Finance and Economic

Vision
“To be a world class department in financial management and economic planning.”
Mission
“To create an enabling environment for accelerated and sustained economic growth through pursuit of prudent economic, fiscal, and monetary policies and coordination of government financial operations”.
Goal
“Timely support to departments in planning, budgeting and financial management.”
Composition
The county department comprises of two sub departments namely Finance and Economic Planning.
Functions
The County Treasury is responsible for the management of county government finances and economic planning. Supporting efficient and sustainable public financial management is fundamental to the promotion of economic development, good governance, social progress and raising the standard of living for all county citizens. The county Treasury ensures that there is transparency, accountability and sound financial controls in the management of public finances as envisaged in Constitution 2010. The County Treasury also promotes government’s fiscal policy framework by ensuring that there a balance budget and adhering to fiscal responsibility principle; to coordinate macroeconomic policy and intergovernmental financial relations; to manage the budget preparation process and to monitor the implementation of departmental budgets.

Finance

• Preparation of financial statements
• Controlling finance payments
• Cash flow planning
• Accounting and recording all accounting transactions
• Managing the asset register
• Manages all procurement functions up to the point the goods/services are delivered
• Planning the procurement cycle
• Coordinate procurement reports and monitors processes and
• procedures as stipulated in the PPA&DA 2015
• Provide technical advice on procurement related function
• Coordinate revenue collection function
• Accounting for revenue
• Reconciliation of the revenue collection

Economic Planning

• Coordinate, analysis, collate and consolidate preparation of County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP).
• Coordinate, collate and consolidate preparation of Ten Year Sectoral Plans
• Coordinate, collate and consolidate preparation of Annual Development Plans
• Coordinate, analysis and consolidate preparation of County Strategic Plan
• Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation on implementation of annual budget and Annual Development Plan.
• Coordinate and conduct public participation on economic planning related issues

Roads, Public Works, and Infrastructure

The infrastructural development is mainly carried out by the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport. Public Works sub sector is invoved in the provision of planning, maintenance and supervision services of public buildings and structures. The goal is therefore to ensure standards are followed during construction of the public projects and safety concerns are adhered to as per the building and construction codes. The roads subsector is mandated to open up county road networks countywide, build drainage structures, and maintain urban and rural county roads. The sub sector is set to achieve opening up of specific lengths of priority road networks identified in the Annual Development Plan. The transport subsector also implements the transport policy and is set to achieve specific road safety initiatives in specific roads identified, issue licenses to public transport with aim of management of the transport services and increase the targeted value of revenue that is also expanded through enforcement of axle load controls at toll stations.

Lands, Housing and Physical Planning

The Department of Lands, Housing and Physical Planning is headed by the County Executive Member Hon. Barnabas Ng’eno and Chief Officer Ms. Emily Sang. It is divided into three sub-departments, namely:

• Lands
• Physical Planning
• Housing

Part of the mandate of the department is to formulate and implement land policy, undertake physical planning, register land transactions, undertake land surveys and mapping, land adjudication and settlement and valuation and administration of land.

Physical Planning Division

This division is mandated to organize land in a more functional and sustainable manner to enhance land use, activities and movement of goods and services. Broadly, its functions include spearheading the formulation of County spatial framework and local physical development policies and plans.
Lands Division
This division is charged with the responsibility of dealing with land issues within the county as defined by the Constitution, land laws, policies, guidelines and regulations. It also addresses land rights and interests within the county.
Housing
This division if involved with the implementation and review of housing policies in the county as well as research and utilization of appropriate technology in
development of houses.

Achievements

1. Successful establishment of the Kericho Municipal Board and ongoing establishment of the Litein Town Municipality
2. Development of the County Spatial Plan
3. Development of the Integrated Development Plan for Kericho Town
4. Creation of Local Physical Development Plans for Kabianga university Town, Litein, Londiani, Kunyak, Fort Ternan, Ainamoi and Sondu
5. Acquisition of Land for capital projects including Kimugu Water Treatment Plant, Kipsitet market and Kipkelion Law courts.
6. Completion of survey of land for the Proposed University at Kapsorok, Sigowet/Soin sub-county.

