Alice Njenga 31st may 2023

FINALLY, ACTION IN SIAYA AFTER ‘10 BEDS JIBE’

County officials in Siaya yesterday held day-long emergency meetings, a day before their ill
preparedness to combat covid 19 was cited in a presidential address to the nation.

Tight-lipped and grim faced health officials shuttled down between county headquarters and
governor Cornell Rasanga’s rural home in Segere, a day after president Uhuru Kenyatta hinted that
ill preparedness in some of the counties made him delay opening up the economy.

The president cited Siaya and Busia counties, whose failure to avail more beds in isolating centers
reflected the general slow emergency preparedness for a full blown Covid-1 9scnerio. Uhuru said
Siaya had a paltry 10 beds in its Covid-19 isolation, nine of which were already occupied with
patients.

Its neighbours, Busia had all 34 beds taken up by track drivers. The revelations became wake-up
call foe 47 counties, lit up social media with anger and plunged Siaya into a crisis with sources
saying governor Rasanga threatened disciplinary action against some of some of his senior officials.

Rasanga declined to speak to the media, but sources close to him said he furiously rejected a report
presented to him by a team of senior officials on the state of county’s Covid-19 preparedness.
“The governor is very annoyed. He is demanding answer,’’said the source who requested
anonymity.

Hour after the president’s address, the county announced its intention to increase its isolation beds
ward’s capacity to 50.The 50- bed capacity Urenga Health Center in Ugenya sub-county would be
converted into an isolation ward.

“This new development is aimed at increasing our isolation bed capacity to handle a possible surge
in the number of positive corona virus cases,’’Okumbe said.
He said the county had begun modalities to covert Urenga to an isolate center long before Uhuru’s
announcement and that the facility will soon start admitting.

“We currently have four Covid-19 patients in the isolation beds after four others recovered while
one died before he was admitted in Bondo,’’he said.
Health Executive Dorothy Owino insisted that the department was well-prepared to handle any case
of Coronavirus, saying all the positive cases in the county were imported. She said besides the
Covid-19 crisis, the county has revolutionized health sector services on the onset of the devolution.

“We have built 25 dispensaries and 15 more are being lined up. We have also put up 14 maternity
wards in level 2 and 3 hospitals,’’ said Mrs Owino.
Siaya’s Covid-19 ill-preparedness has put its general performance under scrutiny, coming at a time
the Controller of Budget has criticized counties of using a huge chunk of their budget on re-current.

{Alice Njenga}

Peniel Properties Limited