More women to be employed as chiefs in West Pokot.

Kapenguria, Friday, June 02, 2023,

KNA by Anthony Melly

West Pokot County Commissioner Apollo Okello has disclosed that more women will be employed to the positions of chiefs.

Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations at Makutano Stadium in Kapenguria town, the county commissioner said there is a need to lift the barriers that limit women from positions of leadership and other jobs. 

Okello reiterated that the county will be employing more women because there are more men who are chiefs than women in the region and there is a need to reduce the gender parity.

He encouraged women to apply for the chiefs’ positions if they are advertised, saying they will be considered for employment.

He assured them that corruption will not be allowed during the recruitment exercise for area chiefs.

Okello said he will urge those who will be on the recruitment panel to ensure they employ more women than men in the advertised slots.

The CC noted that the government is committed to gender parity and West Pokot County will hire more women for the chiefs’ positions, and he encouraged the county leadership to also consider employing more women in other positions when the need arises.

On security, Okello urged the leaders and local community that whenever their grievances need to be addressed, it should be done in a timely manner through his office before they escalate into problems or insecurity issues.

He said they have identified places to set up security camps in areas prone to insecurity. "We will have security camps at Lami Nyeusi, Ombolion, Amolem, and Chesegon," he said.

The CC said humans are prone to wrongdoing, but there is a need for problems to be solved before it is too late. He called upon leaders and the community to share information on officers suspected to be lazy so that disciplinary action could be taken against them.

He thanked leaders elected into leadership and those who lost their seats during the last general election for resolving to work together for the sake of peace and prosperity in the region.

"I want to thank all leaders who were elected and those who were not in positions in government because we are all working together. Let us continue to work together," he urged.

Okello said the issue of insecurity is not for one person to tackle; it is for those in power and the community to work together in the fight against it.

He said, "Let's work together to ensure our county remains peaceful from issues of insecurity."

West Pokot has a total of 20 wards in its four constituencies, namely Kacheliba, Kapenguria, Sigor, and Pokot South. In the 20 wards in the region, only two women were elected as Members of the County Assembly (MCA), while 18 men were elected, raising the gender parity question.

The county nominated 12 members of the county assembly, nine of whom were women, while three men were nominated to reduce gender parity.

Bernard Krop, a resident of Makutano, while addressing the press, lauded the county commissioner, noting that gone are the days when women were neglected in society because of their gender.

Krop disclosed that for many years the region has been neglecting women in positions of leadership until recently, when such barriers were lifted, and noted that today there are many women in employment, unlike before.

West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin urged the leaders and locals during Madaraka Day to play their role in the fight against insecurity in the region. He called upon leaders in both West Pokot and Turkana County to guard their tongues against words that could lead to insecurity.

However, the governor pointed out that his government is committed to service delivery to all residents without any discrimination and urged all leaders and the local community to work together on matters of development for the benefit of residents.

He emphasized that the county government will continue to have a good relationship with the national government in the implementation of projects, initiatives and programs that benefit the residents.

 Courtesy ; K. N. A