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A wealthy and vibrant county offering high quality services to its residents County Mission To improve the welfare of the people of Kakamega county through formulation and implementation of all-inclusive multi-sectoral policies.
Kakamega County is one of the 47 counties in the Republic of Kenya. It borders Vihiga County to the south, Siaya County to the West, Bungoma County to the North and Nandi County to the East. The county covers an area of 3050.3 Km2 (Kakamega CDP, 2013). The altitude of the county is between 1,240 metres and 2,000 metres above sea level. Demographic characteristics According to the 2009 Kenya Population and Housing and Census (KPHC) report, the total population in the county is 1,660,651 consisting of 797,112 males and 863,539 females. In 2012 this population was projected to be 1,789,989.
It is also expected to rise to 1,929,401 and 2,028,324 by 2015 and 2017 respectively. The labour force is projected to be 889,552 in 2012 representing 49.7% of the county population. This consists of 471,779 females and 417,773 males. In 2015, the labour force is projected to be 958,834 persons and projected to be 1,007,994 persons by 2017. According to the Population and Housing Census of 2009, the unemployed population in the county was 196,938. This implies that majority of the people in the labour force are not gainfully employed. People employed by sector were: 756,711 in the agriculture sector, 34,052 in self-employment, and 2,554 in wage employment, while 54 were in urban self-employment. Sectors which form a substantial number of self-employed persons include the Jua Kali, cottage industries and boda boda. In agriculture, self-employed persons engaged mostly in land ploughing, weeding, bush clearing, planting, harvesting and post-harvest handling.
Others are engaged in mining, forestry, brick making and building construction. Land availability and use The two main ecological zones in the county are the Upper Medium (UM) and the Lower Medium (LM). The UM covers the central and southern parts of the county wherel intensive farming of maize, bean and horticulture is carried out by small scale farmers with a section of the population practicing large scale farming. The Lower Medium (LM) zone, covers a major portion of the northern part of the county where the main economic activity is sugarcane farming. The average land holding size in the county is 0.57ha.
Generally Butere Mumias sub county, Kakamega East, North and South sub counties have lower average land holdings as compared to the upper parts of Lugari Sub County. This land subdivision due to the high population in the sub counties, other than Lugari, is considered to be uneconomical. It is estimated that in 2012 only 38.6% of the population had title deeds for the land they occupy. This may be attributed to the lengthy adjudication processes and the land tenure system. In the county cases of landlessness within the county are few since most people live on their ancestral land. There are a few cases of internally displaced people as a result of the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
The main crops grown in Kakamega County are sugarcane, maize, bean, cassava, finger millet and sorghum. Maize forms the staple food for the county. Cattle, is reared by 53.2% of the population while 22.2%, 11.2%, and 1.6% of the population rear sheep, goats and pigs respectively. Chicken rearing is pre-dominant with 92% of the households keeping them while 0.7% keep donkeys. About 19.15 million litres of milk are produced annually while 364,000 kg of beef is also produced per year. The annual rainfall range is between 2214.1mm and 1280.1 mm per year. This rainfall is evenly distributed all year round, with March and July receiving heavy rains while December and February receives light rains. The temperatures range is between 180 C and 290C.
The hottest months are November, December, January and February. Other months have relatively higher and similar temperatures. The county has an average humidity of 67%. Kakamega County has a natural forest covering Shinyalu and Lurambi while other farm forests have been integrated with agriculture. It has one gazetted and one non-gazetted forest which occupy 188.7ha, and 26.5ha respectively.
The gazetted natural forest covers an approximate area of 188.7 km2. The non-gazetted forests cover an approximate area of 26.5 km2. Commercial forests are found in the northern parts of the county. The county mines 592,941 tons of murram, 278,000 tons of sand, 51,968 tons of ballast, and 148,920 tons of hard-core every year. About 80,271 people in the county are engaged in mining and related activities. There is also a section of the community that is engaged in small scale gold mining. These forests which are home to indigenous trees, large species of birds, butterflies, monkeys, snakes, baboons, hares, and rabbits also provide a tourism attraction in the region, and research sites for a number of institutions in the country. Other attractive activities include bull fighting and cock fighting.
The crying stone in Elesi and the preserved ancient Wanga Kingdom in Mumias attract a number of people to the county.
HE Hon Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya, EGH, The Governor, Kakamega County
Governor Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya was resoundingly elected as the first Governor of County Government of Kakamega during the elections of 4th March 2013. He was the Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 in government of President Mwai Kibaki. Oparanya holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting option) and an MBA (Finance) from the University of Nairobi and is currently in the process of completing his PhD (Economics) at the University of Dar- es- Salaam, Tanzania. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) as well as numerous other professional bodies. Hon.Oparanya has 23 years experience in local and international Finance Management, Audit and Business Consultancy.
