Kitui county employees eyeing various elective seats in the 2027 general election have been urged to focus on service delivery to residents.
Governor Julius Malombe said those seeking to run for public office should not be obsessed with politicking to a point of disrupting or derailing development projects and essential services.
Malombe spoke on Tuesday at a retreat in Mombasa that brought together members of the county executive and the county assembly.
The week-long retreat, dubbed “Kitui County Transformative Journey 2022–2027: Achievements and Strategic Focus Areas for the Final Year,” is intended to take stock of the administration’s achievements since 2022 and chart the way forward for the final year of its term.
It also seeks to develop strategies to accelerate development and improve service delivery during the remaining period.
Several senior county officials, including the governor, county assembly speaker Kevin Katisya, members of the executive committee and chief officers, have already expressed interest in various elective positions in the 2027 elections.
Malombe urged officials harbouring political ambitions to remain fully committed to their current responsibilities and use the period before the campaign season to build a strong record of service.
“For those among us who intend to contest for political office in the next political cycle, the period leading to February 2027 provides an opportunity to cement their record of service before moving into the next chapter,” Malombe said.
He reminded the aspiring politicians that they had a responsibility to continue discharging the full mandate of their current offices diligently until the last day of their term of office.
Katisya similarly cautioned against allowing the approaching elections to overshadow the county’s development agenda, saying residents’ needs would remain regardless of the political season.
“We must not allow development and the delivery of essential services to go on campaign leave or be overshadowed by the election mood. Elections will come and go, but the needs and aspirations of our people remain,” he said.
Katisya said the approaching elections should motivate county employees to make the most of every remaining day in office and remain focused on serving the people.
“The people of Kitui continue to expect us to deliver services, complete ongoing projects and address the challenges that affect their daily lives. Political transitions should therefore not become a reason to slow down the work of government,” he said.
He called on county officials to remain focused, responsible and committed to their mandate until the end of the current term of service.
Malombe said the retreat offered an opportunity for the county leadership to reflect honestly on its performance, learn from experience, refocus its energies and agree on practical measures to enable the administration to complete its term with a strong record of service.
“This final year, we must remind ourselves that government is ultimately about people. Budgets, policies, projects, programmes and institutions have meaning only when they improve the quality of life of the citizens we serve,” the governor said.
He said officials should ultimately measure their performance by the tangible difference their policies, projects and interventions make in the lives of residents.
“We are therefore here to jointly take stock of our transformative journey since 2022 and examine not only what we have done, but also the difference our interventions have made,” Malombe said.
Katisya said the retreat should demonstrate how the executive and legislature can engage constructively, exchange ideas openly and work together in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.
He said the remaining period of the current term should be characterised by accelerated implementation of programmes, prudent use of public resources, completion of ongoing projects and delivery of measurable results.
