A vibrant people’s assembly that intervenes and transforms society and addresses the development challenges
Today we hosted a section of Hon. Members and staff from Kwale County Assembly led by their Speaker Hon. Seth Mwatela Kamanza.
The delegation that was received by host Speaker Hon. Elisha Oraro and Clerk Mr. Owen Ojuok discussed raft of issues aimed to improve service delivery in the two sister County Assemblies.
𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐒𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐍. 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐔𝐈 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐘
𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐢 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐊𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐲𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐚 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐨, 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐫 – 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭.
The East Africa Local Authorities Cultural Association (EALASCA) 2024 Games officially kicked off today at the Jomo Kenyatta International Stadium in Mamboleo, Kisumu.
Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr.Mathew Owili officially flagged off the regional games, accompanied by the Speaker of the County Assembly of Kisumu Hon. Elisha Oraro and other County Government officials.
The regional games have attracted over 700 partcipants who will compete for top honors in different sporting activities, with a section of Hon. Members and staff from Kisumu County Assembly selected to represent the Kenyan team in various disciplines.
Kisumu County Leadership comprising the Executive headed by the Governor H.E. Prof. Anyang’ and the County Assembly headed by Speaker Hon. Elisha Oraro today gathered at Sawela Lodges, Naivasha, to deliberate on milestones, challenges and to jointly develop interventions to foster development and enhance service delivery in Kisumu County.
In his opening remarks of the event dubbed Kisumu County Leadership Summit, 2024, the Governor underscored the importance of the two arms of the devolved unit working together to enable the County Government to realize its mandate.
“This event aims to foster collaboration, enhance communication and to align goals and strategies to improve service delivery in Kisumu County, ” Hon. Oraro stated.
The Assembly’s House Business Committee members have met their counterparts from Nairobi City County Assembly in Nairobi, in an exchange visit aimed to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and the overall operations of both institutions.
The delegation from Kisumu, led by Speaker Hon. Elisha Jack Oraro, who also serves as the Committee Chairperson, shared knowledge, experiences and best practices with the host, led by the Deputy Speaker Hon. Paul Kigiathi Kados.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the two sister Committees to assess performance, identify areas for enhancement, and opportunities for innovation.
During the interaction, both committees emphasized the importance of establishing a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship between the two County Assemblies. They recognized that such cooperation has the potential to foster improved governance and prosperity for the communities they collectively serve.
Kisumu County Assembly has been feted today during the 4th Ombudsman Huduma Award held at KICC, Nairobi.
The Assembly was among the four of the 47 County Assemblies in the country, awarded in the category of access to information and compliance.
Assembly Speaker Hon. Elisha Oraro and Clerk Mr. Owen Ojuok received the certificate of recognition on behalf of the County Assembly.
The award was as a result of access to information infrastructure that the Assembly developed in the FY 2022/2023 and compliance with access to information and complaints reporting.
Cabinet Secretary Hon. Moses Kuria represented the President H.E. William Ruto as Chief Guest during the event convened by the Commission on Administrative Justice ( CAJ) to recognize and reward outstanding public institutions and public servants.
Leader of Majority and Ahero Ward Representative Hon. Kennedy Ooko has today sought a Statement from the Chairperson Committee on Education, Technical Training, Innovation and Social Services on electronic transfer of bursaries to needy students in the County.
Hon. Ooko observed that several challenges have been witnessed since the introduction of electronic transfer of bursary.
“Even after bursaries have been disbursed, many students are not aware and are occasionally sent home. Some bursars take advantage of this lack of communication and misappropriate these funds without the knowledge of parents and students,” he said.
The Leader of Majority said “the electronic transfer system is shrouded in mystery and is being exploited by unscrupulous individuals to the detriment of needy students”.
He now wants the Education Committee “to consider transitioning to the traditional payment method using cheques which was more transparent” and to consider increasing bursary budgetary alloaction in the next financial year, due to the growing student population including those in junior secondary school.
“The Committee should inform the House what measures it is putting in place to address these gaps as a matter of urgency,” he stated.
The Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee today held a consultative meeting with the Executive’s Department of Finance and Economic Planning to interrogate the proposed Kisumu County Annual Development Plan FY 2024/2025.
The joint meeting was attended by the County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning Mr. George Okong’o and his senior officers on one hand and Hon. Members of the Assembly’s Budget & Appropriations Committee led by the Speaker Hon. Elisha Oraro and the Committee Chairperson Hon. Joachim Oketch on the other hand.
The meeting discussed issues raised by various stakeholders during public publication as well as matters raised by various Departments during their meetings with House Sectoral Committees.
In his opening remarks, Hon. Oraro encouraged participants to carefully interrogate the document for the benefit of the people Kisumu.
“The Annual Development Plan is a crucial document that outlines our goals, strategies, and priorities for the upcoming year. It serves as a roadmap for progress and guides us in allocating resources effectively to meet the needs of our constituents,” he stated.
“This joint meeting provides us with an invaluable opportunity to foster collaboration, exchange ideas, and ensure transparency in the budgeting process. The synergy between the Budget Committee, responsible for evaluating proposals, and the Budget Directorate, entrusted with the implementation of development programs, is vital for the successful realization of our objectives,” he added.
“As representatives of the people, we bear a tremendous responsibility to ensure that the resources entrusted to us are utilized wisely, efficiently, and for the collective benefit of our constituents. It is our duty to prioritize essential services, promote inclusive growth, and address the pressing needs of our communities,” remarked Budget and Appropriations Committee Chairperson Hon. Joachim Oketch.
At the meeting, Market Milimani Ward MCA Hon. Seth Ochieng challenged the Executive to decentralize procurement services for effective service delivery.
” Centralization of procurement is negatively affecting implementation of projects in the County,” he observed.
Mr. Okong’o hailed the collaborative approach between the Department and the Committee saying it has facilitated a robust discussion and engagement on the proposed ADP.