Health Services

Health facilities
The number of facilities in the county has been increasing over the years. Total number of CGOK facilities is currently at 136. More are yet to be opened up over the next five years. Surgical services are currently available in four hospitals, namely Kericho district hospital, Kapkatet sub-county hospital, Londiani sub-county hospital and Sigowet sub-county hospital with two more to be opened up soon at Roret and Fort- Tenan hospitals. There is a six bed HDU/ICU in Kericho County Referral Hospital and a CT scan at Kapkatet County Hospital. Dialysis is currently being offered at the County Referral Hospital. Imaging services are now available in five hospitals.

Hospital infrastructure across the county has been upgraded, through the construction of a Modern Accident & Emergency unit at Kapkatet Hospital, major refurbishment of Kericho County Referral Hospital and planned major facility improvement of Londiani Hospital. Expansion of surgical services in Level four medical facilities has also been undertaken with the construction of a modern operating theater at the Sigowet Hospital, equipping of Roret Hospital theatre and ongoing construction of Fort-Ternan Hospital theatre. 103 level 2 and 3 health facilities (Dispensaries and health centers) have been refurbished across the county and 17 new dispensaries constructed to improve access to primary health care services. An additional 23 proposed dispensaries are under construction. The Kericho County Referral Hospital laboratory diagnostics have been expanded and upgraded
and the laboratory Unit is currently undergoing ISO 15189 Accreditation.

Public Service Management, and Administration

This is the department charged with overseeing the county public service and is headed by the County Executive Committee Member Hon. Hellen Chepkwony and Departmental Chief Officer Mr. Stephen Cheruiyot.
Vision
To be a model department in public service delivery with competent human resource
Mission
A transformed public service for effective service delivery
The mandate of the Department is:-

1. Public administration
2. Transport fleet management,
3. Disaster management,
4. Enforcement of county laws and Security
5. Public Participation
6. Human Resource Management and Development

Key milestones

1. Absorption of all the devolved staff
2. Recruitment of Sub-County and Ward Administrators
3. Construction of 6 ward offices
4. Development of the Organizational Staff Establishment Structure
5. Human Resource Manual Development
6. Performance contracting
7. Absorption of temporary workers
8. Acquisition of Health Insurance

Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries

Main crops produced
The county is endowed with fertile soils and receives adequate rainfall throughout the year hence making it conducive for agricultural activities. The county produces both cash and food crops. The main crops grown include tea, coffee, sugarcane, potatoes, maize, beans, pineapples, horticulture (tomatoes, vegetables among others).

Main livestock breeds and facilities
Dairy production is the leading livestock enterprise in the county as well as poultry (mainly local chicken), hair sheep, wool sheep, meat goat rearing, beekeeping, pig production and rabbit rearing. There is a total of 288,021 heads of cattle consisting of 27,567 zebus and 260,454 dairy cattle. The dairy cattle consist of both pure breeds and also crossbreeds. The dominant dairy cattle bred are Friesian followed by the Ayrshire. The three main milk buyers in the county are Brookside, New KCC and Kabianga Dairies. A substantial amount of milk is also handled by Hawkers.

Education Culture, Culture, Social Services, Sports and Youth Affairs

The department of Education, Culture and Social Services is mandated with developing education, empowering the youth, culture and also improving the provision of social services while ensuring that gender is mainstreamed in all its programs.

Education

Pre- School Education

Under Early Childhood Development Education, pupils enrolment as at 2017 comprised 23,094 boys and 22,526 girls giving a total of 45,620 pupils thus boys representing 50.6% while girls represent 49.4%.There are over 1800 teachers teaching in these centers, 935 of these are employed by the county government on contract.

Primary Education

The County has a total enrolment of 242,034 from both public and private schools. According to 2009 census, there were 169,093 primary school pupils. Since then there has been tremendous increase in enrollment. The percentage increase is 43% and this requires urgent investment in infrastructural and human development to accommodate the increasing number of pupils.

Non-formal Education

This is a form of non-structured education that provides skills to both youth and adults. The sector is not well established in Kericho County and requires more funding in terms of infrastructure and personnel. The table below shows the number of informal institutions per Sub County.

