Siaya Governor James Orengo at Siaya County Assembly. [File, Standard]
Siaya's incoming County Executive for Finance, Dan Okoth, has promised to overhaul the county's financial management by tackling pending bills, improving project monitoring and speeding up implementation of approved budgets.
The County Assembly unanimously approved his nomination on Wednesday, paving the way for Governor James Orengo to formally appoint him to the docket.
Okoth's proposed reforms emerged during his vetting by the House Committee on Appointments, where he outlined what he intends to do to address persistent challenges facing the county's finance department.
His immediate task will be to contain the accumulation of pending bills, which he acknowledged had placed significant pressure on the county budget.
Okoth pledged to strengthen financial discipline and prudent use of public resources while developing measures to clear existing obligations and prevent the accumulation of new pending bills.
He also plans to tighten monitoring of county projects, particularly those that roll over from one financial year to another.
The nominee attributed delays in project reporting and presentation partly to inadequate planning and monitoring.