It is a new beginning for Homa Bay after the launch of Service Charters that will enhance transparency, accountability and trust between citizens and the county government.
According to the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Governance, Administration, Communication and Devolution Mercy Osewe, the charters will further enhance citizen engagement and set clear service standards to ensure policy interventions and programmes reflected the needs and aspirations of the people.
With the support of the Uraia Trust and Integrated Development Facility (IDF), the county government unveiled these charters as a promise to deliver different services to the people and giving them the power to hold the government accountable, the CECM said.
“The service delivery charters are our social contract with the people of Homa Bay and were developed through public participation. Amongst these charters, we have a complaints and redress system where when the people have a problem or feel their grievances have not been addressed, they can reach out to us,” she stated.
The CECM noted that in the initial stages of drafting the charters, they visited every ward in all the sub counties and conversed with the residents to get their input on their expectations on different aspects of the government.
The Executive Director Uraia Trust Oliver Waindi said the citizens’ service charter was an agreement between the county government and the citizens on how the former would be offering services to the latter.
“The charter has scientific hard standards which can be followed, and this is one way of sustaining the work we have been doing in Homa Bay as IDF with the support of the Uraia Trust and the county government to make sure that public participation and engagement is done in a framework that is very much sustainable,” he said.
By Sitna Omar