Youth polytechnics
The youth polytechnics in Kericho County has transformed over the last five years since devolution in 2013. The main projects or activities undertaken to improve the facilities included branding and renaming of the youth polytechnics as the vocational training centers (VTCs). Further the county has reengineered the youth polytechnics by introducing specialization in youth polytechnics so as to strengthen the skills training and acquisition. The face-lifting of the VTCs involved improvement of dilapidated institutions by painting, fencing and raising of institutions gates apart from constructing six workshops in six centers of excellence namely: Kipsamumgut,- automotive workshop; Kiptere- welding and fabrication workshop; Kipkoyan- plumbing technology workshop; Leldet workshop – timber technology workshop; Chepseon. –Building technology workshop and Chemosot – Hospitality and conferencing workshop. Furthermore, the county equipped twelve vocational training centers with training tools and equipment, these are; Kipkoyan – in Belgut, Kiptere in Soin/Sigowet, Kipsamumgut in Ainamoi., Chepseon in Kipkelion East, Toroton – Kipkelion west, Chemosot – Bureti., Kipsimbol – Kipkelion West, Leldet – Kipkelion West, Kizito S.N. YP. in Bureti, Chebirirbei in Belgut and Chebigen in Ainamoi.

Secondary Education

Kericho County has got 214 public and 15 private secondary schools with a total enrollment of 69,081 students. Bureti sub-county has the highest number of schools and students, while Soin/Sigowet has the least schools and number of students.

Tertiary Education
The county has 15 colleges and institutions that provide training on various disciplines.

Adult and continuing Education

There are a total of 80 institutions offering adult and continuing education with a student enrolment of 4,697. The distribution of the institutions across the county per Sub County is shown on table 28 with respective enrolments.

Technical, Vocational Education and Training

There are six Technical Training Institutes (TTIs) in the county. Public TTIs were established in 2014 as a presidential directive to establish one TTIs in every constituency in the country.

Functions under the Education sub-department include:

• Implementation of the pre-primary education policy
• Quality assurance and supervision of pre-primary institutions
• Early childhood education, care and development
• Providing information on education and education trends to the county executive committee
• Undertaking research and development
• Coordinating and presiding over education activities in the county
  Management of youth polytechnics, quality assurance, infrastructure and learning resources
• Coordinate national examinations in the youth polytechnics
• Development and management of home craft centers, quality assurance, infrastructure and learning resources

Culture

Museums, Heritage and Cultural sites
The county has got five recognized heritage and cultural sites and these are; Kericho county museum in Fort Ternan, Chilchila ward, Private – Kapkatet museum in Kapkatet ward, Tulwet ab Arap Siele in Tendeno Ward, Chebulu Cultural Conservancy and Tulwap Kipsigis in Londiani Ward.
Talent Academies
The county has no talents academies, however there is need to develop such academies that are managed and sponsored by the county. This will help the youth who are talented in areas such as athletics, football etc. It will protect the youth against exploitation by the private individuals who run talents academies such as private athletics training camps.
Sports facilities
Sports facilities in the county are Kapkatet stadium, Kericho green stadium, Londiani stadium and open Sosiot Stadium.

Functions under this sub-department include:

• Implementation of culture and heritage policy at county level
• Establishment of historical/cultural sites, indigenous knowledge and other elements of intangible cultural heritage
• development of creative cultural industries and commercialization of the arts (Fine, creative and performing arts)
• Coordination of cultural exchange programs at the county, inter-county, national and international level
• Empowering of cultural practitioners through capacity building workshops, exhibitions, symposia, seminars, concerts, art and traditional food competition and festivals
• Educating the public on cultural rights and intellectual property rights in the county
• Organizing county music and cultural festivals to promote unity cohesion and the spirit of patriotism
• Establishment and operationalization of county museums

Social Services
Functions under this sub-department include:

1. Implementation of policies and programs on gender, social protection and vulnerable groups (PWD’s, widows and the elderly)
2. Gender mainstreaming into county development programs
3. Coordinating the implementation of national standards and guidelines on
   variable goods
4. Sensitization on issues of Women Enterprise, Uwezo Funds in the county
   and other relevant programs;
5. Social welfare including all vulnerable groups such as widows;
6. Community development programs- registration of community groups, grants in aid to social groups

Achievements by the Department

• Recruitment of 1200 ECD teachers
• Disbursement of over KShs 700 Million in bursaries to needy students
• Construction of over 700 ECD classrooms
• Construction of the ablution blocks in the ECD centers
• Creating centers of excellence in the youth polytechnics
• Construction and equipping of the youth polytechnics
• Partnering with the national government on preparing the candidates for
  the national exam
• Hosting of the Governors Gender Round Table
• Training of ECDE teachers on the New Basic Education Curriculum (2-6-3-3)

