The National government is committed to working with county governments to promote standards of living for Kenyans through coordinated planning of development programmes and projects.
Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, Ababu Namwamba said the transformation of the country will be achieved through joint efforts by the two levels of government to prioritize projects that directly generate employment opportunities as well as grow the economy.
Namwamba made the remarks today during a public dissemination forum of the fourth medium term plan held at a Kakamega hotel. He said the Constitution makes it mandatory for county and national governments to cooperate in the performance and exercise of their functions and mandates.
Namwamba said the National Government has committed to complete a number of projects initiated by Kakamega County Government but stalled for lack of resources. The CS cited Bukhungu Stadium, which he noted will be completed by the national government at a cost of over Sh700 million as well as the Kakamega County Level Six hospital which was initiated by the county but also stalled midway.
He observed that the Kakamega County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) of 2023-2027 has a deficit of Sh41.1 billion and that it was imperative for the national government to help the county achieve the desired projects. “Let’s work together and support the government despite our political affiliations,” the CS who was accompanied by the Principal Secretary in charge of Higher Education Dr. Beatrice Inyangala said.
Dr. Inyangala highlighted a number of developments that the national government has initiated in the region and hailed Kakamega County for aligning her CIDP to the MTP IV. Stakeholders at the forum asked the national government to help complete all stalled projects and expand the Kakamega airstrip to an airport in order to spur the local economy.
Namwamba said the Medium-Term Plan (MTP) IV is a five-year Government plan running for the period 2023-2027, being the last of the five-year plans of the Kenya Vision 2030.