosting of the Lake Region Economic Bloc Summit Convention and construction of the Siaya County Headquarters Annex.

The reconstitution of the County Public Service Board followed the expiry of the term of the previous members. The county government appointed six new board members.

On the other hand, the establishment of the Governor’s Service Delivery Unit has facilitated provision of cross-cutting services to county departments. This has helped to unblock bottlenecks. 

Other achievements of this department include the enactment of the Enforcement and Inspectorate Act, Lake Region Economic Block Act and the County Emblem Act, and initiating the creation of a village administration law.

Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Development: The department developed a final draft of Siaya County Spatial Plan and submitted it to the Executive Committee for approval. It is a first document to guide county development and resource allocation in all public land.

Other notable achievements of this department during the period under review include the following:

• Surveying and planning Boro, Nyamonye and Sega markets.
• Surveying Yala Swamp to determine its exact size and providing the much needed guide to resource utilisation by locals and investors within the county.
• Establishment of the Siaya Municipal Board, bringing together a team of professionals to guide the strategic development of the municipality.
• Regeneration of Ahindi Garden and construction of Governor’s park in Siaya Town, through support of the World Bank.

Public Works, Roads, Energy and Transport: Siaya county has registered improvements in accessibility. This follows the opening of 185.5km of new roads against a target of 150km, and grading and gravelling of 457.2km of existing county roads against the annual target of 450km.

Ongoing projects include the Kalkada-Luhano bridge across River Nzoia, Opoda-Bondo township road and Rabango-K’Odiaga road. They are at different stages of processing and are key targets for the current (2020/2021) Financial Year.

Performance under Economic and Social pillars

Agriculture, Irrigation, Food, Livestock and Fisheries: The department has intensified agricultural extension services to enhance productivity and food security. Accordingly, the number of farmers reached has increased by 10 percent from 72,235 in 2018/2019 to 79,924 in 2019/2020. To further build on this, the department acquired five motorcycles to improve the mobility of extension staff.

Other milestones of note include the following:

• Establishment of the County Agricultural Sector Steering Coordination Committee for better coordination of stakeholders and mobilisation of resources.
• Disbursement of some Ksh29.9 million to micro-projects in partnership with the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project, to support farmer groups and improve value chains in the fishing, livestock, horticulture, poultry and other related sectors.
• Distributed 15 high powered engine water pumps in South Gem and South Uyoma Wards to promote irrigated agriculture. 
• Constructed five water pans in Koga, Sandholf, Uranga, Futro and Nyalnawe, through the Kenya Devolution Support Project. Others are Adhiri Water Pan in Rarieda and Miruka Water Pan in Bondo, constructed with support from the World Bank via the Kenya Climate Smart Agricultural Project. As a result, local farmers have established horticultural farms around the water pans, enhancing production.
• Distributed 38 dairy cows to 38 groups in South Gem, Yala Township and Yimbo West wards, 82 dairy goats to 82 farmer groups across the county, and 8,547 month-old chicks to 224 groups in Yala Township and Yimbo West.
• Completed the construction of 20 fish landing bandas and handed them over to local Beach Management Units, and procured one patrol boat.
• Trained over 200 farmers on Rift Valley Fever and conducted fixed time artificial inseminations in collaboration with stakeholders.

Enterprise and Industrial Development: This sector initiated a project on market infrastructure improvements to boost trade. This saw completion of phase one of Ramba Market in Siaya Township ward and refurbishment of six market sheds. Nine Boda-Boda sheds were also constructed in various wards.

Further, the department is strengthening co-operatives through audits, trainings and making of by-laws. In the period under review, it held 29 co-operative trainings, 38 member-education forums, and 39 committee seminars. The Co-operative Development Fund Bill was also approved by the Executive Committee and forwarded to the County Assembly for enactment.

Tourism, Arts, Sports, ICT and Cultural: The sector registered major achievements in sporting and cultural activities. They include hosting the 93rd Edition of the Kenya Music and Cultural Festival; participating in the ‘The Jumuiya ya Afrika Mashariki Utamaduni Festival in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; sponsoring a cultural exchange programme that saw a delegation of Luo Council of Elders visit the King of Padhola in Tororo, Uganda; and carrying out an art talent search to link winners with established talent development institutions countrywide. Other achievements are:

• Capacity building of homestay owners to promote the homestay concept. This was done in conjunction with the Tourism Regulatory Authority and the Kenya Community Based Tourism network.
• Construction of the Siaya County Stadium, which is underway.

Finance and Economic Planning: This department provided leadership on financial resources mobilisation and management, with the county receiving an overall of Ksh7.9 billion in the Financial Year 2019/2020, constituting equitable share, conditional grant, own-source revenue and supplementary estimates, in different amounts.

The department also provided leadership in mobilising development partner support in various sectors. This effort resulted in the county government receiving conditional grants of more than Ksh500 million.

Education, Youth Affairs, Gender and Social Services: The department completed construction of up to 24 Early Childhood Development Education model blocks, with 12 of these being fully equipped for operations. It also piloted the School Feeding Programme in 27 schools in West Alego Ward and East Asembo, and equipped 10 vocational training centres with modern tools.

The County Government also initiated the formulation of the Bursary Policy, Scholarship Policy, Vocational Training Centre Policy and Youth and Gender Policy. These remain work in progress and should be concluded in the current financial year.

Health and Sanitation: The sector has played a key role in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. Even as it did so, it went on to achieve the following:

• Completion of a blood transfusion unit at Siaya County Referral Hospital.
• Procurement of a modern ambulance.
• Construction and equipping of three Maternity theatres at Ambira, Ukwala and Madiany sub-county hospitals.
• Construction of 17 new dispensaries
• Building of two new maternity wards at Nyawara and Ramula health centres.
• Recruitment of an additional 193 health service staff to improve service delivery.

Water, Environment and Natural Resources: The Water Resources Development and Management Programme saw the sector construct 15 water pans out of the targeted 18, while protecting 33 water springs out of the targeted 43. These helped to significantly increase access and proximity to water services by citizens and livestock.

The County Government also drilled and equipped 46 boreholes with solar pumps, rehabilitated eight shallow wells, installed four rainwater harvesting systems, rehabilitated four water supply schemes, and extended 80km of water pipelines. The net effect of these projects is an increase in safe water coverage from 55 percent to 65 percent across Siaya County.