By Christopher Omondi.
The City management of Kisumu has been facing scrutiny recently over its underperformance in infrastructure development, with most of its projects stalled or abandoned. The residents are left to mention various factors as to why the department is failing its people.
The City management of Kisumu operates under the Kisumu City Board, which oversees the city management, implements policies, and ensures efficient service delivery to the residents. The City Manager’s office works closely with various departments, including finance, procurement, internal audit, communication, and corporate affairs.
However, in recent times, the City Management has failed to deliver according to the residents. In recent meetings between City officials and traders at Uhuru Market, the chairman, Mr. Abala Wanga, explained the challenges they were facing.
“Kisumu City’s rapid urbanization has led to the growth of informal settlements, which pose challenges for the city management in terms of providing adequate infrastructure and services, external factors such as economic and environmental such as natural calamities. These have reverted our priorities and this affect our performance, the Kisumu Municipal Council lacks the capacity required in terms of staff and resources for management of urban development, particularly in informal settlements”.
However, the members of the public also raised their cases on the performance of city management in regards to service delivery.
“Inadequate planning, as the process of deciding projects is not participatory, excluding slum dwellers and other stakeholders from decision making for example the floodlight project that is failing in every ward in Kisumu Central. The city department is also operating on tight and fixed budgets, which are also lost to corruption. This really affects the performance of the City Management in terms of paying staff who work for the City Council.” This is by Gilbert Odulo.
To improve the performance of the City Management, the City board should enhance inclusive planning processes that involve all the stakeholders, and train staff through capacity-building programs to improve skills and knowledge in urban management.
Collaborating with other government agencies, the private sector organizations, and civil society groups, such as the Kisumu County Development Trust (KCDT), is essential. It will help boost public participation and improve service delivery through civic education, community mobilization, and public engagement.
