Why health and infrastructure are county's top priorities

Kisumu has struggled to claim its city status, but with devolution, the lakeside region that was once regarded as a 'sleeping lion' is slowly waking up.

Buoyed by a population of 969,520 people, the county government is rushing to stump up its authority and provide the long needed services as well as employment to the residents.

The county government is struggling to rebuild the health system to meet growing demand and ease disease burden in the region.

Health is the county government's top priority. In this year's budget, the county government set aside a whopping Sh2.3 billion towards the sector, taking up the county's lion's share.

Kisumu is one of the leading counties with the highest number of people infected with HIV/AIDS, according to new Ministry of Health statistics.

This year's Kenya HIV Prevention Revolution Road Map, a government document on guiding the country in tackling HIV/Aids, indicates the county falls third after Nairobi and Homa Bay, with with 113,000 living with the disease.

The county which borders the Lake Victoria, and has many other water bodies, is also malaria endemic, with prevalence cases reaching as high as 38 per cent.

According to 2013 weekly data conducted in health facilities within the county, some 500, 000 cases were recorded.

''In this region, the persistent infection has sustained an all year round transmission of the disease which is fuelled by the abundance of mosquito vectors,'' said James Macharia, the Cabinet Secretary for Health during this year's World Malaria Day in Kisumu.

In the wake of introduction of free maternity services, it is no doubt that Kisumu County that has had grave statistics on maternal and child deaths due to poor access to health facilities has been hit by health personnel deficit.

According to the four-year survey by Millennium Cities Initiatives (MCI) conducted two years ago, 15 per cent of infants died within 28 days of their birthday with 123 out of 1,000 children dying at their infancy. The under-five mortality rate is 220 per 1,000 live births.

The county government last week unveiled the upgrade of Kombewa District Hospital Maternity wing in Seme, at a cost of Sh17million to meet the demand for maternity services in the region.

Key to the economy of East and Central African countries, Kisumu is also relying on infrastructural development to boost trade. It is due to this that the county government allocated Sh1.1 billion for infrastructure in this financial year.

For many years, the region has had one of the worst road networks, making it hard for products to reach markets in time. Known for fish production, lack of fish processing plants coupled with the poor condition of roads has dealt a great blow to the fishing industry.

It is in this respect that the county administration is currently upgrading roads in the region to cover 450 kilometres. So far, over 380 kilometres of roads has already been done.

The initiative is expected to open up the area for business and unlock its potential as an economic hub in Western Kenya region.

Kisumu International Airport is also witnessing massive expansion to cater for cargo and international flights.
Even so, some stakeholders in the business sector have raised alarm that the airport risks turning into a white elephant due to under-utilisation.

"The airport to date lacks some essential facilities like cold storage which will encourage export of fresh produce, fish and meat to the neighbouring countries," says Federation of Kenya Employers, Western Kenya Branch Chairman Vinod Patel.

Added to allocations from the Central Government, the county further banks hope in a Sh4 billion project, funded by the French Development Agency to give the lakeside city a modern look through a programme dubbed Kisumu Urban Project.

The project that was unveiled in 2006 has faced major hiccups especially alleged corruption in the defunct municipal council.
Set to end in 2016, the initiative will involve demolition of informal settlements to create space for better housing units.

Fear by some residents over the planned overhaul has also derailed the initiative that proponents say will be an icing on the cake of a city that is experiencing rapid growth.

Some property owners have faulted the move, saying they would lose in the event but urged Ranguma to develop the idle lands in the county first.

''How can they purport to give us ultimatum yet the government has vast idle land that needs to be developed. This is where we call home and will not go anywhere,'' said Joel Otieno, a businessman.

Although Kisumu is witnessing rapid population growth, rural - urban migration has resulted into land neglect, raising the poverty index in the region.

The county government in April rolled out mechanised farming by unveiling 23 tractors in bid to improve food security, a bid that as offered hope to most farmers in the region. It further distributed 57.6 tonnes of new rice variety and 40 tonnes of sorghum seed to farmers.

"We expect bumper harvest of 36,000 bags of rice and 130,000 bags of sorghum after residents cultivated 960 hectares of rice and 3,400 hectares of sorghum during the planting season," says the county executive member for Agriculture Stephen Orot.

Another pillar to the region's economic growth is sugar cane farming, with more than 50,000 residents relying on the economic activity. However, the major sugar industries that have kept the region afloat economically for centuries are threatened with extinction, occasioned by influx of cheap sugar entering the market.

This is a double loss to the county that only relies on sugar cane farming as the only cash crop after the death of cotton industries more than a decade ago.

Currently, there are four sugar industries in the region which include Muhoroni, Chemelil, Miwani and Kibos and Allied industries. The latter is however privately owned.

"We plan to revamp operations at the sugar industries and make a turnaround in the sector. Negotiations with the national Government on the ownership of the sugar industries are at an advanced stage," Ranguma confirmed.

As at June, Muhoroni owed farmers Sh270 million while Chemelil Sh300 million. Both Muhoroni and Chemelil Companies have 114,000 bags (50Kgs) of sugar worth Sh410, 400,000 in their stores that are unable to sell.

Kisumu Senator Anyang' Nyong'o says there is need for the Government to revamp operations within the sugar industries to benefit locals.

''It is the duty of the County Government to protect our industries. We are calling on them to speedily move to address the crisis,'' he says.

Nyong'o believes devolution will breathe a fresh life to development of the region, saying "this is why we are pushing the national government to increase its allocations to counties".

With proper county legislation and cooperation between the governor and MPs from the region, the senator is confident the county government will realise its development agenda, owing to the county's great endowment with natural resources.

In the education sector, the county administration has established County Education Fund to benefit needy students. So far, 8,112 students benefited from Sh35 million.

The county is currently grappling with Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) that is a devolved function.
The county government has committed Sh75 million to build 70 ECDE classrooms and employ 70 ECDE teachers in this financial year.

The county has 45,039 in primary and 13,257 in secondary schools.

"We want the county government to speed up the deployment of ECDE teachers. None has been employed and we wonder who has been taking care of our children in schools," says Eunice Akoth, a resident.

o boost power generation, the Kenya Power Company has rolled out a Sh100 million project to relieve the county from constant power outages.

Dubbed ''Operation Boresha Umeme Kisumu'', the project is aimed at improving power supply in the region by conducting master repair works on existing power sub stations, extension of power network, creation of additional transformation and distribution capacity as well as creating new dedicated lines to industrial customers and critical services such as hospitals.

The county government is further set to embark on solar generation project to boost small and medium enterprises in the region.

The project will see an additional 20 megawatts of electricity power plant established in the region to provide alternative energy to run the industries.

''We have witnessed constant power rationing occasioned by reduction in water levels in hydroelectric power stations. The project will be reliable, since it will be powered by solar energy,'' says Ambrose Anguka, the PV Tech Company's Managing Director.

The county prides itself of hydro-electric power plant- Sondu Miriu that produces 60 megawatt and an extension at Sangoro hydro-power project which produces 21 megawatts.

To boost the tourism sector, among the strategies employed by the county government include mapping all tourist sites as well as marketing them to tap revenue.

A bill to form the county tourism development board to re-energise the hospitality industry in the region is currently in the county assembly. The county government has allocated Sh224 million towards the function in this financial year.

"Sh70 million will be used for tourism research and development and Sh10 million to develop community based tourism products in each sub-county," says the county's tourism committee chairman, Jacktone Onunga.

Some of the products targeted are Kit Mikayi, Lwanda Magere, Kadibo beaches, Abindu, Dunga Beach, Got Mesa and Kajulu caves.