Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti gives second address in eight years

Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti on Wednesday gave his second state of the county address since his election as governor eight years ago.

Ideally, governors should issue a state of the county address at least once a year. The yearly tradition is meant to give an update on the status of the devolved unit, while also unveiling the administration's agenda for the coming year. 
 
Governor Awiti, in his 100-page long speech that took him three hours to read on Wednesday morning, highlighted some of his government’s achievements, noting that several projects had been delayed due to financial challenges.
 
Governor Awiti made his first State of the county address just before the 2017 General Elections when he was seeking to be reelected. By then, there was no law compelling him to issue an address on the state of the county.
 

In 2020, however, the County Assembly passed a Bill that required him to address the Assembly on matters affecting residents.
 
Section 4 of the Homa Bay County State of the County Address Act (2020) requires the Governor to deliver an address to the Assembly in a special sitting.
 
"The address is in conformity with Article 183 section 3 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) which requires that the County Executive Committee shall provide the County Assembly with full and regular reports on matters relating to the county," Mr Awiti told the House today, adding that he signed the Bill into law.

Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, Deputy Governor Hamilton Orata, County Secretary Isaiah Ogwe and some county executive members were among leaders who attended the session that experienced hiccups with the communications system from time to time.

In his speech, Mr Awiti, who at one point had to take a ten-minute health break due to fatigue, said his first term in office between 2013 and 2017 was to lay the foundation of building Homa Bay County.

He said he and Mr Orata had started building on the foundation after their reelection, but cited a lot of challenges including prolonged judicial battles and ill health.

The county chief also cited delayed disbursement of funds from the National Treasury as a major development setback for the county.

He also pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic as a contemporary hurdle that is currently affecting the growth of the devolved unit.

"You can vividly remember that after I addressed this honorable house in 2017, we were subjected to fierce court battles after our competitors challenged our victory in court. Nonetheless, we emerged victorious," he said.

"But as we celebrated our victory, I faced health challenges. I thank the Almighty God for helping me to overcome the illness and here I am, going strong and serving our people with passion and humility," he added.

Milestones

The governor’s speech highlighted some of the milestones achieved in all the ten departments of the county government between 2013 and 2021. 

In Health, the governor dwelt on gains made in the fight against Covid-19, the high HIV burden in Homa Bay, purchase of health machines and the employment of health workers, which he said had increased from 1,225 in 2013 to 2,135 today.

“Maternal deaths in our county have shown a downward trajectory with the percentage of deaths declining. We have managed to suppress the malaria burden through interventions of the national government,” Mr Awiti said.

On Water and Environment, the governor spoke of ongoing donor-funded projects which he said will reduce the distance that residents cover as they look for clean water for domestic use.

On Education and ICT, Mr Awiti hinted about the elevation of Tom Mboya University College to a fully-fledged university.

On Roads and Transport, a segment that did not go well with some MCAs, the governor said his administration has opened up 2,273 kilometres of road including Oyugis-Rangwe, Imbo-Olare and Oyugis-Kendu Bay among others, which are being done by the national government and not the county government as he indicated in his speech.

Other areas that Mr Awiti touched on include the establishment of fish cages in Lake Victoria which he said his office and that of the Senator will look into.

“We are worried about the high number of fish cages in Lake Victoria which may affect the existence of some fish species in the lake. The national government has not involved us in issuing licences which makes investors put cages in the lake without regulation,” Mr Awiti said.

MCAs did not have an opportunity to react or to respond to the speech after House Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo directed that the matters be discussed later in the afternoon and during subsequent sittings.

Mr Kajwang, who also chairs the devolution committee at the Assembly, asked other county governors to give their state of the county addresses.

“All counties should involve their leaders in the process. I wish our MPs would have been here to hear the achievements and challenges that the county government is facing,” he said after Mr Awiti's speech.