There was a surprise turn of events as the Senate PAC, that sat in a briefing for more than two hours to inspect the papers and consult among themselves, the OAG and basically all institutions represented in the Committee, received the Governor Abdi Guyo team with smiley faces.
At the end of the session that concluded the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 audit queries, that lasted a continuous whopping five hours, the Committee were all praises for the Governor, as one of them bragged that the expectations are so high bearing the Governor came from Nairobi’s political leadership. Governor Kajwang commented that he is looking forward to Isiolo to be the Nation’s headquarters.
As the Committee took the County through diverse accounting and Management issues appertaining to 2019/20 and 2020/2021, less than ten percent of issues were unresolved as the Chair declared the two financial years queries finalized.
Governor Abdi Guyo, flanked by CEC Banticha and Chief Officer Habiba, responded to hundreds of queries with jest and pride. Only threr issues, one being 42 million unaccounted for imprests by staff’s of previous Regime, a contentious 79 million and around one million whose payment vouchers have no dates, were referred for investigation.
Meanwhile Isiolo Senator was hailed for having controlled her tempers as the Chair insinuated that there is no war between Governors and Senators but only working relationships around oversight. Governor Abdi Guyo thanked the Senate for their guidance and support and undertook to work with the Senate as an institution as well as Isiolo Senator as an individual.
The above Senators who were classified as exemplary performers, are well acquainted with the role of the Senate in accordance with the Constitution. Here in Isiolo though, we were made to think the Senate’s role is to find faults, haunt other politicians, witch-hunts, early campaigns, dividing the people by tribes/ clans, incitement against County Governments, creation of falsehoods and Conspiracy theories, deflecting progresses, misinterpret facts and absolute negativity!
It’s a pity.
We need to wake up and demand each of our Leaders work for us as appropriate and avoid some leaders usurping powers of MCAs, Controller of Budget,, Office of Auditor General, EACC and even DCI.
SECONDARY OVERSIGHT is a well cut out role and should be adhered to the letter.
I would rather they give space for other Politicians to deliver on their mandates and avoid poling nose I’m other roles that don’t involve them.
Against the backdrop of economic turmoil, natural disasters, and bureaucratic hurdles, Isiolo County has emerged a shining example of effective governance and financial stewardship. Ranked among the top 12 best-performing counties in revenue generation for the first three quarters of the fiscal year 2023/2024, Isiolo’s success story is a testament to resilience, innovation, and visionary leadership.
Isiolo County defied the odds by surpassing revenue targets with a remarkable collection of Sh237.6 million, equivalent to 87.6 percent of its annual target, in the first nine months of the fiscal year. This impressive achievement marks a significant increase from previous years, with reported revenue collections of Sh107.8 million and Sh152.7 million for the fiscal years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, respectively.
Central to this unprecedented success is the unwavering commitment of Governor H.E Abdi Guyo, whose visionary leadership and strategic initiatives have transformed the county’s revenue generation landscape. Under his stewardship, Governor Guyo revitalized the revenue department, appointing Mr. Faisal Hassan as Chief Officer to spearhead its operations. CO Feisal’s leadership brought about significant interventions, including the automation of revenue payments in critical areas such as hospitals, game reserves, and parking fees.
A pivotal decision by the department to transition from cash to mobile money payments, notably M-Pesa, has further enhanced transparency and accountability in fund management. This strategic move has not only streamlined revenue collection processes but has also instilled public trust in the county government’s financial management practices. The department is further planning to roll out the automated revenue management system to all areas this month, which is expected to double revenue collections in the coming years.
Moreover, Governor Guyo’s strategic investments in infrastructure have played a crucial role in enhancing the region’s economic potential. By strategically developing infrastructure that supports the livestock sector, Isiolo County has witnessed an increase in the value of livestock products, thereby bolstering revenue streams and stimulating economic growth.