Trade, Industrialization, Cooperative Management, Tourism And Wildlife

The county has developed various amenities in the markets that include market sheds, chain-link fencing and toilet blocks in all the 30 wards.
Industrial parks
The department is in the process of doing a proposal for the establishment of at least one industrial park in all the six sub counties.
Cement Industry
Rai Cement Limited is a producer of cement in the county. The factory is located in Soin Ward,
Soin/Sigowet Sub-County.
Steel Industry
Prime Steel Limited deals in the production of steel products. The factory is located in Soin Ward, Soin/Sigowet Sub-County.
Dairy Processing
There are two dairy milk processing in the county namely Kabianga and CHSS milk industries. It’s important to note that there are several milk collection points distributed across the county equipped with milk coolers.
Sugar Industry
Soin Sugar Company Limited is the only sugar processing plant in the County and is located at Soliat Ward, Soin/Sigowet Sub County. However, it has not been operational for the past three years.
Maize flour grinders
A number of Maize flour grinding enterprises are being setup in Kericho County.

Cooperative Societies
The County has a total of 265 cooperative societies of which, 174 are active while 91 are dormant. The share capital as at 2018 stood at approximately Kshs 807,405,548 with a membership of 225,859. The main SACCOs include; Imarisha SACCO, Ndege Chai , Mau Tea Multipurpose, Kericho Highland Multipurpose, Temiik, Simba SACCOs, Bureti SACCO, LITCO SACCO, Tengecha schools SACCO among others. Apart from the Marissa Teachers, LITCO, and Tengecha schools SACCO, most of these other SACCOs are tea related. These SACCOs provide relatively cheap credit facilities to their members for investments.

Water, Environment, Energy, Forestry and Natural Resources

Water resources
A large part of the Mau forest considered Kenya’s biggest water catchment area lies in the county. The forest gives rise to some of the major rivers that flow out of it among them the Ewaso Ng’iro River, Sondu River, Mara River and Njoro River. Some of the major permanent Rivers which flow through the county are Chemosit, Kiptiget, Itare, Kipchorian and Timbilil. These rivers are mainly used for domestic and industrial uses while some are used for small scale institutional hydroelectricity generation. Conservation efforts would see the county contribute water resources to other parts of the country enhancing the national efforts of making Kenya water secure. The County is yet to assess its ground water potential.

Water sources and access
Kericho County is endowed with major rivers namely Chemosit, Timbilil and Kipchorian emanating from the Mau Forest water tower. The main water sources within the county are roof catchment, shallow wells, springs and streams for the rural population. KEWASCO draws its water from River Timbilil, River Kimugu and Ngecherok Springs. Shallow wells and springs which are the main source of water for the rural population are unsafe though attempts are being made through devolved funds for instance CDF and County Government Funds to protect the springs and provide convenient watering point and sanitation facilities. Public water sources have been encroached and some interfered with altogether. A section of the population draws water from the rivers. A negligible number of households depend on water pans mainly
for watering cattle. It is estimated that the average distance to the nearest water point is 1km. Fetching of water is mainly done by women especially in the rural areas.

Energy

The Kenya power company has played a significant role in lighting up both the urban and rural areas in the county. This is mainly through the Rural Electrification and the last mile connectivity programs. It indicates that majority of the households use lantern (46.1 per cent) and tin lamp (39.1 per cent) as the main source of lighting fuel followed by electricity (11.8 per cent) and solar (1.7 per cent) while the rest constitute less than one per cent each.

Forestry, Agro Forestry and Value Addition
This section presents the main types of forest and their respective sizes and use of the forest products. It also covers the extent of promotion of Agro-forestry and green economy, prevention of soil erosion, protection of water catchment areas, provisions of wood fuel and generations of energy for industries e.g. tea estates and improvement of soil fertility by growing fertilizer trees.

Information, Communication, and E-Government

The Size of population connected to internet in the county has increased and the population has been able to access information better than before through the vernacular radio stations. The costs of mobile phones are now affordable to most citizens. The county government has provided free Wi-Fi in several spots within the county and so have the private investors in the hospitality industry. Televisions are also more affordable and most public facilities have them. There is one Huduma centre in the county located in Kericho town providing a one stop-shop facility for processing basic documents required by the public.