By Anderson Ojwang
The recent County Development Index 2026 has finally offered the residents of Homa Bay County food for thought ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The residents of the county of endless potential have the right to either re-elect the current governor, Gladys Wanga, on the strength of her performance and development track record or sack her altogether over failure to deliver on her manifesto.
In various opinion polls, Wanga has been rated highly as one of the top-performing governors in the country, and the public have been made to believe so, making the county a reference point.
But the data from the Senate and various government agencies tell a different story and paint a worrying picture of a county on its knees, with nothing to showcase in terms of development.
The recent County Development Index 2026, dated 14 October 2026, provided a comprehensive measure of socio-economic development across Kenya’s 47 counties and discredited various polls on Homa Bay County.
Homa Bay County ranked among the bottom performers despite being the first county to have held an International Investment and Trade Conference, among other high-profile developmental meetings, whose efforts have come to nought.
Clusters
High Development
County performance was based on three clusters, mainly the top 10 counties with very high to high development. This category was dominated by counties from Mt Kenya, with a few pockets from other regions.
Mt Kenya was represented by Kiambu, Nyeri, Meru, Murang’a and Kirinyaga, while the Rift Valley had Nakuru and Uasin Gishu. Machakos, Nairobi and Mombasa also featured prominently.
Medium Development (0.35–0.71)
In this category, Kisii led Nyanza, ranking 21st nationally with an index of 0.57 and first in Nyanza. It was followed by Kisumu County in 22nd position with 0.56, Migori in 28th position with 0.50, Nyamira in 31st position with 0.47 and Siaya in 32nd position with an index of 0.46.
Bottom 10: Low to Very Low Development
At the bottom of the cluster was the county of endless potential, the home of the ODM national chairperson.
This category was composed mainly of arid and semi-arid counties that have been marginalised for decades.
Homa Bay County stood at position 38 with 0.34 and was joined by West Pokot, Isiolo, Tana River, Garissa, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana and Mandera, with Wajir at the bottom.
Methodology
The study looked at health, education, income, infrastructure, water and sanitation, and agriculture. The data were compiled from county and national government statistics.
What Did the Senate Fiscal Performance Report Say?
The Senate’s latest Fiscal Performance by Counties report laid the truth bare for the public to consume, with only 12 months to the General Election.
Homa Bay County and Governor Gladys Wanga, who, after assuming office, had been ranked as a top performer by various pollsters, finally found themselves in unfamiliar territory – position 28, down from the top 10.
Wanga has been oscillating in top positions, but the Senate report finally placed Wanga in position 28 nationally.
While Orengo, who had been receiving negative rankings, was placed in position 17 and led in the region.
Migori County Governor Ochilo Ayacko was ranked 21st, ahead of Wanga. Kisii County Governor and ODM Deputy Party Leader Simba Arati was ranked 37th, while Nyamira County was ranked 36th.
Wanga’s Ranking by Pollsters
Since taking office in August 2022, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has consistently climbed the rankings in major national performance and approval polls.
Her performance tracking across the prominent InfoTrack County Trak Index and major independent pollsters highlights her trajectory:
| Year | Pollster | National Ranking | Score / Approval Rating | Notes / Regional Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | InfoTrack | 4th nationally | 66% | 1st in Nyanza region |
| 2025 | Timely Kenya | 3rd nationally | 54% | Based on 3-year scorecard |
| 2024 | InfoTrack | 3rd nationally | 61% | 1st in Nyanza region |
| 2024 | Politrack Africa | 7th nationally | 68.9% | Tied with Nandi Governor |
| 2023 | Infotrak | 29th nationally | 54% | Baseline year of evaluation |
| 2022 | Politrack Africa | Top 10 | 53.7% | Initial 8-month baseline poll |
Wanga’s most notable shift occurred between 2023 and 2024, when she jumped from 29th to third place nationally in the Infotrak Performance Index.
Wanga was ranked fourth nationally and first in the Nyanza region in the August 2026 County Trak Performance Survey by InfoTrack. She scored an approval rating of 66%, tying with Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo.
Siaya Governor James Orengo has faced mixed performance rankings in recent public opinion surveys. While some localised or alternative metrics indicate moderate-to-high approval ratings, major pollsters like InfoTrack have placed him lower down in county performance indices, sparking active local political debates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Former Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga said the Senate report was factual, as various sectors in Homa Bay had collapsed.
He said the rankings of Homa Bay and Wanga by various pollsters did not reflect the reality on the ground.
“We are happy that finally the truth has spoken. The Senate poll is the true position on the ground,” he said.
The County Scorecard
Counties scored relatively highly, with a mean score of 0.557 and a maximum of 0.823, indicating that none of the counties fully implemented their budgets as approved. The minimum score of 0.156 and a standard deviation of 0.138 show inconsistencies in execution, with many counties still struggling to implement their budgets effectively and on time.
“C” Performing Counties
Thirty-five counties scored a “C”, with indices ranging from 0.404 for Kakamega to 0.567 for Kitui.
For counties with scores of at least 50% – such as Mandera (0.531), Nakuru (0.522), Samburu (0.509), West Pokot (0.547), Kilifi (0.541), Wajir (0.559), Siaya (0.502), Tana River (0.526), Trans Nzoia (0.523), Kericho (0.512), Bungoma (0.516) and Kwale (0.555) – budget absorption was generally strong among this group, particularly in Kitui and Trans Nzoia, which had scores exceeding 86%, suggesting competent budget execution.
Most counties also maintained moderate compliance in development expenditure, with Marsabit and Mandera recording relatively higher scores, pointing to a reasonable focus on capital investments.
However, own-source revenue performance and audit outcomes tended to be weaker across the group, with the majority of counties recording audit CFPMI scores of 0.375, except Kwale, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot, Kericho and Bungoma, indicating room for improvement in financial accountability.
Additionally, county assembly expenditure scores varied, with Nakuru performing better (0.965), while Marsabit (0.302) lagged, signalling potential inefficiencies in legislative spending.
Overall, these counties exhibited stable but unexceptional performance, highlighting the need to enhance audit practices, strengthen local revenue mobilisation and maintain discipline in county assembly expenditure to transition into higher-performing tiers.
