Arati, Barasa and Waiguru ranked best performing governors in latest Politrack survey

Kisii Governor Simba Arati and his Kakamega counterpart Fernandes Barasa are the best performing county bosses in the country, this is according to the latest survey conducted by Politrack.

The survey, released on Monday, December 8, shows that Governors Arati and Barasa enjoy an approval rating of 65%.

Kisii residents who participated in the survey noted that Arati’s administration has significantly increased Kisii County’s own-source revenue collection by 178%, therefore providing more funds for development.

The survey also showed that Governor Arati has launched a major face-lift of Kisii Town, including the construction of modern bus parks, street lighting, walkways, and drainage systems to decongest and modernise the county capital.

Other aspects that led to Arati being ranked the best performing governor include, but not limited to, the “Simba Arati Scholarship Fund” which supports bright but needy students and consistently sponsors local talent and cultural events to promote youth development.

On his part, Kakamega’s Fernandes Barasa was lauded for scaling up “Kakamega Care”, a universal health program that is providing affordable healthcare (at KSh500 per household annually) to tens of thousands of residents.

Barasa, the opinion poll indicated, has also made substantial progress on the Kakamega County Industrial Park (in partnership with the National Government) to attract manufacturing and agro-processing investments.

Barasa is also credited with spearheading the construction of new modern markets (for instance Kambi Somali and Ekhaya) to provide traders with hygienic, secure and organised business spaces, boosting local economy.

Kirinyaga’s Anne Waiguru has been ranked the second best-performing governor, with an approval rating of 63.2%. According to the survey, Governor Waiguru has successfully established and operationalised the Kirinyaga County Aggregation and Industrial Park in Kagio.

She is also credited with scaling up the “Kicare” health insurance program to near-universal coverage for households, providing comprehensive outpatient and inpatient services in all county facilities.

Waiguru has also advanced digital governance in the country, launching the “My County” app, a one-stop digital platform for over 100 services, from business permits to project tracking, making Kirinyaga a leader in e-government.

She is also lauded for comprehensive road tarmacking in the county, women and youth empowerment (Wezesha) as well as climate-smart agriculture in the are of rice and avocado.