Governorship

The Governorship comprises the Office of the Governor, Deputy Governor and County Secretary. The Governorship is mandated to spearhead policy formulation, promotion of the rule of law to enhance order, resource mobilization, coordination and supervision of effective and efficient public service delivery, response to critical community needs during disaster occurrences, publicity, branding, and public participation.

About

VISION:
A transformative and progressive County for sustainable and equitable development

MISSION:
To provide high quality service to Busia residents through well governed institutions and equitable resource distribution

CORE VALUES:
Transparency: We encourage openness in sharing information between the County Government and the public

Accountability: We hold ourselves answerable to the highest ideals of professionalism, ethics and competency
Integrity: We believe that acting honourably is the foundation of everything we do and the basis of public trust
Teamwork: We understand the strength of cooperation and collaboration and that our success depends on our ability to work together as one cohesive team
Fairness: We have an open culture and are committed to providing equal opportunities for everyone
Honesty: We insist on truthfulness with each other; with the citizens, we expect and value openness
Equity: We believe in fairness for every resident in distribution of resources and opportunities

Mandate

Office of the Governor
The County Governor is the Chief Executive of the County Government of Busia and the Deputy Governor the deputy chief executive (Article 179 (4) of the CoK).
The office of the governor is responsible for the following functions as outlined in Section 30 of the County Government Act 2012.
i) Diligently execute the functions and exercise the authority provided for in the Constitution and legislation;
ii) Perform such state functions within the county as the President may from time to time assign on the basis of mutual consultations;
iii) Represent the county in national and international fora and events;
iv) Appoint, with the approval of the County Assembly, the County Executive Committee in accordance with Article 179(2)(b) of the Constitution;
v) Constitute the County Executive Committee portfolio structure to respond to the functions and competencies assigned to and transferred to each county;
vi) Submit the county plans and policies to the County Assembly for approval;
vii) Consider, approve and assent to bills passed by the County Assembly
viii) Chair meetings of the County Executive Committee
ix) By a decision notified in the county gazette, assign to every member of the County Executive Committee, responsibility to ensure the discharge of any function within the county and the provision of related services to the people;
x) Submit to the county assembly an annual report on the implementation status of the county policies and plans;
xi) Deliver annual state of the county address containing such matters as may be specified in county legislation;
xii) Sign and cause to be published in the County Gazette Notice. all important formal decisions made by the Governor or by the County Executive Committee;
xiii) Provide leadership in the management of the affairs of the county;
xiv) Ensure implementation of county and other national legislation, as may be required;
xv) Initiate the formulation and implementation of policies
xvi) Oversee the decentralization of services to the extent possible;
xvii) Promote democratic and accountable exercise of power;
xviii) Ensure participation of the people in decision-making;
xix) Mainstream the interests and rights of the people;
xx) Identify bottlenecks to implementation of policies and programmes; and providing solutions;
xxi) Initiate and coordinate financial support for development projects and programmes;
xxii) Initiate and coordinate implementation of the County’s projects and programmes; and
Accountable for the management and use of the county resources.

Directorates

To effectively implement its mandate, the Governorship is segregated into seven directorates namely;

Administration

H. E Dr. Paul Nyongesa Otuoma E. G. H.

Governor

H. E Arthur Odera.

Deputy Governor and CECM Health and Sanitation.

Mr. Solomon Akadake Abwaku, Governship & Disaster Management Directorates.

Robert Muganda, Director Public Administration

Shadrack Maloba, Director Service Delivery

Winston Mbanda, Director Communication

Matthew Ekakoro, Director Enforcement & Security

Achievements

All projects unertaken by the County Government can be found HERE. Click To View

Sub Counties

Busia County is organized into seven sub counties, namely;

TESO NORTH SUB COUNTY

TesoNorth Sub-County is comprised of six wards namely: Malaba South, Malaba Central, Malaba North, Ang’urai East, Ang’urai South and Ang’urai North.

It has a population of 117,947 as per the last census. The sub-county covers an area of 236.8km² and is administered by Zipporah Amoit, Sub County Administrator.

Teso North is enriched with fertile soil thus enabling theresidents to engage in subsistence farming with most focusing on growing cereals.

The presence of Kakapel monument which depicts the rich culture of the Ateso people makes the sub county a desired tourist destination. This is partially responsible for the rapidly growing hospitality and hotel industry.

The border point at Malaba facilitates movement of trucks between Kenya and Uganda thus making Teso North one of Kenya’s economic hubs.

TESO SOUTH SUB COUNTY

Teso South is made of six wards namely: Amukura West, Amukura East, Amukura Central, Angorom, Chakol North and Chakol South. The main town, which also serves as its administrative headquarters, is Amukura.The town attracts a large population due to the trading opportunities it provides and also the social amenities available. ChristantusOkwara currently serves as the Sub County Administrator.

