Lodwar, 15th November 2022– County Executive Dr Michael Eregae this morning took over at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
Outgoing County Executive Jennifer Nawoi handed over to Dr Eregae in a ceremony witnessed by County Solicitor Ruth Emanikor who stood in for the County Secretary, and senior staff in the Ministry.
Dr Eregae committed to focus on boosting own-source revenue and streamlining operations at the County Treasury to address the challenge of pending bills.
“The County Government can demonstrate that we can support ourselves. I want us to focus and see how far we can push to increase revenue. We have shown the potential by exceeding set targets, and we can push revenue collection to greater heights,” he said.
The CEC hinted at plans to establish a revenue authority, by following successful plans in Kakamega, Laikipia and Nyeri counties, as part of plans to boost revenue collection.
Dr Eregae added that the county can avoid ballooning pending bills by reforming financial operations to fast-rack payments.
“We need to pay our suppliers, contractors and service providers to boost the economy. If there’s money and work has been done then we pay for it. We should also be able to facilitate County Departments. We can learn lessons from what went wrong and rectify,” he stated.
He expressed his willingness to work with all the heads of departments in the Ministry and said he was confident in the Ministry’s staff to deliver on their mandates.
The CECM promised to foster a cordial working relationship and support all officers to contribute to the success of the Ministry.
Former CECM Nawoi assured Dr Eregae that he was inheriting a committed team in the Ministry who will support him in discharging his role. She advised that the new team learns lessons from the last ten years to improve the financial operations of the County Government.
Ag. Chief Officer for Finance and Economic Planning James Ilikwel welcomed the CECM to the Department and briefed him on key issues including verification of pending bills and the ongoing audit process.
The ceremony was attended by Directors Shemmy Ebulon (Revenue), Samson Nakito (Procurement), and Michael Logilae (Ag. Accounting Services); Deputy Directors Isaac Eregae (ICT and E-Government) and Ekwakai Lobek (Administration); and Chief Accountant Rodney Ejore.
