Chiefs and assistant chiefs in Isiolo County are set to benefit from improved digital tools and skills aimed at strengthening grassroots administration and service delivery.
The officers drawn from the county’s six sub-counties have undergone training on data management and planning systems at the grassroots as the government prepares to equip National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) with digital gadgets.
The training is expected to enhance the ability of chiefs and their assistants to collect, record, analyze, and transmit information electronically, enabling them to provide timely and accurate reports on issues affecting their communities.
Cherab Deputy County Commissioner, Duncan Kikunga, said the training marked an important step in strengthening grassroots administration.
He said the digital gadgets would make it easier for Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs to carry out their duties in remote settlements and far-flung areas without delay and maintain a flow of information.
Kikunga called on residents to cooperate with local administrators by providing accurate information on developments and challenges affecting their communities.
He said information would help the government identify local needs, plan development projects, and respond more effectively to emerging challenges.
The DCC added that the government emphasized the importance of reliable data in planning and service delivery.
The administrator said the training is expected to enable grassroots administrators to capture information more accurately and provide decision-makers with a clearer picture of conditions across different communities.
A lead trainer, Mark Otieno of Lidatech Consultancy, which conducted the training, said the programme was designed to help administrators transition from traditional paper-based systems to digital platforms.
Otieno said Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs will have benefits, including faster reporting, improved record-keeping, easier retrieval of information, and more accurate transmission of data to other levels of government.
He noted that the move is significant for Isiolo because communities are widely dispersed and many residents live in remote pastoralist settlements.
Otieno added that the digital data collection could reduce delays in communicating urgent issues from the grassroots to decision-makers while giving government agencies access to more timely information for planning and response.
“The information gathered by grassroots administrators is expected to help the government better understand security concerns, population trends, socio-economic conditions, and emerging community needs,” he said.
Otieno also said the programme will support the monitoring of government projects and help authorities assess whether development interventions are addressing the needs of local communities.
By David Nduro
