The survey, which coincides with
the second anniversary of the advent of devolution, was conducted by Infotrak Limited, a local pollster and research company.
the second anniversary of the advent of devolution, was conducted by Infotrak Limited, a local pollster and research company.
The
respondents, who took part in the survey conducted between last
December and February, were asked to assess the performance of their
counties in the delivery of services in the key devolved functions such
as provision of health services, roads, transport and public works,
early childhood education, agriculture and prevention of pollution.
Machakos emerged as the overall winner, with a total score of 61.5 per cent in the poll that surveyed some 28,000 people. Machakos has been ranked as the best performing county
government in a new survey that measured public perception on the
success of devolution.
Coming a close second was Bungoma County, with a rating of 60.3 per cent, followed by Vihiga, in third place.
Others
that ranked highly among the 47 counties were Bomet, Kwale, Elgeyo
Marakwet, Taita-Taveta, Kisii, West Pokot, Kakamega, Kericho, Murang’a,
Nandi, Uasin Gishu and Mombasa.
Overall, counties that
had implemented highly visible projects scored highly. Conversely,
counties where governors and members of county assemblies were involved
in political wrangles, and where MCAs have been threatening to impeach
governors, performed poorly.
In terms of regions, all
the counties in Nyanza, with the exception of Kisii — did not feature in
the top 15. Only early this week, Kisii Governor James Ongwae unveiled
the county flag, seal and emblem, becoming the third governor to do so.
WRANGLES
In
central Kenya only Murang’a County features among the top 15 best
performing counties. Some counties such as Kiambu and Embu, have been
rocked by wrangles between MCAs and governors, while in Nyeri, the
Governor, Mr Nderitu Gachagua, was away for treatment overseas for about
three months.
Counties in Rift Valley (five), Western (three) and Coast (three) regions dominated the top ranking.
Interestingly,
counties led by former top civil servants and individuals with
experience in managing public programmes ranked highly in the survey.
The Machakos Governor, Dr Alfred Mutua, was the government spokesman in
the Kibaki administration, while Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka served
as a Permanent Secretary in the same government, while the Vihiga
Governor, Mr Moses Akaranga, is a former a Cabinet minister.
The
Kisii, Taita-Taveta, Kakamega and Mombasa governors also served in
various capacities in previous governments, mostly as permanent
secretaries, Cabinet or assistant ministers.
In terms
of performance by sector, the survey ranked Bungoma County as the top
performer in agriculture, followed by Vihiga and Kisii.
The
other top performers were Busia, Machakos, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu,
Murang’a, West Pokot Elgeyo Marakwet, Bomet, Nandi, Kericho Migori and
Narok, in that order.
On this score, respondents were
specifically asked to rank counties on whether their governments had
made it easier for farmers to reach markets and sell their produce and
on whether food had become more available.
On health
services, Machakos was ranked the top performing county, followed by
Bomet, Kisii, Kwale, Nyeri, Elgeyo Marakwet, Bungoma, Taita-Taveta,
Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Murang’a, West Pokot, Migori, Samburu and
Kericho.
Respondents had been asked to state whether
their county governments had made it easier for them to get services
from public health institutions.
In education,
the best performer was Bungoma, followed by Vihiga, Machakos, Busia,
Kakamega, Taita, Mombasa, Kisii, West Pokot, Bomet, Elgeyo-Marakwet,
Kwale, Kirinyaga, Homa Bay and Uasin Gishu.
Respondents
were asked to score their counties on whether they had established
enough nursery schools and child care facilities and whether their
county governments had built new village polytechnics.
Machakos
also emerged top in the transport services category, followed closely
by Mombasa, Vihiga, Kisii, Kiambu, Nairobi, Bomet and Kericho, in that
order.
Those who took part in the survey were asked to
score the performance of their counties on the maintenance and
construction of rural roads.
