Nyeri residents are 57.5 per cent content with the services being offered by the county government, preliminary findings of an assessment by NEPAD’s African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has revealed.
The assessment dubbed County Peer Review Mechanism was evaluating the county’s operations, performance, and achievements against each of the 14 devolved functions.
According to APRM Kenya Secretariat Chief Executive Officer, Ambassador Dr. Samori Okwiya, the assessment was geared at helping counties to identify, address challenges and share best practices in their governance systems.
“The County Peer Review Mechanism is a self-assessment mechanism that focuses on improving good governance in the country. The report we generate will be used by other governors around the country to learn the best practices and be encouraged about issues governance and provision of services to citizens,” said Dr. Samori Okwiya when he paid a courtesy call on the Nyeri governor.
The evaluation was conducted in 11 other counties of Mombasa, Siaya, Machakos, Kakamega, Elgeyo – Marakwet, Trans-Nzoia, Bungoma, Vihiga, Makueni, Nandi and Busia.
During the focus group discussions conducted by the secretariat, Nyeri residents highlighted the construction of the Naro Moru Level 4 hospital, the construction and rehabilitation of markets by the county government as one of notable achievements.
This was followed closely by the annual county paid internship programme which provides opportunities for 200 graduates to get work experience from the county departments.
On the education front, the residents commended the executive for committing more than 800 Early Childhood and Development Education teachers to permanent and pensionable terms, a move which has seen increased enrollment of ECDE learners from 18,000 to 22,000. Similarly, the residents said the introduction of the Elimu Bursary had immensely enhanced the retention of learners in learning institutions and reduced school drop-out rates.
Other notable achievements highlighted by the respondents include the improved provision of water services where the county increased accessibility to clean water by 21 per cent.
“Around 271 kilometres of pipeline have been constructed benefitting around 35,000 households in terms of accessibility to clean water. 37 new boreholes were also constructed and 11 were rehabilitated during the period further increasing access to water. On the overall there was increased access to portable water from 57 per cent to 78 per cent,” says the assessment in part.
On agriculture, the residents appreciated the farmer field extension approach by the county government where local farmers receive free training on improved agricultural practices.
On governance, the APRM Kenya Secretariat noted that the county had developed 17 Physical and Land Use plans which had been adopted by the County Assembly. The secretariat noted that; “The adoption of the land use plans by the County Assembly shows the synergy between the Executive and the Assembly.”
On the converse, the secretariat noted low levels of youth involvement by the County government in development issues. There was also minimal collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the public with secretariat’s eminent personality Amb Rukia Ahmed Subow calling for more programmes to foster collaboration and enhance information sharing.
“We want to see the youth being involved in every sector because they are the people who can be easily manipulated. There is a need to engage them in sports and ICT so that they enjoy services just like any other citizen,” said Amb Subow.
“We also need to sit together and come up with a programme where the public can work together and share information with the police,” she added.
Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga attributed the achievements to public engagements where the executive implements projects based on the needs of the residents.
Kahiga also noted that the assessment would create a matrix which would guide his administration and other counties in improving service delivery.
“Receiving the report is not a walk in the park because you anticipate anything to come out of the assessment. We are glad that we have received encouraging news and some reports on where we need to improve but generally it tells us that the citizens of Nyeri are 57 per cent happy about what we are doing. We are in the third cycle, more counties should be brought on board so that we get feedback from the citizens on how things are,” said Kahiga.
By Wangari Mwangi