As the former Member of Parliament for Butere constituency, his area of jurisdiction had one of the best Constituency Development Fund record in the country. It is on this remarkable streak that the Governor rode all the way to victory gaining more votes across the board compared with the senator, women representative and other politicians who contested for posistions in the county. positions contested for. Kakamega people demonstrated a lot of trust in him and showed that he is capable to deliver as the first Governor of this great county.
‘Now that work has begun, I will endeavor to implement my manifesto to reward my people’s overwhelming trust,” he said.
About 56 per cent of the people of Kakamega County are poor. While it has good climate, reliable rainfall, good soils and manpower, the county still reels in high poverty levels. An estimated 84 per cent of the population in the county relies on agriculture as their mainstay.
“In the short term (10 years), we are going to focus on agriculture by building structures in the sector. Agroindustry will drive the region’s industrialization which is why starting next financial year, we will pump 10 per cent of the budget into agriculture,”
The governor’s plan for the sugar industry is to revive it while at the same time ensuring that the county diversifies its agriculture. The Governor has met the Managing Directors of West Kenya Sugar Company, Mumias Sugar Company and Butali Sugar Mills Company to discuss the way forward for the sugar industry. Cane takes 16 months before harvest yet families have to survive in between. The Governor indents to establish ways of helping farmers get alternative income for sustenance through diversification.
Dairy, horticulture and fish farming will be given particular focus. Coffee grown in Lugari and Likuyiani will be key to empowering farmers alongside tea, which is grown in Shinyalu, Ikolomani and Khwisero. “Employment is very critical in contributing towards alleviation of poverty. We shall develop strong structures in agriculture to deliver employment opportunities,” County Polytechnics will be equipped, profiled and rebranded as the first step towards promoting skills acquisition among the youth. Hon. Oparanya’s government will seek to train the youth on not only acquiring competitive skills in the job market but to develop their capacity to create employment.
Foreign investors from China have expressed willingness to support the government in this area. In the long run, capacity will be developed progressively to the national polytechnics upwards to university level to ensure youth possess the highest quality of technical skills. To underscore the importance of systems to promote commerce within the county, every sub county will have at least one modern market. The informal sector run by small-scale traders will be formalized and business owners will be much easier to track. This will not only ensure focused efforts when it comes to giving them training on basic business skills, it will enable them to stand a better chance at acquiring bank loans.
“We are straight away starting with a record 14 markets, one in every sub -county and two in Kakamega Town because of its size. The long-term plan is to relocate all the markets from the CBD in order to maintain the town clean,”To stimulate the economy at every corner of the county, the government will also support the cottage industry in every constituency right from furniture business to the juakali sector. These efforts are targeted towards alleviation of high unemployment rates. Soft loans from the county ministry of trade and affordable loans from banks will be given to traders as credit to start and grow their enterprises. Sub- county, ward and village administrators will be used to ensure that we profile all the youth in the county. We will be able to ascertain their individual abilities, level of education and what they can do for the county.
Infrastructure development within the county will take up Kshs. 1.8 billion of the budget. The county will also engage with the national government to improve the road network. The construction of the Kisumu-Webuye road has begun and we shall partner with the government to ensure the dual carriageway is replete with street lighting. Kakamega town has transformed in the past three months with the streets looking clean and well lit. Oparanya launched a program to clean the town even as he instituted measures to ensure that all the towns in the county follow suit and are sustained in cleanliness. A beautification program will follow where flowers will be planted, grass lawns manicured and solar powered street lights installed to improve the aesthetics of the major urban areas. CCTV surveillance will be installed in the CBDs to improve the security system of thetowns. In line with Schedule 4 of the constitution, Oparanya’s government will engage the police to manage traffic within the towns.
The main challenges facing his government is developing a human resource composed of staff who are willing to work hard to deliver services to people of Kakamga County. “The culture of former municipal council workers has been very different. Weak financial controls in the past and untrained employees, some of whom have been working for over 20 years without training is something we must tackle,”
Oparanya contends that expectations are high and his government is expected to come up with solutions to problems affecting all his people. The transition period has not made things any easier since money for devolution has not been availed by treasury on time. Officers of the defunct provincial administration have not yet integrated the idea of county governments well and there exists a strained relationship with the county government. “Communication has been very poor and knowing what is happening from the national government has been impossible. Devolved functions have not all been accorded to the county government because of inexplicable delays,” He says the suspicions that governors were extravagant and lavish spenders are not true for all governors and looks forward to promoting a healthy relationship with other elected leaders. Already, a forum that brings together the governors of Vihiga, Bungoma, Busia, Trans Nzoia and Kakamega is geared at ensuring that development is achieved for the region as a whole.
At the end of his first five-year term, Hon. Oparanya is confident that all the Millennium Development Goals will have been realized. “All the Sub- county hospitals will be very well equipped and the referral hospital will be refurbished and adequately equipped. We shall employ more nurses and clinical officers,”
“By 2015, hunger will have been eradicated in the county completely. HIV, maternal and child health will also be catered for in my reform agenda in the sector.”