Report: Graft and nepotism stifle service delivery in Kisumu County

Corruption and nepotism remain the biggest challenges facing the county government, according to a report on the third quarter of performance management.

An internal report released yesterday by Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga indicated that people are still being forced to pay bribes while some need 'godfathers' to be able to get jobs and tenders within the county.

Ms Odinga, who is the head of Performance Management and Service Delivery in the county, said even though most areas had improved, many people still complained of discrimination in service delivery.

Service delivery

The county government last year engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers to spearhead performance contracting aimed at improving service delivery.

Odinga yesterday read the riot act, saying the officers will now be responsible for ills committed within their areas of operation.

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"Corruption has shown an ugly head in the county. You find that some officers are used for political reasons, and instead of giving jobs or contracts fairly, they use unscrupulous means which frustrate the public," said Odinga.

She added: "When we started off, there was a lot of lethargy, non-performance, lack of service delivery in the county, and now in the third quarter there is improvement on how the staff embrace performance management," she said.

Odinga said the county government was working on policies and systems to curb corruption, which will include formation of an anti-corruption unit to investigate corruption allegations against employees.

The deputy governor said corruption had been noted in all level of service delivery.

She cited cases where health officers were demanding unwarranted levies from patients while senior officers issue contracts unfairly.

"It is a tedious process changing the culture of how people work. We have people who came from the disbanded municipal council, those transferred from government, private sector and the new people. So it is a bit hectic bringing these people to embrace a uniform culture," she added.

Odinga said her office has been forced to cancel some projects and suspend county staff involved in corruption and mismanagement of funds.

"Those who have been enjoying the liberty of eating will have no option but to embrace the new culture. Why would someone be denied a job opportunity just because he or she comes from a particular region?" she posed.

An internal service delivery unit has now recommended that each department should have a service chatter which would be easy to implement  as a way of improving service delivery.