Kisumu County governor Prof. Anyang Nyong’o has appointed former State Department for ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary (PS) Jerome Ochieng as County Executive Committee Member (CECM) in charge of Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development.
Jerome’s nomination which takes effect immediately however awaits vetting by the County Assembly.
Once given the greenlight, Jerome who served as ICT and Innovation PS in the Uhuru Kenyatta administration will take over the lands docket in Kisumu replacing Kennedy Hongo who was fired.
Jerome has over 20 years work experience in public service having headed the ICT docket at the Public Procurement Oversight Authority and the National Treasury before rising to the level of PS.
He holds a masters’ degree in Information Engineering from the University of Ryukyus Okinawa Japan and is a registered fellow of the Computer Society of Kenya and a member of the Institute of Management Information Systems (IMS) UK.
Once approved by the County Assembly, Jerome is expected to streamline operations at the docket at a time Kisumu is experiencing rapid growth.
Among the key priorities is the implementation of the Kisumu Local Physical and Land Use Development Plan and the Sustainable Mobility Plan which have been rolled out by the county government.
Other pending assignments include the implementation of the recommendations of the Lands task force formed by Governor Nyong’o to look into land issues in the area.
By Chris Mahandara
