By Fred Okoth.

The devolution process and the coming into effect of the County governments across the country has seen huge amount of resources being devolved from the national government and into the county government.

This has meant that together with the Constituency Development Funds, CDF, County governments now have several big contracts which companies can now competitively bid for during the tendering process.

And while these tenders are being given out, it is important that both the County Government and the CDF committees across the eight constituencies in the county ensure that women and youths are also considered during issuing of tenders as required by the constitution.

It is encouraging that the County government has indeed awarded a number of tenders to young people, most notably the ones on waste management around the county and several others and I would want to sincerely that the Governor Okoth Obado for having the interest of the youths at heart.

It is also worth noting that the County government has also employed a number of youths in the Revenue collection department where several youths have been able to earn their living, something highly commendable.

The same has also been witnessed in the employment where the county government has so far done a commendable job in ensuring that there are enough women getting county jobs as well as that the county jobs are balanced among the communities living within the county.

However, more can still be done. To begin with, it is important that permanent measures are put in place to ensure that the provision calling for youths and women to be given equal opportunities like their male counterparts in the construction industry.

According to the constitution, at least 30 % of all government tenders should be given to the youths and women, a figure I believe we are still not reaching as a county.

And the same should not just take place at the county, but also at the constituency level where several contracts are awarded out every year. The CDF committees have got a responsibility to ensure that they award some of the tenders to the youths and women owned companies from those constituencies.

This is not only important to empower the youths economically, but it also empowers them with the capacity to handle even bigger contracts in the future.

And while this is happening, the youths must also organize themselves into organised groups so that they can benefit from these tenders. Already, those who have done this are already enjoying tenders such as that of offering cleaning services in several towns across the county and this should be a wakeup call for other youths who are yet to do this.

The writer is the Managing Editor of Migori News. Email: freddyokoth@gmail.com