Majority of the residents are still youthful. This, coupled with consistent rainfall, makes rain-fed agriculture the go-to economic activity. Maize, nuts and sugarcane are some of the crops they grow.

NAMBALE SUB COUNTY

Nambale is administratively divided into four different wards which include: Nambale Township, Bukhayo East, Bukhayo North/Walatsi and Bukhayo Central. Together, these wards occupy an area of 237.8Km². Fridah Nekesa serves as the Sub County Administrator. The main town in the sub county is Nambale, a vibrant town along the Busia-Mumias highway.

Unlike most other areas of Busia County which have loam soils, Nambale, located in the lower northern section of Busia has dark clay soils. As such, it is quite suitable for large scale cash crop farming and small scale subsistence farming. Tobacco, maize, coffee, cotton and sugarcane are some of the crops grown. Additionally, the residents also engage in livestock keeping and trade.

MATAYOS SUB COUNTY

It is located in the lower region of Busia County. It has five wards namely: Mayenje, Burumba, Matayos South, Busibwabo and Bukhayo West wards. It is majorly occupied by Bakhayo sub tribe,Teso and Luo tribes. It is basically the heart of Busia County, currently administered by Mr. Daniel Okana. The County headquarters are based in Matayos sub-county

It’s known as the gateway to East and Central Africa because it a border sub-county. It's the most Economically active sub county with Busia town as the largest manucipality. Cross border Trading is the most dominant economic activity in this Sub County because of Kenya-Uganda border. Other economic activities include farming and industrialization. The hospitality industry is also a selling point with big hotels in the Sub-county especially within Busia town.

BUTULA SUB COUNTY

It's one of the Sub Counties located in the lower region of Busia County. It borders Siaya County and Kakamega County. It has 6 wards namely : Marachi West, Marachi North, Marachi Central, Kingandole and Elugulu wards. This Sub-County is currently administered by Mr. David Sibeyo. The Sub County is mainly occupied by the Marachisub tribe and Luo tribe.

Economically, it's one of the best revenue generation areas with Bumala market as one of the biggest markets in Busia hence has a lot of potential in economical development. The main economic activities include trading, farming both crop (with sugarcane as the main cash crop) and livestock farming.

The Marachi people in Butula Sub County are culturally known for making of Marachi sofas and pottery. There's also a cultural center at Sikarira to help promote cultural activities such as traditional dances, acting and elders passing down history to the youth through storytelling. Tourism attraction sites in the Sub County include the beautiful stones and rocks in Bukhalarire, Mudama and Elugulu areas.

Some of the major development projects put in place by the County government include, Construction of a Rehabilitation Centre, Educational institutions, Healthcare facilities and Agricultural projects.

SAMIA SUB COUNTY

Samia Sub Countyis located in the lower region of Busia county. Its administered by Ms. Caroline Oduor, as Sub County administrator and it comprises four wards namely:Bwiri, Agenga/Nanguba, Namboboto/Nambuku and Nangina wards. It borders Siaya County, Bunyala Sub-County and Uganda.

Main economic activities include fishing due to its strategic location along Lake Victoria. Fishing takes place in the following areas;Busembe, Bumbe and Sio port.Farming (Horticulture,poultry,pig farming etc). There is also subsistence farming in the area. Other economic activities include mining( rock crushing), construction industry(sand harvesting and brick making). There are also good sceneries for sight-seeing such as Samia Hills and lake Victoria.

Since lake Victoria extends to some parts of Samia Subcounty, there are a number of beaches in the area including Bumbe, Buyukha, Sio Port and Busijo beaches. Culturally, the Abasamia of Kenya and Uganda have ties that bring them together to annual festivals including boat racing, exhibition of traditional food and beer, football and other games competition.

To support fish farming in the region, there's a fingerling hatchery at Wakhungu fisheries complex which serves Busia, Kakamega and Siaya counties. Also the County Government established massive fish farming project at Bukani village. The project has 100 fish ponds.

BUNYALA SUB COUNTY

Bunyala Sub County is located in the lower region of Busia county. It borders SamiaSub County, Siaya county and Uganda.The Sub County is administered by a Sub County Administrator, Mr.Nelson Otando. It comprises of four wards namely:Bunyala West, Bunyala Central, Bunyala South and Bunyala North wards.

It is one of the most economically vibrant Sub Counties in Busia where fishing is the most dominant economic activity since part of Lake Victoria extends to the Sub County. Other complementing economic activities in the Sub County include; large scale irrigation-farming (Bunyala irrigation scheme where rice is the mainly produced) and small scale subsistence farming.

Bunyala Sub County is home to the largest fish farming project at Mulukoba Beach with modern fish cages rearing 10,000 fingerlings per cage. This project is facilitated by the County Government of Busia.

There is also blooming tourism and hospitality marked by a number of modern hotels and recreation facilities due to the strategic location of the Sub County, which is along Lake Victoria beaches