Nairobi News

Uasin Gishu County Governor Jonathan Bii says his government has made tremendous progress since he took office in 2022.

The county boss described the implementation of government projects and service delivery to the residents as his early successes at the helm.

He said that student enrollment had shot up by 8.6 percent following the rollout of the school milk project in all the public early childhood development centres (ECDE) and employment of 1224 ECDE on a permanent basis.

In the health sector, he said in the last one-year, efficient management of service delivery in the health facilities has led to an increase in maternal health performance.

“The percentage of women attending their fourth antenatal care visit has risen from 48 percent to 56 percent. Skilled birth attendance has also increased from 78 percent to 84 percent, and postnatal care utilization has grown from 42 percent to 60 percent,” said the county boss during the State of County address at the county assembly on September 26, 2023.

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Mr Bii further disclosed that his government had trained a robust workforce of 2044 Community Health Promoters to improve health care in the community.

“This team, at the household level, will provide the initial identification, registration, basic screening, and referral of patients and provide health messages with the objective of reversing disease trends,” said Mr Bii.

He stated that over the last year, the devolved unit has rescued 264 children rehabilitated and most of them re-integrated back into the community, restoring sanity in the Eldoret town.

The governor observed that the Uasin Gishu County Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre has helped to bring back the serenity of the streets in Eldoret town and the business community enjoys the working environment together with their customers.

“Out of these, 62 were repatriated back to their counties, 77 were reunited with their families, 3 were taken to foster families, 2 were released by the court, 18 were taken by Morning Star Children’s home, and 2 others to One Heart Institution. Currently, there are 100 children at the centre of which 70 are school-going,” added Governor Bii.

As the Eldoret town municipality gears towards elevation to city status, Mr. Bii said that his administration was keen to ensure smart urban city development with affordable, high-quality housing for all the citizens.

On September 20, 2023, the Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations recommended that Eldoret Municipality be granted city status, citing compliance with the Urban Areas and Cities Act of 2011.

“My administration is in the process of preparing new zoning regulations and a policy on street naming and addressing which shall ensure effective land use planning and facilitate efficient navigation and accessibility within the County,” he stated.

In the roads sector, the county governor also noted that his administration had graded 816 Kilometres of access roads, out of which 409 kilometers were graveled and compacted serving both rural and urban areas across the county with an emphasis on climate change resilience.

He said that there was growth in the own-source revenue, which experienced a remarkable 14 percent growth, collecting Sh982 million during the 2022/23 financial year, compared to Sh 858 million in the previous fiscal year.

“We have made substantial progress in the absorption of development funds, which improved to 76 percent in Financial Year 2022/23, a significant increase from 63 percent in Financial Year 2021/22. This is only the beginning, as we strive to achieve an absorption rate of 90 percent this year,” he disclosed.

On the controversial Finland education overseas program, he urged that the assembly come up with more legislation and policies that will work for students who intend to study locally or internationally, under the support of the County.

“This legislation should include monitoring and evaluating of local agents managing overseas programs,” stated Mr Bii.