The success story of Isiolo County serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration, demonstrating that with visionary leadership, innovation, and strategic investments, even amidst adversity, sustainable development and economic prosperity are achievable. As other counties grapple with similar challenges, Isiolo’s journey stands as a testament to the transformative power of effective governance and prudent financial management.
The Project implementation team led by Chief Officer Public Service Management, Honourable Batula Maalim Ali, made an inspection tour of the Accident & Emergency Project which is fast approaching completion.
The team that comprised members of the Committee as well as Heads of the user departments that included the Casualty, ICU/HDU, Theater, Orthopedics, Records, Customer care among others as the construction of the building is near complete.
The team were impressed by the speed at which the project is progressing and urged the Contractor to start preparation for the hand over of the project as he continues with the finishing touches.
The project Implementation team comprises the ICTRH Board Chairman, Chief Officers PSM & Public Works, ICTRH Medical Superintendent, Representatives from GDU and the Contractor’s representative among other.
I had an encounter with an old friend and politician at a wedding venue in Nairobi over the weekend. The old man was so dismissive about the Governor of Isiolo claiming that he’s done nothing for the County, basing his argument on a smelly roamer, the custom conspiracy theory and trivial fallacies around opposition circles, that has been trending in social media.
I started by highlighting that the politics of Isiolo has outlived petty trivialties and tribal politics of “your” olden times.
I felt so irritated but composed myself to take him through just a few of the massive achievements within one and a half years of Governor H.E. Abdi Guyo leadership.
The Export Abbatoir whose olden structure that was a cash cow for precious regimes, that the Governor demolished most of it to come up with an Export Abbatoir of it’s kind that conforms with the EEC standard, and is among the first of it’s kind in Africa.
I told him to visit that facility that cost close to one billion half of which was committed by the Government of H.E. Abdi Guyo.
I told him to find out the seventeen Boreholes, ten of which are solely funded by the County Government and seven that were done in partnership with other players, that added to the fourty four that was done since independence. I told him of eleven more boreholes coming up the remainder of the year to make it a whopping 28 in two years. 70 percent massive.
I asked if he ever heard of the doubling of Bursary kitty from 35 million to 70 Million and the five million food support for ECDs that was recently realized.under the wise leadership of a focussed youthful Leader who’ve outlived the custom trivialties of your olden styles of leadership.
As he tried to squeeze some argument about the procedure of Bursary distribution, I educated him on the water- tight procedures that directly involves independent Ward level Committees chaired by a local, in which the area MCA and Ward Administrator sits, which is the ultimate level of offering such Bursaries to needy students.
I took the old politician through the massive Water Tanks at Bulesa and Gubatu, the several Early Childhood centers, the first ever cabro-road that cuts across Bulapesa, starting at Taqwa, and all the way to Isiolo Market, the tens of roads undergoing murraming/ cabro works, the solar flaghlights that have lightened Isiolo streets like never before, the Accident & Emergency Center that has changed the entire Medical demography, at ICTRH and the state of the Art tripartite Inpatient wards at Biliqo. I told him of the upcoming Maternity and Newborn units at ICTRH.
I took him through the four massively operationalized Polytechnics that have so far graduated tens of hundreds and thousands still learning critical life skills as well as The Isiolo Youth Innovation Center that have revolutionized the Isiolo Youth towards employability and self employment.
I took him through the massive empowerment of Youths and Women with Motorcycles, Tuktuks, Nissans, Car wash and Hair salon equipments on the one hand, and the tens of millions blessed with Ngaremara and Burat Women groups through very successful fundraisers.
I asked the former leader, if he remembers the drought that struck the people in 2022/23 and the flood aftermath that had massive impact of the mainly pastoralists population in Isiolo and if he ever contemplated the equally proportional intervention that followed.
The subject gullible past politician almost melted right there, as he suggested that he has an interest in politics this time round, to which I told him there is no vacancy at Gubernatorial slot untill 2032 and that he should just try other slots.
Had he given me more time, I would’ve lectured him a couple of hours on the nitty gritty of an unprecedented Leadership that have won hearts and minds throughout the County and beyond.
