Turkana County Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has called for patience as his administration works to address the myriad of challenges that he said he inherited from the former regime.
Addressing the congregation after mass at St. Kizito Catholic Church, Turkwel Parish, the Governor assured the county residents that his administration was committed to provide solutions to challenges faced.
“We inherited a county with problems, including over Sh6 billion worth of pending bills. I will strive to sort out the issues I have found and will settle the pending bills once we verify all the genuine ones in order to support businesses which provided services to the county,” the Governor said.
On relief food, the Governor said it had been distributed to Turkana East, parts of Turkana Central, and had begun in Loima and Turkana North, adding, the rest of the county will receive once all the food consignment had arrived.
He added that the county had begun the process of procuring relief food for the next cycle, with Sh300million having been set aside in the county budget.
He pledged to work to address insecurity in the county within one year by working closely with the National Government and pushing for the better support for the National Police Reservists (NPR).
The county boss reminded residents that they all had a stake in the pursuit for peace, and promised to include elders and members of the clergy in peace efforts. He assured residents of transparency in allocation of the County skills development fund to all needy students in the county.
The Governor reiterated his willingness to ensure fair distribution of senior county positions across Turkana noting that vetting of County Executive nominees will be concluded soon for the new team to begin work immediately.
The Rt. Rev. Bishop John Mbinda, who presided over the mass, thanked residents of Turkana for maintaining peace during the election period and accepting the outcome of the elections.
He urged residents to maintain peace as it was a requisite for sustainable development. He also asked the congregation to work hard to build their lives and ensure their children went to school.
The Governor was accompanied by County Executive nominees Dr. Michael Eregae (Finance and Economic Planning), Leah Audan Lokaala (Infrastructure, Transport and Public Works), Faith Akuwom (Health and Sanitation) and James Wangiros (Public Service, Administration and Disaster Management).
By Peter Gitonga
