Nairobi, Kenya (CU)_ Prof. Hillary Barchok, Governor of Bomet, and top officials from the Ministry of Devolution launched a Sh. 300 million proposed Mother and Child Wellness Center in Ng’ung’unyat, Bomet East, which is a project to address the overburdened services currently provided by Longisa County Referral Hospital relocated there.
The planned project is supported by the Ministry of Devolution through the Kenya Devolution Support program in collaboration with the Bomet County administration and the World Bank and other partners. Dr Joyce Laboso memorial Mother and Child Wellness center will be the name of the 200-bed ultra-modern institution, which will be dedicated in honor of the late second governor of Bomet.
Delivering his speech at the event, Governor Barchok stated that the health center will help inhabitants of Bomet County and nearby counties by providing all services under one roof. Barchok expressed delight over the new facility. He said, “With the groundbreaking ceremony here today, residents of Bomet will be in a position to get all health services in future from this same facility at a go, the government has invested heavily in this sector”.
Barchok added, “To decongest Longisa County Referral Hospital which lacks space for further upgrading, we will equip the Dr Joyce Laboso memorial Mother and Child Wellness center and make it the Bomet County hospital where all residents from this county and its neighboring countries will benefit from”.
Governor Barchok requested the project contractor to use both skilled and unskilled labor from the Longisa ward in Bomet East Sub County, where the facility would be erected, in order to support the local citizens. Barchok highlighted the benefits of the project. He said, “This is a multimillion project which will create employment for our youths in this region. I am requesting the site contractor to consider giving people from this area jobs to reduce the unemployment rate in the area”.
The project contractor stated that the facility would be built within 18 months, but the Governor Barchok pressed them to complete it within a year. Additionally, the governor pushed citizens in the region to construct commercial buildings and develop the location with hotels and businesses in order for them to monetarily profit from the facility’s existence.
