Residents of Bukhayo Central Division in Busia County can now access national government administrative services closer to home following the opening of a new Assistant County Commissioner’s (ACC) office at Malanga.

The Sh4.75 million administration office, constructed through the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), is expected to reduce the time and money residents previously spent travelling to Nambale to seek government services.

The facility was commissioned last Friday by Western Regional Commissioner Allan Machari, who pledged to ensure that national government services designated for ACC offices are made available at the new facility.

Machari said the establishment of the office was a step towards bringing government services closer to residents and improving service delivery in the division.

“This office has given us a challenge to ensure that all government services that are supposed to be at the ACC office are brought here. We are going to ensure that all national government services are brought closer to the people,” he said, revealing that a new administration officer has already been posted to the facility to serve residents.

James Okumu of Lwanyange village said residents had previously travelled to Nambale to access government services, incurring transport expenses and losing valuable time.

“The opening of the division ACC office here at Malanga has come as a reprieve to us because we have been getting services from Nambale. We were spending a lot of money to access the services, but now we can reach the office within a short time,” he said.

Okumu, however, urged the government to decentralise birth certificate registration and national identity card services to Malanga, saying residents still faced challenges accessing the services.

His views were echoed by Africanus Juma of Malanga Sub-location, who welcomed the new facility and commended area MP Geoffrey Mulanya for facilitating its construction through the NG-CDF.

Juma also called for the establishment of a police post in the area to strengthen security and improve access to security services.

Another resident, Gilbert Okumu, said the new office would make it easier for residents to access government services and attend to their daily activities without travelling long distances.

Gladys Omondi said the facility would particularly ease the burden on women who previously travelled far to access essential government services, including birth certificate registration.

She urged the government to decentralise more services to the local level to reduce unnecessary travel and associated costs.

Bukhayo Central Location Chief Edwin Odhiambo also welcomed the operationalisation of the division office, saying it would improve access to government services and enable residents to use their time more productively.

“The operationalisation of Bukhayo Central Division is a relief to our people towards getting better services. All services were being done at Nambale, but through this new office, they will be able to get services near and spare time to do other activities,” he said.

Odhiambo called for the establishment of civil registration and national identity card registration services at the facility, saying their availability would further ease the burden on residents.

He also urged the government to gazette and operationalise two new sub-locations to strengthen local administration and improve service delivery.

Odhiambo said additional government officers were needed closer to residents to ensure effective administration and timely access to public services.

Machari said the new office would also support development initiatives and promote peace and cohesion among residents.

by Salome Alwanda and Rodgers Omondi