Education, and Vocational Training

The department of education in Busia county has put more effort into education across all levels. Starting with the ECDE, the county has ensured the construction of more ECDE classes in different public schools to enhance the learning conditions of the pupils. Through the county government, there has been the employment of more ECDE teachers in the schools. Both the construction of classes and employment of the teachers has reduced congestion in classes, and the ratio of teacher to pupils thus creating better learning conditions. The county has also invested in high schools and primary schools by constructing more classes, modern dormitories in boarding schools, and modern laboratories.

The county has established 25 vocational training in different sub-counties, colleges, and universities. The university campuses in Busia county include the Moi University Allupe Campus, the University of Nairobi Extra Mural center, and the Masinde Muliro University of Science Technology. Busia county has a total of 82% of children attending school. Despite the many challenges including lack of parent cooperation, lack of enough learning material, and lack of enough teaching staff. However, the county government is working towards covering the bridge.

County Public Service Board.

The department is concerned with ensuring effective human resource services including effective utilization of human resource, enhancement in the development of human resources that can handle and cope up with the growing technology, improving employee-employer working relationship, and ensuring that all the worker adheres to the rules and regulations of the working environment.

This department is made up of three sub-departments including human resource management, payroll management, and records management. The categories under the public service board work together to ensure quality services to the public including the provision of public amenities such as water security among others. The department works towards achieving a strategic plan of ensuring a conducive working environment, acknowledging and accepting the changes in technology.  The department ensures transparency, equity, professionalism, integrity, creativity and innovation, and teamwork spirit in the working environment.

Lands, Housing, and Urban Development

The department is mainly led by the directorate of land, physical planning and survey, housing, and urban development. The department aims at providing land survey services to the people at an affordable price that everyone will desire to engage in and thus reducing the cases of land disputes among the communities. The department has also invested in constructing modern markets as well as buildings that will facilitate business activities as well as put them in conducive environments.

The department has facilitated the construction of official governor and deputy governors residency as well as another government unit including the accommodation and maintaining of the government quarters. After developing the urban area and modern markets, the department however faces the challenge of maintaining them. The county also has not have enough funds to sustain them in their development and construction activities. The department has facilitated the cleaning program that has maintained cleanness in different markets. The department has achieved the following in the last 5 gubernatorial periods:

• Completion of Busia county valuation roll 2017
• Raising the Busia town standard to the municipal level
• Elevating Malaba Town to Municipal status.
• Enabling the world bank funding to support urban development.

The department is lagging in its growth due to ineffective public participation in urban development which ends slowing down the growth and development of towns. Housing projects in the county have become a big challenge especially due to the increasing population.

Finance, and Economic Planning

The department of Finance and economic planning plays a big role in the growth and development of other departments. The department implements all the priority plans of other departments depending on the availability of resources allocated to each department. The department’s vision is to have an good managerial system and directorates who will have excellent financial managerial skills and economic planning. The department has a mandate of overseeing how financial resources a utilized in different departments as well as in economic growth. The department comprises the following categories. Budgeting, accounting, auditing, supply chain management, revenue, and economic planning. The department has so far established revenue collection policies and strategies that have shown great improvement in revenue collection. Through the department, other departments have learned about financial accounting matters thus enabling them to keep good financial records of all their transactions. The department has however faced challenges in the implementation of some of its policies and achievement of its plans. The department has a challenge of underfinancing from the national government which slows down some projects in the other departments.

 Trade, Investment, Industry, & Co-operatives

The department deals with the facilitation and promotion of trade and the development of cooperatives as well as fairness in trade affairs. The department’s existence is to enhance the lives of the people by ensuring that they fully rely on themselves through running businesses that is in conducive environments which will create employment and wealth.

