Why Every MCA Should Think Like a CEO
A ward in Kericho County manages more money in a single financial year than most small businesses will ever see. Development funds, bursary allocations, infrastructure budgets — the numbers run into hundreds of millions of shillings.
Yet we never ask the people managing these funds whether they know how to read a balance sheet.
The MCA Is a CEO Whether They Like It or Not
When you are elected Member of the County Assembly, you inherit a responsibility that is fundamentally managerial. You are overseeing public resources. You are making investment decisions on behalf of thousands of people. You are accountable for outcomes.
That is not a political job. That is a management job.
A CEO who runs a company into the ground gets fired. An MCA who mismanages a ward's resources gets re-elected because they showed up at enough funerals and bought enough sodas. Something is deeply wrong with this picture.
The Skills Gap Nobody Talks About
I say this from experience. As a trained accountant who has served in the county assembly, I saw first-hand how many representatives struggle with basic financial oversight. This is not an insult — it is a structural problem.
Consider what an MCA is expected to do:
- Budget analysis — Review and approve county budgets worth billions
- Oversight — Monitor how executive departments spend allocated funds
- Legislation — Draft and debate county laws that affect livelihoods
- Project management — Ensure development projects in their ward are delivered on time and within budget
- Stakeholder management — Balance competing demands from constituents, county government, and national interests
This is a CEO's job description. Yet we have no minimum competency requirements for the role.
What a CEO Mindset Looks Like in a Ward
Strategic Planning
A good CEO does not wake up every morning reacting to whatever crisis lands on their desk. They have a plan. A five-year strategy. Quarterly targets. Key performance indicators.
Imagine if every MCA published a clear five-year development plan for their ward on day one of their term. Specific projects. Measurable targets. Annual progress reports. The electorate would finally have something concrete to evaluate their leaders against.
Financial Discipline
In the private sector, every shilling is tracked. Budgets have line items. Expenditures require approvals. Audits are regular and consequences are real.
In county government, supplementary budgets are passed without question. Funds are reallocated without explanation. Audit reports gather dust on shelves. An MCA with a CEO mindset would treat every public shilling with the same discipline a business owner treats their own money — because it is not their money. It belongs to the people.
Performance Measurement
How do you know if your ward has progressed? Not by the number of harambees you attended. Not by the number of handshakes at funerals. But by measurable indicators:
- How many kilometres of road were tarmacked?
- How many students received bursaries and completed their education?
- How many water points are functional?
- What is the completion rate of funded projects?
A CEO gets reviewed against numbers. MCAs should welcome the same standard.
Accountability Is Not an Attack
One of the biggest problems in Kenyan politics is that accountability is treated as hostility. If you question a leader's spending, you are an enemy. If you demand a progress report, you are being disrespectful.
In business, accountability is survival. A company that does not hold its executives accountable goes bankrupt. A ward that does not hold its MCA accountable stays underdeveloped.
We must normalise the idea that demanding results from leaders is not opposition — it is citizenship.
My Challenge to Fellow Leaders
To every MCA in Kericho County and beyond: invest in yourself. Take a short course in public finance management. Learn how to read an audit report. Understand project management basics. Surround yourself with competent advisors, not just political allies.
The people who elected you did not give you a title. They gave you a responsibility. Treat it like the serious management job it is.
And to the voters: stop electing people based on popularity alone. Ask candidates for their development plan. Ask them how they will track results. Ask them what qualifies them to manage your ward's resources.
The county assembly is not a reward for political loyalty. It is a boardroom where the future of your community is decided.
Start treating it like one.
Your ward deserves leadership that delivers results, not just promises. Let us raise the standard together.