Turkana Governor Mr. Jeremiah Lomorukai has assured partner organisations of his commitment to support the implementation of programmes in Turkana County.
In a meeting with a delegation from UNICEF led by Team Lead of the Mission Dr Robert Simiyu, the Governor stated that Turkana’s development needs were vast and the contribution of development partners was critical for the success of his vision for the county.
“Turkana has many challenges which require more resources beyond the county budget to address. We will work with development partners to achieve key priorities in the nine-point agenda,” he said, asking partners to align programmes to the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) and the Nine-Point Agenda.
The Governor appreciated the contribution of UNICEF in developing the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), child, and social protection sectors in Turkana.
He stated that Turkana was among the leading counties in the development of modern Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres and informed the team of plans to construct 29 new centres and employ additional teachers this year.
The Governor raised concern on the over-concentration of partner organisations working in Kakuma in refugee support, insisting that there was a need to extend programmes to other sub-counties.
Simiyu informed the Governor of a new partnership programme in refugee-hosting counties of Turkana and Garissa called “Prospects” in collaboration with the Embassy of the Netherlands.
He revealed that the project will run from July to December on a testing phase before its launch in January next year for four years.
Simiyu assured the Governor of UNICEF’s commitment to supporting the success of the Nine Point Development Agenda and the integration programme between refugees and host communities.
Deputy Governor Dr John Erus asked UNICEF and other partners to support in growing the capacity of rescue centres in Turkana to improve child protection and rehabilitation efforts.
He acknowledged the contribution of UNICEF in resource mobilisation in Turkana.
County Executive for Water Services Faith Aletea identified supplying water during droughts to schools and health facilities, and strengthening of water governance systems as areas of a potential partnership between UNICEF and the County Government.
Chief Officer for ECD and Social Protection Etelej Korea asked for support in the recruitment and remuneration of assistant caretakers to address the teacher shortage and to operationalise the county’s web-based data and information management system, TECDEMIS.
Senior County staff in the meeting included Deputy County Secretary Joseph Nyang’a, and County Executive for Education Leah Audan among others. The UNICEF delegation included the Chief of Lodwar Field Office Rotuno Kipsang.
By Peter Gitonga
