With no offices, Sabatia chiefs turn homes into work stations

Fred Adika is supposed to be a government official.

But he wakes early in the morning to a queue of waiting villagers at his door.

As an assistant chief, his duties involve resolving local quarrels among villagers, a stray cow eating a neighbour grass, brothers fighting over land boundaries or a father seeking birth papers for his son.

Yet for all this trouble, residents of Hakerongo Village of Kedoli Sub-Location, Sabatia Constituency in Vihiga County gather at the assistant chief’s home to seek vital national government services due to lack of an office.

When the Nation team visited his home, seven people had already lined up at his house.

ESSENTIAL SERVICES

They were seeking his signature for them to be able to acquire birth certificates, identity cards and bursary forms among other essential services including solving of disputes.  

Mr Hassan Ajega had brought in his grandchild’s forms.

The grandchild is seeking a birth certificate so as to be registered by the Ministry of Education. 

“Our assistant chief serves us from his house. It is like his office. As you can see most of us are here to be served,” said Mr Ajega. 

This is not different for the other five assistant chiefs in Sabatia Constituency.

The Nation learnt that they are operating without offices as locals blame the local CDF of turning a blind eye to a condition that has hampered service delivery by the crucial offices.

MUD-WALLED OFFICES

So much is the crisis that a section of angry residents have volunteered to begin constructing mud-walled offices to aid the local national government officers offer services. 

The constituency has six sub-locations of Chavogere, Kedoli, Itegero, Chamakanga, Bugina and Budaywa which are without offices. 

Only Chavogere Assistant Chief Shadrack Ihaji has a rented office that he was given to operate in for free. 

Nation learnt that the officers are mobile and sometimes operate from their homes making it difficult to render services effectively. 

Nation also met residents of Kedoli smearing a two-roomed structure with mud. They said they had taken it upon themselves to build the office after they failed to secure help from the CDF office.

Ms Margret Siahi, a resident, told Nation at the construction site that have become tired of waiting for CDF’s intervention. 

“We decided to construction this mud-walled structure because our assistant chief has had no place to work from,” said Ms Siahi.

She went on: “We know if he gets an office, he will work effectively. We thought it wise to start up one before any help can come our way from CDF.

COMMUNITY INITIATIVE

“This is purely a community initiative. We have waited for help for long making it difficult to reach our assistant chief,” she added. 

Another resident, Mr Tom Asiligwa, said the community’s initiative is aimed at bringing services to a central place.

Mr Asiligwa said their assistant chief is working from his house, which is not an office. 

Locals voluntarily contributed iron sheets, nails, poles, rails and labour. 

Mr Fred Adika, the assistant chief, said the initiative is welcome. 

He noted that just like his colleagues, he lacks the essential facility to boost service delivery. 

Mr Adika said the administrators made proposals for funding from CDF two years ago and they are still waiting for a response. 

“The people I serve approached me in February and offered to put up a temporary structure to act as an office,” said the assistant chief. 

He went on: “They told me an office will make me serve them better. In our case, we are still calling on CDF to act on the proposal we gave them two years ago.”

“My colleagues and I are forced to work from our homes or the chiefs’ offices in Govoga and Chamakanga which are far from most of our subjects,” said Mr Adika, who is also the acting assistant chief of Itegero Sub-Location.