A delegation from Wajir County led by Governor Ahmed Ali Muktar is undertaking a three-day benchmarking exercise in Vihiga County, on the use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Vihiga Governor Dr.Wilber Ottichilo said the county was the first to implement the GIS technology in Kenya.
“I am among the first a few GIS experts in the African continent and so we have been able to use this technology in planning and decision making to fast track development,” he stated, during a press briefing at the county headquarters.
Dr. Ottichilo took the opportunity to welcome the team saying this would be an important interaction for the two counties to learn from each other and continue to collaborate.
He said since the inception of devolution, counties have made drastic steps with their respective development agenda and it is prudent for them to share and learn from each other.
On his part, Muktar said his administration has committed Sh14million for the implementation of the GIS Technology.
Muktar pointed out that they are ready to adopt the technology in order to boost socio-economic development of the residents.
Meanwhile, Vihiga has put in place a modern GIS lab that has seen other 16 counties come calling for benchmarking.
In the past, before Vihiga developed the system, counties were traveling to Singapore and the United States of America to learn the technology.
By Sammy Mwibanda
