In his address to the 2nd Kisii County Assembly during the official opening on Tuesday afternoon, Governor Ongwae said his development plan will be anchored on a nine point agenda set out in his re-election manifesto.
Governor Ongwae arrived at the Assembly shortly after 2pm and was received by Speaker David Kombo before inspecting a guard of honour mounted by the County Enforcement team.
During his 40 minute address, the Governor stressed the need for the two arms of County Government, to work harmoniously to actualize devolution as envisaged in the constitution since neither of these two arms could function without the other.
“I once again congratulate you on election to the house. The people have bestowed upon us the onerous responsibility of driving the development agenda to actualize their aspirations. Irrespective of our party affiliation, lets work for the people and from my experience, I have learnt that it is wise to promote dialogue rather than squabbling in resolving issues, particularly in matters of public interest,” said Ongwae.
Citing Article 176 of the Constitution which establishes 47 County Governments in Kenya comprised of a County Executive and a County Assembly, the Governor reminded honorable members that they were charged with the responsibility of making laws necessary for effective performance of functions outlined in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.
“During the first term, many counties got embroiled in wrangles between the two arms of government impeding smooth implementation of development programmes. I thank members of the First Kisii County Assembly for their contribution through legislation and working harmoniously with the County Executive. This is the spirit we must emulate,” he added.
The Governor took members through the 16 functions to be discharged by the reorganized County Executive.
“For efficient service delivery, we have split some of the departments to create 16 Divisions to be headed by Chief Officers. This is because we realized that some functions within the 10 departments have not received the necessary attention in terms of resources allocation thus impacting negatively on service delivery,” he said.
He announced plans by the County to purchase a new fire engine, five additional refuse collection tractors and trailers and uniforms for enforcement officers.
Deputy Governor Joash Maangi was present during the ceremony.
