Eleven counties are set to benefit from a Sh3.5 billion grant from USAID towards improving health services, accountability and increased local involvement in county projects.
The five-year programme will also help improve transparency, reduce fraud and waste and improve revenue generation.
The USAID Ubora Mashinani Program will strengthen partnerships between citizens and their county government, in 11 counties, to make services work better for everyone.
The program boosts the abilities of Local Development Organizations in each county to advocate for community interests in policymaking and budget discussions, ensuring funds are used effectively to better services.
Gosney identified the beneficiary counties as Kisumu, Kisii, Homa Bay, Kiambu, Turkana, Samburu, Makueni, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kakamega, Kilifi, and Isiolo.
“Through the USAID, we have committed Sh3.5 billion which will be used in the eleven counties to ensure cash for health is used efficiently and wisely,” he said.
Addressing the press after launching the programme in Morendat, Naivasha, Gosney said the health programme would train financial experts to support county governments.
“The implementing partners will work hand-in-hand with county assemblies to improve oversight of healthcare spending and strengthen health- related policies and regulations,” he said.
On Ubora Mashinani, he said the programme would train grassroots organisations on designing effective policy advocacy campaigns and involvement in county planning and budgeting processes.
“This programme will empower citizens, especially women, youth, and persons with disabilities to influence county government policies and budgets to improve service delivery,” he said.
The third component of the programme according to Gosney is the United Society against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse dedicated to improving transparency.
The senior US officer said the initiative would bring together citizens, businesses, media, and the faith community to increase awareness of their rights.
“These programmes represent a significant investment in Kenya's future, empowering local communities to enhance governance and service delivery,” he said.
While thanking the US government for the support, Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika noted that the country had benefited a lot from projects supported by USAID.
She lauded the move to support communities in public participation noting that this would assist them own the project and reduce wastage and fraud in the beneficiary counties.
“This programme will help identify gaps that hamper delivery of services, identify measures to unlock these gaps and build robust legislative and social accountability mechanisms,” she said.
Kihika added that the programmes held great promise for improving citizen engagement and would enable representative groups to design and manage local development projects.
