The Busia County Government and the Dhamira Moja Community-Based Organization (CBO) have formalized their collaborative relationship by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
This agreement aims to establish proper channels for engagement and cooperation, ultimately leading to better service delivery across various sectors in the county.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Busia County Secretary Oscar Juma underscored the vital role that partners play in helping the county execute its mandate.
He stated that the MOU formalizes and appreciates the CBO’s contributions, which are crucial for complementing the county’s service delivery efforts.
“We have agreed to collaborate in areas such as education, budget implementation, and community-based ventures among other areas,” Juma announced.
The County Secretary also lauded Dhamira Moja’s significant participation in policy formation, noting that the organization will now help the county in policy designing and developing various governance instruments to improve service outcomes.
Sarah Martha, Dhamira Moja’s Executive Director, stated that the partnership is a commitment to collaborate for the benefit of citizens by pulling resources together in cash and time.
The MOU specifies collaboration in several key fields, including:Education, skilling, and mentorship; Community health and wellness; Advocacy and good governance; Environmental conservation and climate action; Economic empowerment
Martha stressed that the agreement marks a strategic shift for the organization.
“We are no longer engaging in reactive activism, nor competing with the government; we are committed to complementing their work because we serve the same people,” she explained.
This new approach involves moving from reactive activism to promoting mobilized support, allowing the CBO to execute its oversight role strategically.
Crucially, the Executive Director affirmed that the partnership will not compromise their core mandate of holding duty bearers accountable.
“Our mandate as the CSO is to hold our duty bearer accountable and that will continue despite this agreement,” Martha asserted.
She added that the CBO will extend capacity building and strengthening initiatives to county government officers to ensure both parties are unified in their agenda for better service delivery.
On environmental efforts, she highlighted the CBO’s existing work in environmental conservation, climate action, and disaster risk reduction, noting that they have already engaged 5,250 young people in implementation initiatives over the last four months.
