Kakamega county partners with USAID to boost development

Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa addresses the Press after signing an MoU with Practical Action and Regen Organics to operationalise the Sh1.2billion Regen Organic fertilizer manufacturing plant in Mumias West Constituency. [File, Standard]

Kakamega county government has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other stakeholders to boost development and minimise duplication of activities.

Speaking during the launch of USAID Partnership Forum at Golf Hotel, Governor Fernandes Barasa emphasized the importance of this collaboration highlighting the county's commitment to address resource gap in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), which stands at nearly Sh40 billion.

The governor announced that by working closely with USAID and its partners, the county aims to streamline development initiatives and ensure that resources are utilised effectively to benefit the community.

“Soon we are going to commission three municipalities, in Malava, Butere and Matunda. One of the areas of collaboration is to have our partners supporting us in improving the infrastructure of sewerage because you cannot be a city without a proper sewerage system,” said Barasa.

He said he is looking forward to more collaboration and support from USAID on infrastructure development like sewerage and sanitation as Kakamega seeks to become the sixth city in the country.        

“This partnership is expected to enhance various sectors, including health, education, and infrastructure, ultimately improving the quality of life for residents,” he said.
USAID Kenya and East Africa Deputy Mission Director Bert Ubamadu noted that the US government has had a partnership with Kenya for over 60 years to support development projects.

Ubamadu revealed that USAID works very closely with the Governor Barasa’s administration to improve health outcomes, literacy programmes for Grades 1 to 3, water and sanitation as well as in the Agriculture sector.

“The bottom-line is that USAID believes in a partnership of what we call localisation, which means we try to work where the people are,” he said.

He said USAID is working to improve cooperatives and support improvement of health for the orphans and vulnerable children, tackling malaria among various interventions.

“We would really want to thank the governor and his people of the tremendous collaboration that we have been doing here in Kakamega county and we are looking forward to work together, to co-design our programmes, co-create, co-implement, to monitor, evaluate and look at the best practices to what we do for the people of Kakamega,” he said.

Ubamadu disclosed that Regen Organics which was established in Mumias is operational and producing fertiliser for Kakamega and neighboring counties.

“Through support from the USAID Ubora Mashinani activity, the county government and Kakamega development trust have developed a soon to be launched public participation policy,” he noted.

In July, Kakamega was among the counties listed alongside Isiolo, Kilifi, Mombasa and Nakuru to benefit from a USAID programme that is aimed at enhancing healthcare. The initiative focuses on closing gaps in devolved health service delivery.

Speaking during the launch of the initiative in Nairobi, John Mutua, Chief of Party at The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), explained that this five-year project aims to improve health services by addressing key governance issues.

“This USAID-funded programme, implemented by the Institute of Economic Affairs together with our partners, Concern Worldwide and Development Initiative, identified three key systemic governance issues affecting service delivery,” said Mutua.

IEA-Kenya, is the key implementing agency for the programme, which will be anchored on better financing and spending, increased oversight and accountability, and consistent health policies.