Health and Sanitation

County Executive Committee Member (CECM) – Health and Sanitation

36. Functions of the executive committee

(1) In addition to the functions provided under Article 183 of the Constitution, a county executive committee shall—

(a) supervise the administration and delivery of services in the county and all decentralized units and agencies in the county;

(b) perform any other functions conferred on it by the Constitution or national legislation; and

(c) carry out any function incidental to any of the assigned functions.

(2) In the performance of its functions, a county executive committee shall have power to determine its own programme of activities and every member of the committee shall observe integrity and disclosure of interest in any matter before the committee.

Article 183. Functions of County Executive Committees

(1) A county executive committee shall–

• (a) implement county legislation;
• (b) implement, within the county, national legislation to the extent that the legislation so requires;
• (c) manage and coordinate the functions of the county administration and its departments; and
• (d) perform any other functions conferred on it by this Constitution or national legislation.

(2) A county executive committee may prepare proposed legislation for consideration by the county assembly.

(3) The county executive committee shall provide the county assembly with full and regular reports on matters relating to the county.

Chief Officer (s) – Health and Sanitation

Responsibilities of accounting officers designated for county government entities.

149. (1) An accounting officer is accountable to the county assembly for ensuring that the resources of the entity for which the officer is designated are used in a way that is—

(a) lawful and authorised; and

(b) effective, efficient, economical and transparent.

(2) In carrying out a responsibility imposed by subsection (1), an accounting officer shall, in respect of the entity concerned—

(a) ensure that all expenditure made by the entity complies with subsection (1);

(b) ensure that the entity keeps financial and accounting records that comply with this Act;

(c) ensure that all financial and accounting records that the entity keeps in any form including in electronic form are adequately protected and backed up;

(d) ensure that all contracts entered into by the entity are lawful and are complied with;

(e) ensure that all applicable accounting procedures are followed when acquiring or disposing of goods and services and that, in the case of goods, adequate arrangements are made for their custody, safe guarding and maintenance;

(f) bring a matter to the attention of the County Executive Committee member responsible for the entity if, in the accounting officer’s opinion a decision or policy or proposed decision or policy of the entity may result in resources being used in a way that is contrary to subsection (1);

(g) prepare a strategic plan for the entity in conformity with the medium term fiscal framework and financial objectives of the county government;

(h) prepare estimates of expenditure of the entity in conformity with the strategic plan referred to in paragraph (g);

(i) submit the estimates of an entity, which is not a county corporation, to the County Executive Committee member for finance;

(j) submit the estimates of an entity, which is a county corporation, to the executive committee member responsible for the entity who, after approving it, shall forward it to the County Executive Committee member for finance;

(k) not later than three months after the end of each financial year, prepare annual financial statements for that financial year and submit them to the Auditor-General for audit, with a copy to the County Treasury;

(l) try to resolve any issues resulting from an audit that remain outstanding;

(m) manage the assets of the entity to ensure that it receives value for money when acquiring, using or disposing of its assets;

(n) dispose of assets at the most competitive price and at the lowest possible cost ensuring that the proceeds from all asset disposals are deposited in a bank account of the entity;

(o) ensure that the respective county government entity has adequate systems and processes in place to plan for, procure, account for, maintain, store and dispose of assets, including an asset register that is current, accurate and available to the relevant County Treasury or the Auditor- General;

(p) provide the County Treasury with any information it requires to fulfil its functions under this Act;

(q) provide information on any frauds, losses, or any violations of subsection (1) and provide explanations for the actions taken to prevent similar conduct in future; and

(r) carry out such other responsibilities as may be specified in regulations by the County Executive Committee member for finance.

(3) Not later than three months after the county assembly has adopted a report by a committee of the county assembly with respect to a report submitted by the Controller of Budget under Article 228(6) of the Constitution, an accounting officer shall, for each entity for which the officer is designated—

(a) prepare a report on actions taken by the entity to implement any recommendations made in the committee’s report as adopted by the county assembly; and

(b) submit the report to the county assembly with a copy to the County Treasury.

(4) Not later than one month after receiving a report by an accounting officer under subsection (3), the County Treasury shall submit to the county assembly the accounting officer’s report and any comments on the report by the County Treasury.

(5) The report referred to in subsection (3) shall be published and publicised.

The County Ministry of Health and Sanitation is headed by the County Executive Committee Member of Health and Sanitation. The accounting officer is the Chief Officer of Health. The top technical administration is headed by the Deputy Director and assisted by an Assistant Director. Heads of the various technical departments complete the County Health Management team. The ministry is organized into various key service departments which include: – Clinical, Nursing, Diagnostics, Rehabilitative, Pharmacy, Public Health, Nutrition, Ambulance services etc.

The ministry has a vibrant workforce of about 1086 health workers who man 11 hospitals, 24 health centers and 220 dispensaries spread across the 30,000KM2 of the county. The ministry’s core mandate is to provide quality curative, preventive and promotive and rehabilitative health care services to the people of Kitui County.

To achieve this, the ministry’s services are organized into three tiers; there are various services that can be accessed at different tiers of care. Tier 1 encompasses community strategy where health promotion, community hygiene, and sanitation, Ambulance linkage, and referral to health facilities and disease prevention services are provided. Tier 2 comprising of health centre and dispensaries provide health promotion, curative, preventive, Ambulance services, HIV and TB services, maternal and child health services etc. Tier 3 comprising of Sub County and County hospitals provide all the services provided by tier 2 and in addition it provides specialized services such as surgical services, Dental services, Ophthalmology services, Psychiatry care, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Orthopedics therapy, specialized pediatrics services, Specialized Medical services, Radiology services, Obstetrics and Gynecological and Ambulance services.