Administration, ICT, and Public Service

Bomet County is divided into five (5) Sub-Counties (Constituencies), 25 wards, 66 locations, 177 sub-locations and 1,977 villages as shown in table 1. The locations and sub-locations are administrative units of the national government. The Bomet County Government Coordination Act, 2014 established Sub-County, Ward, Community and Village administration.

Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives

Main Crops Produced
The main crops produced are: tea, maize, beans, Irish potatoes, sorghum, finger millets, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, kales, onions, avocados and coffee.

Agricultural Extension, Training, Research and Information Services
Government extension services are available to the farmers at the sub-county level through to the ward level. The county government has Agricultural Training Centre (ATC) based in Bomet town that provides demonstration services to farmers.

Main Livestock Breeds and Facilities
The County has vast livestock breeds especially in cattle and goat dairy breeds such as Friesians, Ayrshire, Jersey, crosses, Toggenburg, Germany Alpine, Kenyan Alpine, Saanen among many. However, there are no ranches in the County .The notable facilities in the county include; plunge dips, milk coolers, liquid nitrogen plant, abattoirs, sales yards, bee hives, poultry incubators, fish hatchery, fish ponds, fish meal making machine.

Finance and Economic Planning

The department has the following mandate and functions

• Prepare annual budget for the county and coordinate the preparation of estimates of revenue and expenditure of the County Government;
• Coordinate the implementation of the budget of the County Government
• Mobilize resources for funding of the budgetary requirements of the County Government and put in place mechanisms to raise revenue and resources;
• Manage the County Government’s public debt and other obligations and, develop a framework of debt control for the county;
  Consolidate the annual appropriation accounts and other financial statements of the County
• Government in a format determined by the Accounting Standards Board;
• Act as custodian of the inventory of the County Government assets except where provided otherwise by other legislation or the Constitution;
• Ensure compliance with accounting standards prescribed and published by the Accounting Standards Board from time to time;
• Ensure proper management and control of, and accounting for the finances of the County Government and its entities in order to promote efficient and effective use of the county’s budgetary resources;
• Maintain proper accounts and other records in respect of the County Revenue Fund, the County Emergencies Fund and other public funds administered by the County Government;

Water Sanitation, and Environment

Water Resources
The county is well endowed with water resources. Permanent rivers originating from the Mau Forest and flowing through the county are Oinab Ng’etunyet, Nyongores, Kipsonoi, Itare, Kiptiget, Chemosit, Amalo and Maramara. Sisei River originates from several swamps in Bomet Central Sub-county and is fast diminishing due to intensified cultivation along its banks and catchment areas. A majority of the population draw water from rivers, water pans and springs. Rain water harvesting is practiced by the households that have corrugated iron roofs. The county government has protected a total of 27 springs since 2013.

Water Supply Schemes
Bomet Water Company Limited, a Semi-Autonomous Government Agency (SAGA) of the County Government, currently manages nine (9) water supply schemes. These are Itare, Sotik, Bomet, Longisa, Sigor, Chepalungu (Olbutyo), Kamureito, Ndanai and Sergutiet. Sigor water supply has been upgraded through a joint programme between the County Government and Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) to serve a population of 68,000 residents. There are also several community water projects supported mainly by the County Government, national institutions such as Water Service Trust Fund (WSTF) and State Department of Water, and other development partners e.g. African Development Bank (AfDB).

Sanitation
The provision of sanitation is a key development intervention – without it, ill-health dominates a life without dignity. The term sanitation in its widest sense covers excreta disposal, sullage and storm water drainage, solid waste management. Sanitation in the county is mainly by use of pit latrines at household level and septic tanks in the institutions and urban centres with access to piped water supplies. A new sewerage plant funded to a tune of Ksh 135 million by the World Bank through the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP II)  has been constructed in Bomet town. The sewer system is designed to convey and treat approximately 750 m3/day of sewage by the year 2022. The waste water collection system consists of approximately 2 kms of trunk sewer and approximately 56 manholes. Additionally, about 5 kms of sewer network has been completed and now awaiting commissioning. There is still a need to lay an additional network of about 15 kms to cover the entire Bomet town and construct sewerage systems in other towns such as Sotik, Mogogosiek, Longisa and Mulot.

