Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka has defended his administration’s approach to development, arguing that infrastructure projects like roads and water systems are directly tied to improving the welfare of residents, even when critics focus narrowly on physical structures like tarmac and concrete.
Speaking in an interview on Spice FM, Lusaka was asked to respond to growing criticism that county governments, including Bungoma, have prioritised visible infrastructure over the actual wellbeing of citizens.
Lusaka pushed back by explaining how different development priorities are interconnected rather than competing.
He pointed to clean water access as one clear example, noting that coverage in Bungoma has nearly doubled since he took office.
“When we took over it was about 20%, 28%. Now we are at about 47% coverage,” he said, crediting partnerships with Korean development partners for the progress.
He explained that improved water access directly reduces cases of waterborne diseases such as typhoid, easing pressure on hospitals and, by extension, on the health budget.
On food security, Lusaka highlighted his administration’s early adoption of agricultural subsidies aimed at the most vulnerable residents.
“I was one of the first governors to start a subsidy which has been running, that we give inputs, fertiliser and seeds, free to the vulnerable groups, just to ensure that we have food security,” he said, noting that malnutrition and food insecurity are themselves significant contributors to the very illnesses driving people to seek hospital care.
He argued that infrastructure such as roads also plays a critical role in this wider development picture, since better roads enable farmers to transport food from areas like Mount Kapsokwony to markets in places like Kimilili and beyond.
“You cannot isolate them,” he said of the various development priorities, stressing that roads, water, agriculture, and health are all part of the same effort to improve the lives of ordinary residents, not separate or competing agendas.
