Samburu governor Moses Kasaine is the worst performing governor in Kenya as his Kakamega counterpart takes the lead, according to a report by the Consortium of Researchers on Governance.
The organisation’s findings on Friday followed a study involving all the 47 counties.
Mr Oparanya scored 87 percent and was followed by Kirinyanga County’s Anne Waiguru with 84 percent and Makueni’s Kivutha Kibwana with 83 percent.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko took position 15, with a score of 65 percent, while Kiambu’s Ferdinand Waititu was 43rd in the ranking, with 36 percent.
At the bottom of the list were Nyeri’s Mutahi Kahiga (34 percent), Siaya’s Cornel Rasanga (33 percent) and Samburu’s Moses Kasaine (32 percent)
During the presentation of the report in Nairobi, the researchers’ team leader, Charles Mc’Olonde, said areas in which performance was tested included delivery of devolved government services such as healthcare.
The study also focused on the County Integrated Development Plan (CIPD), budgeting and public participation and the governors’ job approval ratings.
The research revealed that not all citizens knew the difference between national and devolved services and that some governors’ job approval ratings were irrational and based on national politics rather than performance.
Mr Mc’Olonde also noted that in some regions, recent events such as the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, the nurses’ strike, the Council of Governors’ election and the Supreme Court rulings on disputed elections, determined how citizens rated their governors.
According to the study, the most popular governors, such as Mombasa’s Hassan Joho who was ranked 30th with 51 percent, performed well in terms of job approval ratings but had low scores in devolved functions.
The study was conducted between January 21 and February 20.
The country was divided into 10 regions and Kenyans older than 18 years interviewed.
According to Mr Mc’Olonde, an initial target of 10,000 respondents was set but 8,014 people were contacted and in the end 6,891 interviewed.
Data was collected through face to face interviews and questionnaires, with more women (48 per cent) than men taking part.