What was supposed to be a proud moment for Homa Bay County quickly became an embarrassing test of leadership when Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Muuga inspected the Oyugis Water Supply Project and raised serious concerns about how the facility was being managed.
The incident has placed Governor Gladys Wanga’s administration under renewed scrutiny, particularly over the competence of people entrusted with critical public services.
Muuga’s visit was expected to mark the commissioning of an important project aimed at improving access to clean water. Instead, his inspection exposed problems that raised basic questions about whether the facility was ready to serve the public.
The Cabinet Secretary reportedly found that the water treatment process was not being handled as expected. He questioned the competence of the person operating the facility and pointed out the need for qualified personnel to manage a treatment plant.
That is a serious concern. Water treatment is not an area where county governments can afford to lower standards.
The quality of water reaching residents can directly affect public health. A facility built with public money must therefore be operated by people with the necessary technical skills and experience.
The most uncomfortable part for the county leadership was that the concerns were raised publicly, in the presence of senior officials. What should have been a celebration of development instead became an opportunity for the national government to question the county’s preparedness and management of the project.
For Governor Wanga, the incident raises questions that cannot simply be dismissed as a technical misunderstanding. Who selected the personnel operating the facility?
What qualifications were considered? Was the plant properly tested before the commissioning ceremony?
Who was responsible for ensuring that the treatment process was functioning correctly?
These are legitimate questions that the people of Homa Bay deserve answers to.
The controversy has also triggered public speculation about how jobs and responsibilities are allocated within the county administration.
Some social media users have alleged that political connections or family relationships could have influenced appointments. Those claims remain allegations and should not be treated as established facts without evidence. However, they underline a wider concern about transparency in public appointments.
The bigger issue is accountability. If a critical water facility was not operating properly before its commissioning, then someone within the county administration should explain how the situation reached that point.
Public projects cannot be treated as ceremonial achievements while the systems behind them are left unattended.
Even basic operational procedures must be taken seriously. If technical processes required for proper water treatment were being ignored, the county needs to establish why this happened and whether the responsible officials had the necessary training.
This is where Governor Wanga’s leadership comes under pressure. County governments are responsible not only for launching projects but also for ensuring that those projects work after the cameras are gone.
A commissioning ceremony means little to residents if the facility cannot reliably provide the service it was built to deliver.
The incident should therefore trigger an independent and transparent review of the project, including its staffing, technical operations, procurement and management. If there were mistakes, those responsible should be held accountable. If the allegations about improper appointments or other wrongdoing are found to have no basis, the county should make that clear as well.
Residents of Homa Bay are entitled to functioning public facilities and competent management. They should not have to watch a national government official expose basic problems in a project that was supposed to demonstrate successful county service delivery.
For Wanga, the lesson is straightforward. Development cannot be measured by the number of projects launched or ceremonies attended.
It must be measured by whether those projects work and whether public resources are being managed responsibly. The questions raised at the water treatment plant deserve clear answers, not political defensiveness.
