Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has urged public servants to prioritise results and accountability, warning that public office should not become “a refuge for indifference”.
Speaking during the County Performance Recognition Event for the 2024-25 financial year, the governor said residents judge leaders by the quality of services delivered rather than policy documents or promises.
“Governance is not a stage to display intentions; it is a page to showcase results,” Nyong’o said.
He said performance management remained central to translating county plans into tangible improvements in healthcare, infrastructure and service delivery.
Nyong’o said Kisumu county had aligned itself with the national push to strengthen performance management systems in devolved units through the Council of Governors and the Kenya Devolution Support Programme.
He also pointed to the proposed Draft Public Performance Management Bill 2025 as a sign of growing commitment towards institutionalising accountability in public service.
According to the governor, all county departments set clear targets during the 2024-25 financial year, and their performance was reviewed through a structured and competitive evaluation process.
The assessment, he said, showed progress in key sectors, including healthcare, where the county reduced patient waiting times, improved access to essential medicines and strengthened maternal healthcare services.
Nyong’o added that increased public participation had allowed residents to play a greater role in shaping county priorities and budgeting processes.
“The citizens of Kisumu are not persuaded by frameworks but by outcomes. They measure us by whether a mother receives timely care, whether a child learns in dignity, whether roads are passable and whether opportunity is within reach,” he said.
However, the governor acknowledged that some departments fell short of expectations due to procurement delays, coordination challenges and capacity gaps.
He warned that in some cases, poor performance stemmed from complacency and a lack of urgency among officers entrusted with public responsibilities.
“Where there has been complacency, where urgency has been replaced by comfort, and where responsibility has been treated as optional, the results are predictably inadequate. This is not acceptable in public service,” Nyong’o said.
He urged officers who failed to meet their obligations to reflect on whether they were equal to the responsibilities entrusted to them, insisting that accountability should be viewed as corrective rather than punitive.
At the same time, the governor commended the county’s Strategy, Policy and Delivery Department for ensuring a credible and consistent performance evaluation cycle under the Integrated County Performance Management Framework.
During the event, Nyong’o unveiled the county’s 2024-25 Performance Report and recognised departments and individuals who excelled in service delivery.
He said the awards should inspire higher standards across all county departments as the devolved unit works towards improving the lives of residents.
“In a devolved system such as ours, performance management is not an abstract concept but the difference between a patient receiving timely care, a road being repaired and water flowing reliably to households,” he said.