A young man asked his grandfather, “Grandpa, how did you live in the past without technology . . . without computers, without Internet connection, without TVs, without air conditioners, without cars, no cell phones?” Grandpa answered: “As your generation lives today . . . there are no prayers, there is no compassion, there is no respect, no real education, there is no personality, there is no shame at all, there is no modesty, there is no honesty. We, the people born between the years 1940-1980, were the blessed ones. Our lives are a living proof.”
While playing and riding a bike, we have never worn a helmet.
Before school then we played and again after school until dusk and hardly ever watched television.
We played with real friends, not virtual friends.
If we were thirsty, we would drink tap water, or water from the hose, not mineral water.
We never worried even as we shared the same cup of juice with four friends.
We never gained weight by eating plates of pasta every day.
Nothing happened to our feet despite roaming barefoot.
We never used food supplements to stay healthy.
We used to make our own toys and play with them.
Our parents were not rich. They gave love, not stuff.
We never had a cell phone, DVD, game console, Xbox, video game, PC, internet, chat . . . but we had true friends.
We visited our friends without being invited and shared and enjoyed the food with them. Parents lived nearby to take advantage of family time.
We may have had black and white photos, but you can find colorful memories in these photos.
We are a unique and the most understanding generation, because we are the last generation that listened to their parents. And we are also the first ones who were forced to listen to their children.
We are a limited edition! Take advantage of us. Learn from us. We are a treasure destined to disappear soon.
The political aura of Isiolo County have since time immemorial been saturated by the obsessions of preoccupying the mass with retrogressive politics of speculations, spin and conspiracy theories.
While the Governorship of Abdi Guyo brought about the worthy leadership of prioritizing service delivery, thereby stashing away the campaign mood that some politicians fancy pursuing for the entire five year term, there are these categories of politicians that feed on exactly that; Spin, Speculation and Conspiracy theories.
Yes, Putting the County in campaign mood via witch-hunt, accelerating hateful rhetoric, painting the air with spin, speculations and conspiracy theories. Some rely on obsessive excuses of Oversight while others hibernate under clan chauvinism to spread bad blood and pit clans against each other. Barbaric as it is, tactics continue changing from street outbursts to FM vernacular Radio interviews to presenting trivialties and none issues in social media platforms and sometimes even in the form of writing out letters, as well as presentations at areas of their jurisdiction, allegations that end up wthout an iota of weight whatsoever. The busybodies have now resorted to hiring rogues bloggers to paint the air in Rainbow colours, saturating the Aura with allegations, mostly based on falsehoods. Furthermore, their obsession with bloggers have landed them in the hands of mostly abusive, narrow nepotistic brats that are choosey in bragging, insults and stooping too low that any objective argument is rendered unviable.
It’s therefore imperative to just assume such characters, disregard them and treat them with deserving contempt as we embrace Governor Guyo’s developmental initiatives he’s realized and those that he’s committed to deliver.
There is no doubt that the retrogressive characters will endeavour to deflect the population attention from the great strides being realized, in attempts to mislead them.
Their mentors are also out to fault anything and everything with the one focus to derail developments owing to their ill intent to deny the regime the credit.
Let us be on the lookout therefore and deny these shenanigans the very attention they strive for, deny them the platform as we pursue our mission to keep trending, the flow of information and update the people about the servant leadership deliverances in abundance.
That you’ve been blessed with a little wealth by the very giver, the Allmighty Allah does not warrant you to be proud. Reason!- It’s not your making but a test from Allah who’s said in the Holy Quran; We will test you with your Health, Wealth, Offsprings, Sickness etc.
That you got an opportunity to find yourself in a foreign land with economic power, hence granting you opportunities to elevate your livelihood, does not make you above other beings. Verily the nearness to the Allmighty Allah is the only credentials that qualifies you to be more equal than others.
That you get a Wealthy spouse hence find yourself from rags to riches doesn’t qualify you to speak using your nose in pride as The Almighty can as well return you to your original misery if you are ungrateful.
