By Habil Onyango
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga delivered her third State of the County address at the County Assembly on Wednesday, highlighting some of the achievements during the 2024/2025 financial year.
According to the Governor, this address provided an opportunity to measure promises against performance and assess whether the path chosen together is delivering dignity, opportunity, and transformation to the people of Homa Bay, as envisioned in their “Genowa” (Our Hope) manifesto pillars.
“As required by the Homa Bay State of the County Address Act 2020, I will report on the measures taken and the progress achieved in the realization of devolved government functions during the 2024/2025 financial year,” Wanga told the Assembly.
“Mr. Speaker, when I delivered my first State of the County address, I committed my administration to a path of disciplined governance, accelerated service delivery, and inclusive economic transformation,” noted Wanga, who is the second Governor of Homa Bay.
“Today, I stand before you to report that we have kept that commitment. Our County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, approved by this Assembly, has remained our guiding compass,” she stated.
Wanga revealed that every program implemented, every shilling spent, and every partnership forged has been anchored in this strategic framework.
“We chose to govern through people-centered strategic planning, resulting in visible outcomes in all 40 wards. We have walked this transformational journey with our people,” she said.
According to the Governor, since she took office three years and seven months ago, Homa Bay County had consistently ranked low compared to its counterparts in areas such as maternal and child mortality, water provision, and local revenue generation, which had been at a negative 34 percent.
“We undertook the challenging task of raising our profile from ground zero, crafting our vision of transformation to become the best County to live, work, and invest in,” Wanga noted.
She mentioned that in their first phase, they implemented revenue reforms, enacted new revenue laws, established a revenue board, and ultimately reached the Ksh. 1 billion mark while transitioning to cashless revenue collection in October 2022.
“The 100-day task force enabled us to commission the outpatient wing at the County Referral Hospital, acquire a new CT scan, and upgrade the maternity wing,” she said.
“We also developed the Governors Park and the Arboretum as green urban spaces and embarked on phase one of the Raila Odinga Homa Bay Stadium (ROSH), which allowed us to host the Piny Luo event in 2023,” she added.
Wanga mentioned that the National Government partnered with them for phase two of the ROSH and the upgrade of Homa Bay in preparation for hosting the Madaraka Day celebration on June 1, 2025. Furthermore, from August 12 to 15, 2025, they will have the privilege of hosting the 9th Devolution Conference.
Wanga emphasized that Homa Bay is now a preferred County for tourism, agriculture, and sports, with plans to establish Homa Bay as a city within the next decade, alongside the County Headquarters.
She highlighted key achievements and outcomes, which include strengthening legal and policy frameworks, improving finance and economic planning, enhancing revenue performance and resource mobilization, and advancing evidence-based planning and preparation of the County Strategic Agenda (CSA).
Additionally, she mentioned efforts in supporting emergency response and social protection, bursary allocations, transforming agriculture, implementing irrigation and livestock programs, and subsidizing seed programs among others.
