Excitement As Siaya County Government Engages Public in Performance Assessment

SIAYA Muungano Network in partnership with Uraia and Siaya county government have organized Public engagement forums in the six-sub-county to check if the duty bearers in the Nyalore administration were on track in terms of Development and service delivery.

The meeting that kicked off on Wednesday in Bondo sub-County saw members of the public expressing their ideas and ensuring matters transparency and accountability are enhanced.

Similar meeting was held today in Siaya where civil society groups, departmental technical persons, the County Executive Committee Members including Agunda Ochanda(Governance), Grace Agola(Enterprise), Silvester Kokoth(Agriculture), Prof Jaqueline Oduol(Water), Anjeline Oduor(Tourism), martin Konyango(Health) and Maurice Orege(Lands) saw the public engaging the duty bearers face to face on pertinent development issues.

The public lauded the Agriculture department for distributing quality seeds and fertilizers that helped improved their yields.

Traders also asked trade department to expedite processes for cooperative Development Fund.

Among other issues enumerated included waste management sites, status of the markets, 5 percent tenders for disability, employment of the disabled groups, bursary, Public participation, dumping sites for wastes from areas not under municipalities, taxing boda-boda operators.  

The public urged the executive to roll up their sleeves and get to the grounds saying that’s the surest way to identify gaps and act on them promptly.

Kokoth assured the public that Nyalore government was committed towards transforming lives of Siaya resident adding that Siriwo rice mill yet to be commissioned would help alleviate suffering of rice farmers.

“we have prioritized resources for purchasing Madiany cotton ginnery and would ether do an edible oil processing plant in gem or Siaya.

In the next two years, the rice value chain, the cotton value chain and edible oil value chain will see us commercializing agriculture,” said Kokoth.

In our current budget of aquaculture business project, which is one of the project run by IFAD, we have established Lwanda Kotieno fish landing site, we shall spend close to Sh 200 million on Kokach landing site. We shall also give modern fish cages to 22 groups and they will be able to restock 100,000 fingerlings in each.

On Health, Chief officer Samwel Omondi assured the public that markets sanitation will be improved.

Omondi said that some of the Community health promoters whose additional monthly stipend was not factored by the National government will handled by health department.

“I know that the national government was to pay Sh 2500 and we give Sh 3000 monthly stipend to each Community health promoters. When National government was allocating quarters for Counties, they picked 1974 CHP from Siaya while actual number of CHP we have is 2128 that means 154 CHP from Siaya were left out,” said Omondi.

The county has undertaken to top up the 154 CHP, the KES 2500 and this will be given in arrears.

 On waste management, Siaya municipality have purchased at Got Osimbo. Its 4.3 acres of land and we plan to evacuate the garbage behind stadium.

“solid waste management its capital intensive and government trying to address it. We appeal to the CBO’s or NGO’s to join the government in addressing the waste management,” said Siaya Municipality Manager Linet Oyola.

Agola of trade said her department has prioritized budget for purchasing land for managing wastes from markets not at the jurisdiction of municipalities.

She urged every market committees to write memorandums and send one of the representative to present at the budget forums being held at the wards for their issues to be prioritized.

“we also want every trader to join cooperative movements as that it’s the only vehicle that would enable benefit from CDF funds created by the County government of Siaya,” said Agola.

Ochanda at the same time asked the public to be ambassadors and ensure they speak positive about Siaya as that would help attract investors.

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