The trade, investment, industry, and cop-operation is possible only if the department implements policies that enhance diversification, innovation, value-addition, and information sharing. The department has achieved a number of aspects including making small businesses thrive through offering advice and consultancy services. The businesses in the area can get educated online as the department has opened Facebook and Twitter accounts where it shares necessary information for public access. The department has been organizing seminars in which they train and equip individuals with the necessary skills. Through the construction of roads and modern markets, the department has created a conducive trading environment. In collaboration with other counties, the national government, and other institutions, the department has identified goods that can be exported thus expanding the county’s economy. The department also looks in the interest of farmers and other groups of people forming cooperatives to grow and secure their interests. The department has however faced challenges including a lack of cooperation from the public.

Water Environment, Irrigation, and Natural Resources

The department works by ensuring that the people of Busia county have access to clean water in a safe environment. The department implements its services in six different categories including Water Supply and Sewerage Services, Environmental Management and Protection, Forest Development and Management, Irrigation Services, Natural Resource Management, General Administration, and Support Services. The department works with the vision of achieving a secure

environment and sustainable development. The department has achieved a lot including having a 56% water coverage and supply to the people. The department through the county government has been able to establish a sustainable borehole with effective solar pumping. Sewage services in the county are efficient as the department has been able to dig up sewages where all wastes are channeled. The department however has faced the challenge of insufficient funding in the projects. The department also faces the challenge of settlement and infrastructure development.

Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries

Busia county being an agrarian county, the department of agriculture, livestock, and fisheries has invested in this sector fully as the county highly depends on agricultural activities. This department is responsible for overseeing all agricultural activities in the county and offering the farmers the necessary support. Many farmers in the county engage in food crop farming however there are few in practice cash crop farming which is majorly sugarcane.

Livestock farming and fishery also is practiced in the count. The department has improved livestock farming by providing local animals with improved semen so as to improve local production. The county has also established a Veterinary laboratory for easy diagnosis of animal diseases. It has also established two dairy parks in Teso South and Butula, 100 fish ponds in Bukani in Samia, installed 150 fish cages and began Nasewa fish feed mill in Matayos sub-county. The department however has not been able to reach each farmer in the county due to insufficient resources.

Health and Sanitation

The department ensures that people have easy access to healthcare services at affordable prices and inconvenient environments. To enable this, the department has been able to formulate policies that take care of the people’s welfare with respect to medication. The department of health in association with infrastructure development has been able to construct hospitals in different sub-counties to enable the people quick access to medication.

The department has also managed to complete the accident and emergency block at Busia County Referral Hospital and has put part of the building to use. Part of the building has been set aside for ICU services as it is fully equipped with ICU equipment. The department has also made a county nutritional plan. The department has associated with other institutions to enhance the program of sensitization on HIV/AIDS and other clinical services.

Agriculture Livestock, and Fisheries.

The department is responsible for ensuring the construction of the transport systems, communication electricity, and energy. It works under the vision of having a reliable and convenient infrastructure and affordable transport system. It is divided into four categories including roads, transport, public works, and energy. The department has been able to establish 4000 electricity connectivity in urban and rural areas together with 2000 remote solar grids the energy section is planning to establish an energy center where it will train residents on energy matters and carry out demonstration activities.

It is also planning to position Mass-light towers to all major urban centers within the County. The roads section has constructed more tarmac roads in the county, upgraded gravel roads in Busia CBD, and maintained others that were already constructed before. The department has plans of establishing a material testing laboratory that will enable the constructors to identify quality materials for construction purposes.

Sports Culture and Social Services.

The department deals with nurturing talents, preserving culture, and creating equal opportunities for children, youth, women, people with disabilities, older persons, and other vulnerable groups for holistic growth and development.

The department is working with objectives of ensuring that all households live under improved environmental conditions, enhancing sporting activities, formulating policies that govern illegal activities such as alcoholism as well as establishing rehabilitation centers. Through the department, the county has been able to refabricate the Busia stadium, it has constructed the Mauko cultural center, distribute funds to women and youths for development purposes, given out bursaries, and constructed rehabilitation center at Butula.