I would rather we humble ourselves and seek the nearness to Allah that is the ultimate measurement to our superiority over other beings.
The Holier than thou attitude of some people owing to a little elevation from the Allmighty, therefore treating others like some shit nail dirt, could as well turn a curse on them and render them off the cliff. That’s for sure.
Meanwhile, our Prophet ( Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us to restrain from insulting our mothers and when asked how can someone insult his mother, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him said that if you insult someone else’s mother, and that person returns back by insulting your mother, then that means you insulted your mother.
I would rather we therefore refrain from insulting our mothers, mothers of our children and our sisters through insulting other people’s mothers, spouses or sisters.
The conspiracy theorists have been so bankrupt of ideas to fault the Governor of Isiolo H.E. Abdi Ibrahim Guyo, they’ve resorted to hanging onto flimsy issues ( bordering more in falsehoods)of no substance whatsoever. 🤣Wow! The Governor had a gaffe with Somalis, the Gabra! 🤣Wow! The Governor mentioned the Muslim clergy and compared faiths! 🤣Wow the Governor certificate! 🤣Wow! The Governor’s costly dressings!
Some are going out of their way to hurl insults at people reporting progress and successes! Some are portraying successes of the Governor’s political history negatively for the simple purpose of satisfying their hate-ridden egos.
There has never been a time ever, the Somalis and Gabra Communities closed ranks with the Governor and have turned darlings of the regime, as today. Both tribes are all praises for the Governor owing to his indiscriminate servant Leadership. For Allah’s sake, you can’t paint the air with Rainbow colours and convince the people that these are true colours of the air. The unprecedented Leadership displayed by the Governor has caused shivers down their spines and they’re left holding onto straws and bubbles. Furthermore, when truth comes through the door, falsehoods seek openings to sneak out. The blow rendered to them resultant of the 29th April, whereby their false predictions came to pass, has devastated them quite, that they are Helter skelter, seeking shelter where there is none. In the meantime, Governor Abdi Ibrahim GUYO’S servant leadership keeps gaining momentum as it’s felt at the remotest of villages in the land. For the third time in a fortnight, the Governor is on his way to visit victims of flood to avail even more support to help them overcome the effects of flood devastations, in company of the second in command in Kenya’s political hierarchy, Deputy President His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua.
Last Saturday, Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo made mention of venomous politicking from the pulpit, whereby he said in comparison, the Mosque Clergy are more into it than the Church. His sentiment was however deliberately misinterpreted, for obvious reasons, that he compared the correctness of the faiths. There is nothing, as further from the truth.
The Governor’s attention was resultant of a notorious Muslim Clergy whose narrow nepotistic hate dates back to the first Kuti Regime that ousted his kin from the helm.
He has since hibernated behind the pulpit to ridicule, attack and humiliate every other regime ever since.
In the aftermath of the recent visit by the Governor for the flood rescue operation, the subject clergy incited yet other like minded streetwise clergymen to use offensive words to describe the County Leadership and hence the Governor’s reaction urging the Muslim Clergymen to avoid using the pulpit for politicking hate.
The very mention of the Merti Church pulpit as not cooking politics compared to the Merti Mosque has given hate agents the platform to massively misinterpret and cook the custom conspiracy theories.
The Governor sentiment however clearly surrounds the misuse of the pulpit to build and enhance hate and has nothing to do with comparing the two faiths whatsoever.
I would rather therefore, we call a spade by its name and not term it as a big spoon and therefore dismiss with deserving contempt the shenanigans misinterpretation of the facts of the matter. Meanwhile, Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo has proved himself as a principled leader of his own kind, by returning within less than a week to a venue where he was heckled, hence refusing to be overtaken by emotions, which was definitely the reason behind the heckling.
His refusal to give in to emotions and subsequent return, if not the quality fatherly advisory in his speech, has won hearts and minds, so much so that Merti has turned Abdi Guyo stronghold overnight.
A display of unprecedented Leadership that cares, is deserving!
Daandi Qarooma 