Nyamira County Governor Amos Nyaribo has commissioned a Geographic Information System (GIS) lab worth Sh30 million to capture data on various development activities in Nyamira County
The Governor said the GIS would be handy because it would enable officers collect data on various development projects and activities going on in the county, analyze the status of these activities and display rather complex information on easily comprehensible forms of maps, tables and even three-dimensional simulations for everyone to see, read and understand.
“This sophisticated system was installed at a designated GIS lab here at our county headquarters, courtesy of the Food Agricultural Organization (FAO) for Sh30 million to assist and strengthen our county to make evidence-based decisions in all sectors where we are undertaking development projects and activities,” Governor Nyaribo said.
“Installation of GIS will help County Executive Committee Members (CECM) and their directors monitor field operations and other county activities like revenue collection within the administrative units and markets, land rates, and map out other public institutions and entities for easy planning and budgeting,” said Nyaribo.
The county boss appreciated FAO’s initiative to assist them because the previous manual system they were using to collect the county’s data could be manipulated all the time and was therefore not accurate. This led the county’s top management to make erroneous decisions like under budgeting due to lack of accurate data from key development projects in the county.
FAO’s Assistant Country Representative Mr. William Hamisi said the GIS technology would make it easier for the county to monitor and manage its operations particularly in improving transparency and accountability at the same time enhance efficiency of delivering development project intended to improve the livelihoods of the people of Nyamira County.
“FAO has already digitized land use in seven counties in the country and particularly in Gusii land where land fragmentation has become uneconomical. Nyamira County will be assisted by GIS to plan these already diminished land sizes and still be economically sustaining. We shall train select officers in each county department on how GIS operates so they equally become conversant with this tech system,” Hamisi stated.
The CECM for Trade, Mr. Benard Maina confirmed that a spatial lands plan and mapping of public institutions has already been done and would be very handy in operationalizing the GIS seamlessly.
By Deborah Bochere