Medical services and Public Health

Health, Access and Nutrition
The county has five sub-counties with four tiers of care, including a county referral hospital, which is still a tier four hospital, three sub-county hospitals, 19 health centres, 107 dispensaries and 39 community units. The county also has one outreach support through the Beyond Zero mobile clinic and one community outreach supported by Tenwek Mission Hospital

Health Workforce
Health workforce in Bomet County has not met the World Health Organization (WHO) doctor to patient ratio of 36:100,000, however an effort has been made by the county government to bridge the gap through the employment of more doctors. The county has 30 medical officers, 315 nurses and 527 technical officers.

Nutritional Status
The prevalence of stunting and wasting in children under the age of 5 is at 38 percent in the county.

Immunization Coverage
Immunization is one of the major considerations in the health sector since it promotes the longevity of life span and reduces child mortality. It is also critical since a healthy population promotes socio economic development in the society. Immunization coverage in the county for children between the age of twelve and eighteen months is 81%, which is above national average of 68%.

Education, and Vocational Training

Education, Skills, Literacy and Infrastructure Education should promote social equality and foster a sense of social responsibility within an education system, which provides equal educational opportunities for all. It should give all children varied and challenging opportunities for collective and corporate social services irrespective of gender, ability or geographical environment.

Pre-School Education
The county has 1,221 public Early Childhood Development Education Centres (ECDE) with 2,022 teachers employed by both the county government and School Boards of Management (BOMs). The private centres have 424 teachers and 350 centres managed by individuals’ proprietors and faith-based organizations (FBOs). The enrolment as per the current statistics is 53,727 children in public centres and 12,981 children in private ECDE centres. Teacher-pupil ratio is stands currently at 1:58 in public and 1:27 in the private centres. The transition and completion rates are at 89% and 95% respectively while retention rate stands at 80%.

Primary Education
Free primary education policy has substantially increased school enrollment rates. The success and sustainability depend on teachers’ perception, motivation, and proper implementation of the policy in the classroom.as at 2007 population and housing census, primary enrolment was 116,868 in Bomet County. There has been a positive growth in primary education enrolment.

Special Needs Education
The main purpose of education for these learners is to enable them live an independent life. The newly proposed curriculum has left no room for excuses for parents and guardians who will not ensure that their children with special needs access education. The curriculum has shone a ray of hope on such children with disabilities by proposing three pathways of special needs that will ensure none of them fails to access education. Just like their counterparts going through the mainstream curriculum of 2-6-3-3-3 that seeks to replace the 8-4-4 system, the special needs curriculum is skills oriented.

Secondary Education
Secondary education in Bomet county has been through enormous growth and transformation in terms of quality.

Technical, Vocational Education and Training
The county government inherited 17 Vocational Training Centres( VTCs) from the national government which have since increased to 30. The enrollment has increased over the years to 1,872 trainees. The VTCs are distributed across the 5 sub counties i.e. Sotik has 8, Bomet East 4, Bomet Central 5, Cheplaungu 5 and Konoin 8. There are a total of 195 instructors in all the VTCs. The transition rate stands at 55 percent with completion rate at 65 percent . The current retention rate is at 50 percent.

Lands, Housing, and Urban Planning

Land Ownership Categories/Classification
Approximately 90 percent of land in the county is agricultural while 10 percent is commercial and its ownership is classified as follows:
Freehold Tenure
All agricultural land is freehold with absolute land proprietors enjoying unlimited interests. About 90 percent of land ownership in county falls under this category with 60 percent of the households having acquired title deeds and the rest has succession issues.

Leasehold Tenure
Approximately 80 percent of all commercial lands by the lessor government for a specific period of time with specific conditions defining the lease documents. Bomet and Sotik towns have leasehold titles.

