A team from the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), visited West Pokot to collect data that will help inform the finalization of the Third Policy Identification of the Marginalized areas in Kenya.
The CRA team, led by Commissioner Jonas Kuko, visited the remote, “hard-to-reach” areas in the County to ascertain the availability of water supply, education, roads, hospitals, and electricity and how they have negatively or positively affected the community around them.
According to Kuko, the CRA is developing a Third Policy Identifying Marginalized Areas, and they visited West Pokot County, to collect data on the status of basic services including water, roads, health, electricity and education, for the purpose of the Equalization Fund.
He further explained that a “Third Policy” is a criterion for sharing revenue among marginalized areas across the country.
The Commissioner said the areas that are termed “marginalized” are determined by the data of the 2019 Population and Housing Census, by the National Bureau of Statistics.
Kuko noted that the status of water, roads, electricity, health, and education in the region forms a criterion by which marginalized areas are going to be considered during the allocation of equalization funds.
He reiterated that water, roads, electricity, health, and education are the backbone of the county’s and country’s economic progress.
The Commissioner further said that infrastructure plays a critical role in society and the economy and helps in the provision of services to households and industries.
The Commissioner noted with concern that the availability of roads, water, education, electricity, good hospitals, and other key facilities in the region is essential and helps spur economic growth.
He noted that a region that has good infrastructure development has low levels of vulnerability.
The Commissioner pointed out that a lack of basic amenities such as schools, water, electricity, roads and hospitals affect the growth and overall development of that region.
He pointed out that roads help to connect people and support trade by facilitating the movement of goods, and when the same is missing, it leads to low economic growth in that region.
Kuko also pointed out that water infrastructure helps improve health when there is better access to clean water, and when the same is missing, it leads to bad health.
“We noted with concern that getting clean water for domestic use is a challenge in some parts of the county.” “The water scarcity makes some of the residents travel several kilometres in search of it,” he said.
Kuko noted that from their visit to West Pokot County, they have confirmed that indeed some parts of the region are marginalized, and there is a need for more money to be pumped in for development so that no County and no one is left behind in terms of development.
He said the government is committed to addressing the plight of the needy and vulnerable population affected by drought effects and those left behind in terms of infrastructure development.
Kuko appealed to the national government to pump in more money for the areas in West Pokot, where terrain is a problem and there was lack of basic amenities.
He also said that the government is keen to ensure all Kenyans have access to quality services and good infrastructure for economic development.
Kuko said there is a need for the local community to be educated that they have resources that, if well utilized, could earn them a better living standard.
“The local community has resources that could earn them a better living standard, and what they lack is relevant knowledge and skills to enable them to maximize the resources available,” he said.
The CRA team inspected Equalization Fund Development Projects in the County, and for unfinished infrastructure, they called for speedy completion and promised to ensure all pending bills are cleared.
West Pokot County Commissioner (CC), Apollo Okello, told CRA that most areas of the County are marginalized and there was a need for more resources to be pumped in for the development of schools, water, electricity, hospitals, and roads.
Okello said that the Equalization Fund was good and helped improve people’s livelihoods.
However, he said that security is an issue that needs to be addressed and that part of the money meant for equalization should be earmarked for security development, reiterating that a stable and peaceful environment is an important development.
The CRA team met the County Secretary at the Office of the Governor, who confirmed that the areas CRA picked for its proposal for the Third Policy are indeed marginalized and a lot needs to be done in terms of development.
They inspected six equalization fund projects, including Akiriamet bridge and Sigor Sub- County Hospital theatre in Pokot Central Sub-county, Kanyarkwat, Kolenge’lai to Tipet road, Totum, Kopoch to Miskwony road, Tamarukwo borehole in West Pokot Sub- county and Konyao borehole in North Pokot sub county.
West Pokot County is a vast area that lies to the north-west of Elgon and covers an area of approximately 9,164.4 sq m.
It is accessible by a good road from Kitale town in Trans Nzoia County, a distance of 37 kilometres.
The County is bounded by the County of Turkana to the north, Baringo to the east, Elgeyo Marakwet and Trans Nzoia to the south, and also shares the international boundary with the Republic of Uganda to the west.
The County has four constituencies, namely Kacheliba, Kapenguria, Sigor, and Pokot South and is made up of five sub counties with twenty county wards and 103 villages.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2016), 57.3 percent of the population in the County lives below the poverty line, compared to a national average of 36.1 percent.
However, food levels stand at 57.4 percent against the national average of 32 percent, while 26.3 percent of the county’s residents live in extreme poverty.
Agriculture activities are conducted in the highlands parts of the County compared to the lowland areas, which are characterized by drought effects.
By Anthony Melly and Maurice Osore
