A reshuffle is looming in the Kakamega County government as Governor Wycliffe Oparanya attempts by to improve services.
The impending reorganisation follows what Mr Oparanya termed as poor performance by officials whom he accused of frustrating his development agenda.
The county boss added that some officials have taken advantage of his absence from Kakamega to engage in personal businesses instead focusing on providing services.
He said his election as the chairman of the Council of Governors and the Lake Region Economic Bloc has kept him away from the office “making it difficult for me to monitor what is happening on the ground”.
During a meeting with World Bank bureaucrats in Nairobi on Monday, the governor was told that Kakamega would lose out Sh390 million meant for urban development because his officials would not meet the July 31 deadline to submit the required reports.
“The extension of the deadline was granted only after I pleaded with the World Bank team. This was the second time we had failed to submit the report and it was embarrassing to me as the chairman of the Council of Governors,” Mr Oparanya said at the county headquarters.
He called for an audit of the county departments.
“I will not be there to protect those executives and chief officers who fail [in] the audit queries. We must be accountable to the residents of Kakamega County,” he said.
Mr Oparanya spoke during the swearing-in of the new County Public Service Board which is chaired by Ms Catherine Omweno.
The county boss said he developed a structure that would ensure a smooth flow of reports from departments “but I am being let down by my officials”.
“I gave them jobs yet all they do is report to work in the morning and hang their coats on the seats and go out to engage in personal matters,” the governor said.
He directed executives and chief officers to ensure contracts are only awarded to financially healthy firms.
“There should be proper coordination between the Finance department and the other organs before contracts are awarded to ensure payments are made promptly. We want to avoid pending bills,” Mr Oparanya added.
A head recent count of county workers indicated that a large number secured jobs using fake documents. The governor said such employees will be summarily dismissed.
He said no new projects will be launched before the ongoing ones are completed.
Mr Oparanya said his main focus before leaving office is providing locals with clean water.
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