SPEECH BY KISII COUNTY GOVERNOR H.E. HON. JAMES E.O.

ONGWAE, CBS, EBS, OGW, DURING MADARAKA DAY

CELEBRATIONS ON 1ST JUNE 2017 AT THE GUSII STADIUM

We have gathered here today to celebrate the day 54 years ago

when Kenya gained control over its internal affairs - preceding full
independence on December 12, 1963.

We pause to reflect on our national identity, achievements and the

task ahead of us. Our founding fathers and mothers fought and
shed blood so that we can have a better life for every man, woman
and child.

As heirs to the heritage of their patriotism, we salute this generation

of men, women and youth, both living and departed who worked
in unity and shared a common vision. It is incumbent upon us to
emulate their extraordinary spirit of patriotism as they saw Kenya as
one indivisible nation. They did not view Kenya through the prism of
tribalism and other parochial interests.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On this day, we also celebrate successive generations of Kenyan

patriots who sacrificed for the second liberation of this republic.
Through this struggle, we realized constitutional reforms that
radically transformed how we govern ourselves. Today, we have 47
devolved governments bringing resources, opportunities and
government services closer to the people than ever before.
Two months ago, Kenyans converged at Naivasha for the Fourth
Annual Devolution Conference. From the deliberations, it was clear
that devolution was working and Kenyans who gave views at the
conference noted that devolution had transformed their lives.

I must admit that it has been a long learning curve for all Counties
in the past four and a half years of devolved governance. We had
to begin from scratch and institutionalize requisite governance
systems for service delivery.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Our journey since March 2013 when we assumed office has been
that of growth and institutionalization. Looking back, I am proud to
note that we have chalked up successes while implementing
devolved functions as set out in the Fourth Schedule of the
Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

Let me talk about the achievements we have realized since you

gave me the mandate as your first Governor four and a half years
ago.

I had pledged to improve transition rates from primary to secondary

and tertiary institutions. This pledge has been fulfilled. So far, a total
of KShs.450million, the highest figure among all 47 counties, has
been disbursed through the County Bursary Fund as support to over
40,000 needy students. We expect to disburse a further
KShs.135million this month in bursaries and this time, we encourage
students in Vocational Training Centres to apply. Besides ensuring
needy students are kept in school, the bursary fund has helped
learning institutions within the County improve infrastructure.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

My second pledge was in the area of health service delivery. Four

and a half years ago, I inherited Kisii Hospital built 97 years ago but
was completely neglected in terms of developmental funding. We
have transformed this facility into a Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Within this short period, we have installed an Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) and High Dependency Unit (HDU) reducing referrals of critical
cases to facilities outside Kisii. The kitchen was still using wood fuel
but now we have installed gas.

For the first time since independence, our people can access
modern diagnostic services including Computerized Tomography
(CT) scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and digital x-rays.

Patients in need of kidney dialysis no longer travel to Nairobi or

Eldoret to undergo kidney dialysis as this service is available at the
10-bed renal unit installed by the County.

In 2013, some of our hospitals had one doctor or none. We have

increased the number of doctors from 79 in 2013 to 170 currently.
Our mothers now enjoy improved Maternal and Child healthcare
following the establishment of theatres and New Born Units at
Nyamache, Keumbu, Gucha and Gesusu Sub County hospitals.
They no longer have to travel to KTRH to access procedures like
Caesarean Sections.

Realizing the high burden of non-communicable diseases like

cancer, diabetes and hypertension, we developed a proposal
seeking funding to address this challenge. As I indicated before, we
secured KShs.2billion in funding from the Middle East for the
establishment of a modern cancer diagnostic and treatment
centre in Kisii. The signing of the second tranche of KShs.1billion for
this project was done three weeks ago allowing for the release of
this fund.

As we speak, the National Treasury has given approval for the

project to commence. The Requests for Proposal (RFPs) are being
finalized and within this month, we shall float tenders for
consultancy on the project. Considering the magnitude of the
project, we have to wait for three months before opening the
tenders. This will be the third cancer treatment centre after those
at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Moi Teaching and Referral
Hospital (MTRH).
Ladies and Gentlemen:

The third pledge was on road infrastructure. Using equipment

purchased by the County, we have opened 1,500km of rural roads
and paved with murram over 1,000km of roads across the County.

However, due to the heavy rains we receive in this great County,

most of these roads require constant gravelling. This is why we have
set up a road maintenance unit to carry out routine maintenance
of these roads.

The fourth pledge I made was on the area of Physical Planning and
Urban Development. Through the integrated street lighting
program launched by the County, Kisii Town and other urban
centres have grown into a 24-hour economy.

In Kisii Town alone, we have installed 360 solar powered streetlights

while in 52 market centres across the County, we have installed a
total of 430 solar lights significantly improving conditions for our
traders and residents. In the next one month, we shall install an
additional 100 solar streetlights and 16 high mast lights in another 20
markets across the County.

We have also opened back street roads in Kisii Town and in major
urban centres.
Within four and a half years, the number of commercial banks has
increased from 13 when we assumed office to 22 currently. Equally,
the number of insurance firms and tertiary institutions has increased
tremendously pointing to an environment conducive to investment
in Kisii.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am glad to report that as part of the African Development Bank

(ADB) funded Ahero - Isebania road project that traverses our
County, we successfully negotiated for the inclusion of a number of
feeder roads among them Oyugis – Gamba; Suneka – Riana – Rodi;
Nyamataro – Daraja Moja; St. Stephen – Christa Marianne and
Nyachenge – Ikoba – Ogembo roads are set for upgrade to
bitumen standard. Markets at Daraja and Suneka will be done as
part of this project along with a dual carriage from Nyamataro to
Kisii Town. The project begins this month.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The fifth pledge was on economic empowerment for our people.

