Governor Cheboi vows to fix insecurity, ailing economy

Deserted villages at Kasiela in Baringo south on May 4, 2022. Residents fled the area due to frequent banditry attacks. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi has outlined plans to transform the county.

Cheboi, who on Tuesday addressed the county assembly, said he plans to transform Baringo into a prosperous county that affords her people the highest standards of living.

The first Baringo Governor, who made a comeback in the August General Election, said the executive and the county assembly should co-exist.

The county, he said, faces unemployment, insecurity, poor infrastructure, low productivity, low private sector investment and low capital.

He vowed to provide leadership in addressing the challenges in an innovative manner. "We should always work together seamlessly like two different functional parts of the same machine. We should soldier on in one accord in championing the cause of prosperity for our great people. Divided we will certainly fall, but together we shall definitely thrive," he said.

The governor said the people of Baringo entrusted them the collective responsibility of effecting the county's transformation. The locals, he said, believed in their pledges and going forward it must not be lost on any of them that it's time they team up, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work.

The assembly and executive, he said, have distinct but complementary roles geared toward solving challenges facing the people.

Cheboi said when he served as governor, his administration implemented initiatives that improved production in various sectors including coffee and dairy subsectors. He said farmers were assisted to increase productivity through provision of certified seeds and high-yielding breeds.

He added that they also invested in projects that promoted value addition. "My focus in the next five years will be to deepen and increase these initiatives. Our economy needs to reach an income of Sh400 billion a year by 2027. We also need to create 50,000 jobs each year," he said.

The county boss said budgetary allocation should not only ensure enough funds to complete meaningful projects in time but also set aside monies for county flagship projects.

He called on the MCAs re-embark on revitalising the agriculture sector through support to farmers to enable them enhance production and upgrade quality. He said his administration will work towards upgrading livestock breed, construction of new sale yards and rehabilitation of existing ones, construction and repair of cattle dips, promotion of pasture production and storage and distribution of subsidised seedlings and fertiliser. The completion of a milk processing plant in Eldama Ravine, he added, will be prioritised, to not only promote value addition in the dairy sector but to also create employment.