Chiefs and assistant chiefs have been identified as critical drivers in the implementation of President William Ruto's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
President's adviser on financial inclusion Moses Banda described the administrators as indispensable to the successful rollout of the Kenya Kwanza administration's flagship development programme.
He said the government's efforts to implement the BETA agenda would face significant challenges without the active participation of chiefs and their assistants.
"Being the last mile of government at the grassroots, chiefs are the link between government policy and the people. Without them, BETA cannot succeed," Banda said.
He spoke in Mwingi Town, Kitui county, on Monday during the launch of a week-long sensitisation programme for chiefs and assistant chiefs on the BETA agenda.
Banda said chiefs, as the closest representatives of the national government to citizens, are best placed to communicate policies formulated in Nairobi and ensure their benefits reach even the most remote villages.
"As the Kenya Kwanza administration, we want the impact of government programmes to be felt everywhere through the delivery of services to the last mile, which is the villages and wards," he said.
Banda said all 638 chiefs and assistant chiefs in Kitui county have been grouped into 12 clusters for the five-day BETA sensitisation programme, which ends on Friday.
He said the training is intended to ensure chiefs fully understand the government's development agenda and communicate it accurately to residents.
"If chiefs do not fully understand the BETA agenda, the message may be distorted, considering they are both the first and the last point of contact between the state and wananchi," he said.
He said the decision to train chiefs and assistant chiefs was informed by the recognition the success of the BETA agenda depends largely on the confidence and support of people at the grassroots.
Banda said chiefs must be equipped with accurate and factual information on the government's development agenda to enable them to communicate it effectively to wananchi at the village level.
He said the government is implementing the five pillars of the BETA agenda—agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), affordable housing, universal healthcare and the digital and creative economy—in collaboration with development partners and county governments.
Banda said chiefs and assistant chiefs should not remain passive observers but should play an active role in supporting the implementation of the programme.
"We are saying it is important for chiefs to report back on what is working and what is not for BETA. That way, we can address the gaps and improve implementation," he said.