Settlement Patterns
The county has an even settlement distribution in the agricultural lands. Urban centres such as Bomet and Sotik are dictated by development plans and their peripheries have attracted densely populated patterns.

Housing
The 2009 population and housing census classified housing by ownership, while considering the main walling, floor and roofing materials. Under ownership, 85 percent of the county’s population have their own houses compared to the national figure of 68 percent. Only 15percent of the county population reside in rented houses compared to the national figure of 32 percent. About 65.1percent of the residents of the county have used mud and wood as their main walling materials against a national figure of 36.7 percent. Only 4.2percen used stone for walling. Under the main floor material, 75.5 percent of the County residents use earth against the national figure of 56.5 per cent. Under the roofing materials, 72.2 per cent of the houses are constructed using corrugated iron sheets against the national figure of 8 per cent.

Roads, Public Works, and Transport.

Roads and Rail Networks
The county has a road network which is mainly gravel and earth surface. A small portion of the road network is made of bitumen. The total number of kilometres of road network in the county is 2,041 Kms out of which 237 Kms is under bitumen or is in the process of being upgraded to bitumen status and 1,804 Kms is under gravel and earth surface. The bitumen surface is only 11.6 per cent of the total road network in the County.

The county has 69 Kms of class B6 road (A1 Kisii-Keroka-Sotik-Litein-Chemosit-A12 Kericho) and class B7 road (B6 Kaplong-Bomet-Narok-A8 Mai Mahiu). The two roads are being maintained by Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA). Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) are in the process of upgrading some roads to paved status through the low volume seal technology. These roads include; C704 Silibwet- Olenguruone- Molo, KCC- Ndanai-Gorgor, Daraja sita- Chebole- Siongiroi-Chebunyo, Soymet –Kapletundo- Mogogosiek, Kaptengecha –Koiwa- Embomos- Kimulot Changoi, Kapmusa- Kiplelji-Singorwet-Aisaik- Ndaraweta-Teganda, Kapkwen-Kapsimotwo-Silibwet. The Bomet- Silibwet-Litein (C24) which is also paved is currently under KeRRA’s maintenance programme. Given the heavy rains across the county, road network particularly gravel and earth surface becomes impassable. The County government through the roads department has undertaken an ARICS (Annual Inventory and Condition Survey) so that prioritization and scoping of works is based on this inventory.

There are no major bus and lorry parks existing but there is a modern park for mini-buses and public service vehicles. The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has been mapped to pass through the county with the planned terminus at Kapkwen. The county has an air strip located near Bomet town which is in need of repairs and expansion.

Trade Industry and Tourism

Markets
There are several major market centres in the county which include; Sotik, Silibwet, Sigor, Mulot and Chebunyo. Smaller markets such as Kapkwen, Mogogosiek, Siongiroi, Kaplong, Ndanai, Chebole and Longisa are famous for their open air markets and operate on specific days of the week. Youth farmers along Bomet-Longisa highway are known for fresh farm produce.
Industrial Parks
There is an industrial park in Bomet town which provides incubation opportunities to micro and small scale enterprises under Kenya Industrial Estate. The industrial park has three bakeries and two furniture workshops and a livestock meal plant. However, the County has proposed to establish another industrial park which will enhance manufacturing activities in the county.

Major Industries
The industrial base in the county is not well established yet the county is endowed with various agricultural raw materials which can be processed for value addition. The county has seven tea

Youth, Gender, Sports, and Culture

Museums, Heritage and Cultural Sites
The county government has not established museums and cultural sites but funds have been set aside during the plan period to set up the facilities. The local residents will also be involved in identification of the artifacts.

Talent Academies

Land has been identified in Tegat (Kembu Ward) for the construction of a talent academy and
funds have been set aside to start the facility during the plan period.

Sport Facilities

The construction of an international sport facility (Bomet IAAF) has been started and it is 70 per cent completion stage as at the end of the last plan period, 2017. The project is expected to be completed during the plan period 2018-2022. This will help in the identification and nurturing of talents in the county.