By Hellen Atieno
The County Government of Siaya is currently implementing the second phase of the Kenya Devolution Support Programme (KDSP II), which operates at two levels: Level 1 focuses on institutional strengthening, while Level 2 centres on investment projects.
During a workplan preparation session for Level 1 (institutional strengthening), Acting County Secretary Ms. Elizabeth Adongo urged the KDSP II Programme Implementation Unit to leverage existing tools and systems to align with the programme’s operations, rather than depending heavily on consultancy services.
She assured the team of maximum support and goodwill from the county leadership, emphasising that this backing would help address challenges encountered during the previous two financial years of programme implementation. Ms. Adongo expressed confidence that the county would secure the full allocation of Ksh. 352 million, which is dedicated to financing a priority project of the county’s choice.
She further encouraged the team to place greater emphasis on own-source revenue generation while prioritising key performance areas to be assessed in the next annual performance review. Describing the programme as highly practical, she noted that it should deliver tangible improvements in service delivery and public administration.
Ms. Adongo highlighted notable progress in human resource management, particularly the generation of Unique Personal Numbers (UPN) for all employees, including casual staff. This achievement is a critical assessment parameter that carries significant financial weight toward unlocking the Ksh. 352 million allocations. She also stressed the importance of cleaning and auditing the payroll in partnership with the national government.
“The KDSP II is anchored in making devolution work to ensure that results and systems deliver,” said Ms. Adongo.
She added that this year’s budget places strong emphasis on the completion of ongoing flagship and other priority projects.
Mr. George Aola, the Acting Programme Coordinator, urged the team to develop a high-quality workplan that fully complies with the programme’s operations manual. He also noted the need to train the County Programme Technical Committee—comprising County Chief Officers—and the County Programme Steering Committee, composed of County Executive Committee Members (CECMs), following recent changes in county leadership.