Officials from Bomet County Government have visited public medical facilities and water projects in Kirinyaga County to benchmark on service delivery.
The delegation, which was led by County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Medical and Health Services Dr. Joseph Sitonik, toured the Kerugoya County Referral Hospital to learn on how the county has managed to transform the healthcare sector in the county.
“This a benchmarking visit and you cannot hide the fact that Kirinyaga is actually a leader in these sectors. We have learned a lot through this visit and plan to replicate what we have seen and learnt in Bomet,” Sitonik added.
He said Kirinyaga had greatly improved on health infrastructure and service delivery hence making it an ideal destination for benchmarking noting that the team had taken note of how the Kerugoya Medical Complex has been designed with a long-term plan of addressing future challenges.
Dr. Sitonik emphasized on the need for counties to work together and collaborate on areas of success to strengthen devolution and enhance service delivery to the people across the country.
“Kirinyaga is an example of what devolution has done in this country to actually transform rural areas that would have been neglected if the centralized system of government was still persistent,” Waiguru added.
Kirinyaga County has deployed innovative technology, Hospital Management Integrated System (HMIS), which ensures accountability, monitoring and evaluation of the healthcare system.
Bomet CECM for Water, Sanitation, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Chepkuto Jepchirchir said Kirinyaga is one of the rural counties free from water shortage and Bomet was keen to learn from the successes.
“We are happy as Bomet County that this visit has gotten us answers to some of the challenges to do with provision of water. Kirinyaga is one of the rural counties that has registered great progress in provision of water for domestic and irrigation and for anyone who wants to learn on success of devolution, then you must visit Kirinyaga,” said Chepkuto.
Kirinyaga CEC for Medical Services, Public Health, Sanitation and Medical Services Dr. George Karoki said the visit by the delegation from Bomet was a testament that the health sector transformation in Kirinyaga was bearing fruits.
He said the county government has invested heavily in infrastructural and service delivery reforms, bringing about a robust healthcare system that is responsive to the growing demand for contemporary and high-quality services.
Waiguru said the benchmarking visits by delegations, so far from six counties, was an indication the devolved units had seen some of the best practices to borrow and implement in their counties.
By Mutai Kipngetich
