Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa led his cabinet in taking the oath of office at Bukhungu Stadium, in an event witnessed by thousands of locals.
County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) and Chief Officers (CO) were sworn in after successfully undergoing the vetting exercise by the County Assembly, where all the names submitted by the Governor for approval were approved.
Among those who took the oath of office is Dr Benard Wesonga Ochieng, who was appointed by the Governor as the CECM for Health. The function was attended by among others, Deputy Governor Savula
Dr Wasonga, who hails from Eshikhondi Village, Koyonzo Ward of Matungu Constituency, was settled on to after he displayed competency, skills and necessary knowledge to spur the department forward.
Speaking during the swearing the CECMs and Chief Officers, Governor Barasa thanked Kakamega residents for believing in him and electing him to be their leader and also congratulated the CECMs in their new roles.
He used the opportunity to highlight his visions and plans that he has for residents of Kakamega of which he expects his officers to help him implement as they take up their offices.
“I made several pledges to the people of Kakamega when I was campaigning and it is now time for service delivery. I want development to take the centre stage,” Barasa said.
He added, “I campaigned on the platform of Usawa na Maendeleo and from this day going forward, we are going to give equitable distribution of development projects across the county and no one will be sidelined.
He noted that during the campaigns, he promised to:
i) Improve Agriculture,
ii) Actualise the county’s network,
iii) Easy access to clean Water ( Amatsi Mumuliango)
iv) Overhaul the county health service and improve on both curative and preventive health service and key attention on universal health care,
v) Improve infrastructure in all ECDE centres and all county polytechnics.
vi) Create conducive environment for investment and business people.
vii) Digitize and application of ICT in all department to improve service delivery and curb wastage through cashless program.
Barasa said he promised a lot, and cannot deliver on his own and that is why he appointed competent persons to help deliver to the people of Kakamega.
“In a very special way, I want to thank all the stakeholders who were involved in the entire process. We exhausted all legal frameworks to come up with names that I presented to the panel for approval,” he said.
A riot act was also read to the new CECMs and COs by the governor who promised to take action on any officer who won’t perform their duties and functions as expected.
“I want good governance from the appointees. Zero tolerance to graft,” he said.
In his address, the governor also highlighted the challenges facing county governments which included delayed funding from the National Treasury, many contractors facing bankruptcy, poor attitude from the employees, poor record keeping and auditing and revenue leakages.
Barasa has been hailed for appointing competent officers and residents are optimistic that he will deliver.
Among those who took office includes Mophat Mandela, Peninah Mukabane, Benjamin Andama, Godfrey Owour among many other CECMs and Chief Officers.
