Year: 2018

When invited to Mavuno church in Athi River to speak on faith and leadership at a three-day summit dubbed Fearless Summit 2018, on Wednesday, Makueni governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana left his audience in awe when he declared that he considered himself both a governor and pastor.

“I consider myself both a governor and pastor because I get opportunities to meet with people not reached out to by pastors in funerals, weddings and other public and social events. When I talk to them, they listen and some even denounce their not-so-good ways of life,” said Prof Kibwana to a thunderous applause from congregants drawn from various states across the globe.

Prof Kibwana said before he ventured into the contest for the governorship, he pursued Theology so as to have a deeper understanding of how to serve the people better.

“I chose to pursue a theological course while still serving as the advisor to the former President Mwai Kibaki, who was amused that I still wanted to go back to school after a considerable period of schooling. Deep down I knew I wanted to be a governor and understanding self and service to mankind drove me to theological school,” the governor said.

He said many people, including those who profess christianity harbour a misguided opinion that matters of state must be separated from matters of faith.

Many people of faith, Prof Kibwana said, fear venturing into politics thinking they would be compromised by the secular system of governance.

According to him, it is this lack of men of faith in governance that has engendered the deep rooted corruption plaguing the country.

Prof Kibwana opined that the leadership influence inculcated in successive generations affects the overall development of the state or organisation depending on the character of the predecessor.

Makueni governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana on Saturday evening joined Muslim faithful for an Iftar at Wote.

Speaking at the event hosted at  Jamia-Al-Masjid Mosque Prof Kibwana noted that both Muslims and Christians in Makueni have shown unity and love,adding that such virtues are helpful in building the nation.

He further observed that Islamic madrasa classes are helpful in inculcating spiritual norishment to young ones adding that it helps them understand the teachings of the Quran.

“My administration has in the past helped build ECDE classes, this will be replicated equally we will assist in building  madrasa classes for our muslim children in the County,”Prof Kibwana promised.

The governor encouraged them to apply for competitive county jobs, saying  that all residents across the country stand equal opportunities including access to jobs.

He also said that his government will include members of the Muslim community in the County Economic Forum.

Devolution and public service Executive Committee Member Dr.Julius Kaloi who also graced the occasion, noted that Muslims have demonstrated faithfulness,respect and love always not only during the Holy month of Ramadan.

Makueni Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana is set to host all the 46 governors in Wote for a peer learning conference to study the county’s successful public participation approach.

Prof Kibwana said the forum will bring together all governors and top county government officials from across the country to compare notes on various success stories including the public participation approach adopted by his government.

“We are happy that many counties are coming to Makueni to benchmark. This is very positive. We believe that each county has a story to tell about devolution and that is why we are opening our doors to host this momentous forum,”Prof Kibwana said.

He further said that the Makueni County’s participatory approach has given the people the power over public funded projects.

The idea he said was to ensure the locals own the projects and to widen the supervisory net with the people watching over those responsible for the delivery of various government projects.

He stated that it is through the public participation and the people’s involvement that the county has been able to roll out major projects.

“We are very conscious when people praise us for the achievements. But we must not become proud thinking that we have done it. All that is happening in Makueni is because of the glory of God,” the governor said.

Prof Kibwana noted that the approach has been used to develop annual budgets and the County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs).

“This year through the approach upto 120,000 people participated in the making of our 2018-2022 CIDP,”he said.

He said that Makueni County also has a lot to learn from other counties lauding Kisumu for the public service organization modelled along the national government system pioneered by former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura.

“Meru is on top when it comes to the creation of various parastatals to undertake certain roles for the government. And we will be in Meru next month to learn a few things from their success stories, while Kwale’s structure of ECDE system is the best. It is good we now have a  maarifa center at the CoG from where people can access information on what is happening in the other counties,”Prof Kibwana said.

County Finance Executive Committee Member Mary Kimanzi said that a committee has been set to work on the conference adding that it will be modelled along the Universal Health Care Conference hosted by the county in April.

“This is a privilege for us. And it will be the first time all governors are meeting in our county. We will do our best to ensure proper planning,” said Ms Kimanzi.

Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau lauded the planned visit saying county governments’ now have a lot to learn from each other.

She said: “We previously had a lot of bench-marking happening outside the country. We are happy that now we can learn from each other locally.”

County Secretary Paul Wasanga said the county is ready for the event adding that the idea of creating informational convergence has given local institutions an opportunity to access information held by various counties.

Governor Prof. Kivutha Kibwana has told top county officials that they must subscribe to principles of transparency and accountability in the conduct of business to ensure efficient service delivery.

Prof Kibwana said that public servants are accountable to the citizens for their actions and service delivery adding that it is a great privilege to serve the citizens.

He further said that it was no longer business as usual when it comes to service delivery reminding the officers that he had to fulfill his promises to the citizenry which they together with deputy governor  Adelina Mwau committed  to through signing of the performance contract with the people of Makueni

“We must be accountable in our delivering of services to the people of Makueni. Serving our people is a great privilege,” the governor said.

The governor spoke on Tuesday at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos where the deputy governor they addressed county executive committee members, chief officers and directors during the Kenya Devolution Support Programme workshop.

Prof. Kibwana further noted that there was need for change of the mindsets of the public servants if transformative results were to be attained.

His sentiments were echoed by Mwau who said that officers must strive to ensure that every minute and shilling spent should be accounted for through results

The DG said: “As public servants, we must be able to accountable of the resources entrusted to us and as such we must strive to ensure that every minute and shilling spent is accounted for.”

The three day workshop is geared towards enhancing public service delivery in the county institutions with focus on public financial management, civic education and public participation, monitoring and evaluation, human resource performance, planning and environment mainstreaming.