Within four and a half years, we have successfully marketed the
County as an attractive trade and investment destination. As I told
you earlier, the KShs.5billion Sugar Factory in South Mogirango will
soon be a reality. As a County Government, we have finalized
necessary documentation and secured approvals for this project
that will create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for our people.
However, we needed the approval of the Senate before the
project can begin. A week ago, the Senate held its first sitting to
debate on this important project and the matter was referred to
the Agriculture committee for deliberation.

Although some people opposed this issue at the Senate, I am

hopeful that other Senators see the economic benefit this project
will have to my people so that it will be approved.

To support dairy commercialization, we launched a subsidized

Artificial Insemination (AI) service where farmers access certified
animal seed for as low as KShs.500 down from KShs.3, 000 charged
by private providers. This project has picked up well with uptake
standing at 2,500 dozes monthly.

Further, the County disbursed KShs.30million to the Kenya Tea

Development Agency (KTDA) as support to farmers in Kitutu
Chache North for the construction of Sombogo Tea Factory.
Already, KTDA has advertised for tenders for this project that is set
to begin soon.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The sixth pledge was on water supply and environmental

management. We have made progress in efforts to avail water to
households and institutions that have long been thirsting for this
commodity. We have protected over 600 water springs, revived
water schemes and sunken boreholes to make possible water
reticulation. Implementation of the KShs.1.4billion KfW water supply
project for Kisii Town is underway so we expect the challenges town
residents face in water supply to be addressed soon.

The seventh area of my pledge was on youth and women

empowerment. Through the Kisii County Trade Credit Scheme, we
supported 200 youth to acquire Motorcycles. Now youth have
become entrepreneurs owning motorcycles.

Further, I recently signed into law the Kisii County Youth and Women
Empowerment Fund Act, 2016 that provides the legal framework for
the County to support this critical group through affordable credit.

It will take a while longer to list all our achievements, but on this day,
let me focus on other issues that affect us. We celebrate this
Madaraka Day on the peak of a political period in the Country
when Kenyans prepare to exercise their constitutional right of
electing leaders for the next term.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Campaigns have begun in earnest and we shall face our employer

once again seeking various elective seats. We must appreciate the
fact that devolution is fairly nascent in our Country and therefore
we cannot expect it to be perfect when compared to National
Government that has been with us for 54 years.

Devolution has faced a number of challenges. Firstly, we have

experienced delayed disbursement of funds from the National
Treasury and when the funds do come, they are released monthly
yet the constitution stipulates that the monies be released on a
quarterly basis. This coupled with rampant disruption of the IFMIS
system due to network challenges affects implementation of
planned projects while disrupting payments to our contractors and
suppliers.

Although we have been raising this matter with National

Government, through the Council of Governors, they have been
slow in working towards a resolution.

Secondly, Counties had to contend with high expectations from

Kenyans at the grassroots. Kenyans at the grassroots expected
instant fixes to challenges that had existed since independence,
and rightly so, because they had suffered for long. However,
development projects take time, some beyond five years, to
implement.
Thirdly, not all functions have been fully devolved as outlined in the
Constitution. This has significantly affected service delivery as
resources meant to address developmental needs of the people
are still retained by National Government. The affected
departments include agriculture, roads, education and youth
affairs.

These issues are meant to be addressed by Intergovernmental

structures including the Summit, the Council of Governors,
Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee and
Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council. All these organs
have met and made various policy resolutions.

However, the Summit has never fulfilled its statutory obligation of

holding meetings at least twice a year. We need to strengthen
these institutions and make public their resolutions.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I would like to assure residents that our commitment to transform

this great County and unleash its full potential remains intact. We
have laid the necessary structures requisite for service delivery to
take this county to the next level. We are committed to build on
these structures and turn the challenges into opportunities in order
to fully actualize the aspirations of our people.

Devolution is the surest way to actualize the dreams of Kenyans and

move this nation forward so we need to further entrench it and
improve service delivery to Kenyans. Nobody should lie to us that
we have to patronize individuals to realize development.

Resources are allocated on an agreed upon formula set by the

Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA). All we need is to amend
the constitution to anchor 45 per cent minimum equitable share to
Counties.

Allow me to reiterate that devolution is a collaborative effort

among all stakeholders including the citizen whose role cannot be
overstated. In light of this, Kenyans have a responsibility of putting
into office good leaders who can take devolution to the next level.

Even as we prepare for the first general elections with County

Governments in existence, let us exercise our civic duties diligently
and wisely. Let us not waste the currency of our votes, for this is the
only weapon we have got to bring the change we so much
deserve and desire.

My plea is that we conduct peaceful campaigns and compete on

issues not insults. There will be a Kisii County after August 8 elections
so let us remain true to our spirit of being peaceful and
accommodating as a community.

In line with the electoral code of conduct we all sign as politicians,

we should desist from misusing our youth to achieve selfish gain.

Let us promote conditions conducive to the conduct of free and

fair elections and a climate of tolerance where political activity
takes place without fear, intimidation or coercion.

As I close, let me send my best wishes to our Muslim brothers and

sisters as they celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, which is a
period of fasting, thanksgiving and devotion.

I thank you for your kind attention.