MCAs approve Governor Orengo's CEC Finance nominee

Siaya Governor James Orengo at the Siaya County Assembly. [File, Standard]

Siaya's incoming County Executive for Finance, Dan Okoth, has promised to overhaul the county's financial management by tackling pending bills, improving project monitoring and speeding up implementation of approved budgets.

The County Assembly unanimously approved his nomination on Wednesday, paving the way for Governor James Orengo to formally appoint him to the docket.

Okoth's proposed reforms emerged during his vetting by the House Committee on Appointments, where he outlined what he intends to do to address persistent challenges facing the county's finance department.

His immediate task will be to contain the accumulation of pending bills, which he acknowledged had placed significant pressure on the county budget.

Okoth pledged to strengthen financial discipline and prudent use of public resources while developing measures to clear existing obligations and prevent the accumulation of new pending bills.

He also plans to tighten monitoring of county projects, particularly those that roll over from one financial year to another.

The nominee attributed delays in project reporting and presentation partly to inadequate planning and monitoring.

He proposed reorganising the department to ensure quarterly progress reports are prepared and submitted on time.

The reports, he said, would allow the county to track the progress of projects, forecast payments more accurately and identify projects likely to spill into the next financial year.

Such information would also be available early enough to inform the county's budget-making process and ensure that projects requiring continued funding are properly factored into subsequent budgets.

Okoth further promised to address delays in remitting statutory deductions made from employees' salaries.

He said the deductions would be remitted to the relevant institutions within the prescribed timelines to safeguard employees' access to benefits such as pensions and health-related services.

The nominee also identified poor coordination between county departments as a factor contributing to delays in implementing approved budgets.

He pledged to strengthen interdepartmental coordination and collaboration to ensure funds allocated to approved programmes and projects are translated into actual implementation within the financial year.

Okoth's experience in public finance spans both the national and county governments.

He started his career at the National Treasury as an Accountant Grade II before rising through the ranks to serve as a District Accountant in different parts of the country.

He later joined the Siaya County Government, where he served as Chief Officer for Trade and Industrialisation and Finance and Economic Planning.

With his nomination now approved, Okoth faces the task of turning his vetting promises into action once formally appointed.