Two Principal Secretaries have hailed the Government for ongoing development projects in Luo Nyanza, which they said had lagged behind in development for a long time.
Medical Services Principal Secretary (PS) Dr. Fredrick Ouma Oluga revealed that the Government’s investment in the health sector in Kisumu alone, including the ongoing construction of a new Kisumu County Referral Hospital stood at Sh1.7 billion.
He said the facility would strengthen healthcare delivery in the county and provide a platform for residents enrolled under the Social Health Authority (SHA) to access services without financial hardship.
“Under the Social Health Authority (SHA), registration here in Kisumu is now at 75 per cent, and we continue to work with the county government to fill that gap because we want to make sure that every single person goes to a hospital without financial challenges or without thinking about how they will pay for healthcare services,” Oluga said.
Dr. Oluga also cited the Sh.4 billion investment in Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH), saying the intervention had saved the county Sh1.6 billion, which could now be channeled towards employing more health workers and developing other hospitals.
“We have innovated Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital through the directive of His Excellency the President and given the hospital Sh.4 billion. This has now saved the county Sh1.6 billion, which they can now use to employ other workers and also build other hospitals,” he said.
Dr. Oluga underlined the Government’s ongoing development and empowerment initiatives in Kisumu County during a colourful women empowerment event graced by First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto, who is also the founder of Joyful Women Organization (JOYWO).
Joyful Women Organization (JOYWO), founded in 2009, is a women’s economic empowerment organisation that promotes financial inclusion through table banking.
The organisation brings women together in savings groups where they pool resources, access credit and invest in income-generating activities.
Oluga said the investments extended beyond healthcare, citing the extension of the railway to Kisumu and programmes targeting women and youth.
He said 8,800 young people from Kisumu County had benefited from the Nyota programme through business support, recognition of prior learning and experience-based training aimed at improving their employment prospects.
Principal Secretary (PS) for the State Department for Children Services Ms. Carren Achieng’ Ageng’o commended First Lady Rachel Ruto for taking the Government’s women empowerment agenda to the grassroots through Joyful Women Organization (JOYWO).
Ageng’o said JOYWO was helping advance commitments contained in the Kenya Kwanza Women’s Charter signed by then-presidential candidate William Ruto in June 2022.
The Charter pledged to economically empower women through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) Model, including increased access to affordable financing and opportunities for women-owned enterprises.
It specifically committed to providing financial and capacity-building support to women-led cooperatives, chamas, merry-go-rounds and table-banking initiatives, while protecting women from predatory lending practices.
The Charter further pledged to increase budgetary allocations to the Women Enterprise Fund, Uwezo Fund and National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), while making access to the funds easier and faster for more women. It also proposed allocating half of the planned Sh.50 billion Hustlers Fund to women-owned enterprises.
“I have seen the impact of Joyful Women. At the end of the year, women enjoy dividends as their funds grow,” Ageng’o said, urging more women in Kisumu County to join the organisation and benefit from its financial literacy, inclusion and management programmes.
She said empowering women was critical to strengthening families, adding that the First Lady’s work through Mama Doing Good and JOYWO was complementing President Ruto’s commitment to women’s economic empowerment.
Ageng’o also highlighted ongoing Government projects in Kisumu, including the construction of Kisian and Holo markets, which she said would provide women traders with modern spaces to conduct business with dignity.
She cited other projects, including affordable housing hostels at Maseno University and Riat College, ICT hubs where the Government is constructing 1,500 ICT hubs across the country, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and road construction across the county.
The PS noted that five ICT hubs had been launched in Nyakach Sub-County the previous month, saying the facilities would create employment opportunities for young people.
Ageng’o also expressed appreciation to President Ruto for appointing her as Principal Secretary for Children Services, describing the appointment as a significant honour for her area of Kisumu County.
The PSs said the various projects and programmes demonstrated the Government’s commitment to taking development and economic opportunities to the grassroots.
Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili, on his part, said collaboration between the national and county governments was essential in ensuring that development programmes reached residents, particularly women, and created opportunities for them to improve their livelihoods.
Dr. Owili said this collaboration between the national and county governments was essential in bridging gaps in service delivery and advancing development across the county.
Owili also conveyed the county’s appreciation to President William Ruto for his continued visits to Kisumu and the wider region to launch development projects, saying the initiatives were contributing to the transformation of the county and the region.
“He has been here to launch numerous development projects, quite a number of them that are bringing the change that we desire as a region, change that we desire as a county, and change that will take us to the Singapore region,” he said.
He said the projects were bringing the desired change to Kisumu and would help advance the development aspirations of residents.
The development projects highlighted by the Principal Secretaries form part of the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which seeks to drive economic growth by expanding opportunities for ordinary Kenyans, particularly through investments in agriculture, healthcare, housing, the digital economy, the creative industry and small businesses.
In the region, the agenda is being implemented through a range of projects and programmes targeting improved public services and increased economic opportunities. The Government has also linked initiatives supporting women and youth, including access to affordable financing, markets, skills and digital services, to its broader efforts to stimulate livelihoods and strengthen household incomes.
By Mabel Keya-Shikuku and Dorothy Pamella
