Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko has said that the county will aim to increase its revenue collection mechanism to improve service delivery to its people. Ayacko, who spoke Wednesday during the State of the County Address at the Migori County Assembly, noted that his administration will strengthen revenue collection strategies that include closing corruption loopholes, reducing wastages, and fully end-to-end automation to ensure maximum revenue collection. He said that in the 2023-2024 financial year, the county was targeting to collect Sh600 million, up from the current revenue collection of Sh386 million, to fund some of the county projects. Ayacko however, admitted that the county has been able to pay Sh. 1.5 billion in pending bills for the current and previous administrations. He said that his administration inherited a Sh1.9 billion debt from the previous administration dating back to 2019 that somehow derailed the developmental agenda of the county. Governor Ayacko also pointed out that the county government was already aligning itself with some of the national government’s agenda goals through the county-national partnership. Migori Governor Ochilo Ayacko and Migori County Assembly Speaker Charles Likowa. Ayacko has said that the county aims to increase its revenue collection mechanism to improve service delivery to its people. The national government, in partnership with Migori County, has already operationalized Lichota Airstrip as well as launched the Aggregation Industrial Part at Macalder/Kanyarwanda in Nyatike, whereby the national government and Migori County have each contributed Sh 250 million. Ayacko however, urged the national government to release devolved funds to enable the counties to deliver essential services to their local residents. He noted that the national government was still holding onto devolved funds for health, market construction, and affordable housing, further delaying the implementation of noble projects for the benefit of the citizens. In the agricultural sector, the county was able to purchase maize and bean seeds for 2,000 farmers at a cost of Sh. 4.6 million. In the 2023-2024 financial year, Ayacko disclosed that the county had set aside Sh50 million for the purchase of maize and bean seeds to help farmers boost agricultural productivity and food production in the county. The county has also constructed a potato integrated centre worth Sh.19 million to provide raw materials to the Getonganya sweet potato processing plant in Kuria. He announced that the county was in consultation with development partners to introduce palm oil and cotton farming in the county to supplement the fishing, mining, and sugar sectors. He noted the county was ready to cultivate 10,000 and 5,000 acres of palm oil and cotton, respectively, to help boost and diversify the agricultural sector as well as increase farmer earnings in the county. On education, Ayacko pinpointed that his administration embarked on building 140 Early Childhood Development (ECD) classrooms at a cost of 70 million to enhance the learning activities at the preprimary level. Ayacko explained that already in the 2023-2024 financial year, they have set aside Sh20 million for EDC teacher recruitment to improve the student-teacher ratio. He also affirmed that Sh10 million will be allocated to building the village vocational and education centres to act as excellence centres for the youth. Ayacko said that education is an essential development anchored to creating a workforce and impacting craftwork knowledge. In health, Ayacko explained that the county has set aside Sh.18 million for a cancer care unit at the Migori County Referral. He added that Sh. 44 million has been allocated for the expansion of the oxygen plant and modern warehouse facility. He emphasised that the county will come up with an innovative way of funding the Sh.175 million for the upgrading of the Migori Referral Hospital to a level five facility to improve the health services of the county. So far, the county has managed to maintain 1,300 kilometres of county roads at a total cost of Sh. 500 million. ‘We have also managed to set up a footbridge at a cost of 55 million in Migori Town to help our school-going children and pedestrians at large have an easy way of crossing the busy Migori-Isebania highway’, concluded Ayacko.
Source: Kenya News Agency