West Pokot County Government now enjoys a full County Public Service Board (CPSB) after falling short of one member for over five years after resignation of one of them in 2017.
During the swearing in ceremony of Richard Serei as the new CPSB member on Friday, West Pokot Governor, Simon Kachapin, regretted that the position remained vacant for such a long time, accusing the former regime of being inconsiderate since filling of such a position does not require, so much logistics and budgetary constraints.
According to the provisions of the County Government’s Management Act 2013, the CPSB should have a membership of seven, but it was working with less one member.
Kachapin hailed the implementation of the 2010 Constitution, noting that West Pokot County has reaped big since the advent of devolution.
“As the country celebrates its 10th Anniversary since devolution took shape, as a county we are proud of the achievements so far attained and more are in the looming. For instance, we now have a huge infrastructure base and our urban centres have grown immensely. We must hail devolution since West Pokot County has benefitted a lot as we mark a decade under the new administrative system. You can confirm the kind of infrastructure established since 2013 to date,” highlighted the Governor.
Meanwhile, Kachapin has taken a swipe at both elected and appointed leaders in the region, urging them to prioritise servant leadership rather than engaging in premature succession politics.
He observed that there is a clique of leaders who are fond of trading in political talks at the expense of working for the wananchi who entrusted them with leadership roles.
“Failing to play within the mandates that made one to be trusted into a public office is a form of betrayal. You must be seeing some politicians, so vocal but when asked about what they have done while they are in office, they shy off,” reiterated the Governor.
The Governor expressed his commitment to serving the residents for the second time, promising that his legacy projects are there even if he handed over power to another administration, after serving the inaugural devolution term.
“I will serve this broken second term and leave for another person when my time comes. What I wish to tell leaders in the region is that let them offer services to the people so that they can be remembered for the good things,” he urged.
He appealed to the Execute and the County Government Public Service Board, to exercise integrity, as they work for betterment of the County.
By Richard Muhambe
