FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT CARRIED OUT AT THE

COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF MAKUENI

DURATION: 13 WEEKS (8TH MAY 2023-7TH AUGAST 2023)

BY
KIOKO JESSICA KAVINDU

REGISTRATION NUMBER: BCM/B/01-00316/2020

A FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

AWARD IN BACHELOR OF COMMERCE, FINANCE OPTION OF MASINDE
MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

AUGAST 2023

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DECLARATION

I, Kioko Jessica Kavindu, Reg.no BCM/B/01-00316/2020, declare that this is my original work

and has never been submitted to any other institution other than Masinde Muliro University of

Science and Technology for academic credit.

Signature __________________________ Date __________________________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank Almighty God for his grace and protection throughout the entire attachment period.

My appreciation goes to Makueni County Government, Finance Department, for offering me a

chance to undertake my industrial attachment in their organization. I would also appreciate my

industrial supervisor, Sylvia Mbevi and the entire finance accounting services directorate staff

for their efforts, guidance, and insightful counseling during the attachment period.

I want to acknowledge my family members for the support they offered to me.

Also, I appreciate my lecturers for equipping me with enough knowledge, which I applied during

my entire attachment period, and my assessor Dr. Ruth for sacrificing his time to come and carry

out the assessment.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this attachment report to Makueni county Government, my family, friends, colleagues,

and all those who participated or assisted during this period for their support. Thank you, and

God bless you all for your support, helpful contribution, and guidance.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ECM-EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

CIDP-County integrated development plan

ADP-Annual development plan

CBE Census of Business Establishment

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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Requisition is a request for goods or services made by an employee to the person or department

in a company that is responsible for purchasing.

Recurrent expenditure this are funds spend on daily activities of an organization e.g., fuel,

transport costs, vehicle maintenance, servicing of office equipment.

Development expenditure this are funds spent in acquisition of assets, new projects

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This is a report on the industrial attachment program initiated by Masinde Muliro University of

Science and Technology to expose its students to a working environment that would enable

them put into practice the knowledge and skills learnt in class into real employment world. The

aim of writing this report is to give detailed information about my attachment experience at the

county government of Makueni, department of Finance and Socio-Economic Planning in the

Finance Accounting Services directorate. This is a requirement for partial fulfillment of the

award of a Bachelor of Commerce, finance option in Masinde Muliro University. The focus of

the report is on the duties and responsibilities that I was accorded by my supervisor, the new

ideas and knowledge I gained, the history, the vision, the mission, the core values, the key

functions as well as the duties and responsibilities of the different departments of the county

government of Makueni county.

This report also carries out a detailed structure and analysis of the county government of

Makueni, featuring its strengths which are anchored on good working relationships located at

Wote town in Makueni county. It highlights its weaknesses which include; the inability to

mobilize the resources effectively, high staff turnover due to poor working conditions, poor

remuneration and lack of funds to workers in time, and complexity in decision making due to

political influence and due comprehensive coverage and diversity of the residents inhabiting the

County. Opportunities available for tapping to enhance business include; possible revenue

increase due to the increasing population and proper utilization of untapped resources, and

readily available labour due to many skilled people searching for employment

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Contents
DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION...............................................................................................................................................iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS.................................................................................................v
DEFINITION OF TERMS................................................................................................................................vi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................vii
CHAPTER ONE.............................................................................................................................................1
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND....................................................................................................1
1.1 Objectives of the Field Attachment................................................................................................1
1.2 geographical location.......................................................................................................................1
1.3 Historical Background....................................................................................................................2
1.4 Vision Statement..............................................................................................................................2
1.5 Mission Statement............................................................................................................................3
1.6 Core Values......................................................................................................................................3
1.7 Rallying Call....................................................................................................................................3
1.8 Organization Structure...................................................................................................................3
1.9 Departments.....................................................................................................................................4
1.9.1 Finance and Economic Planning Sector..................................................................................4
1.9.2 Agriculture, irrigation, livestock & fisheries..........................................................................5
1.9.3 Health services..........................................................................................................................5
1.9.4 Roads, Transport, Energy and Public works..........................................................................6
1.9.5 Trade, industry marketing, tourism & cooperatives development.......................................6
1.9.6 Devolution, county administration, public service, and youth..............................................6
1.9.7 Water and sanitation................................................................................................................7
1.9.8 Education, sports & ICT..........................................................................................................7
1.9.9 Gender, children, culture, and social services........................................................................7
1.9.10 Lands, urban development, environment, and climate change...........................................8
1.10 Finance Department Structure.....................................................................................................9
1.11 Functions of Budget and Expenditure Directorate...................................................................10
CHAPTER TWO: WORK EXPERIENCE.........................................................................................................11
2.1 General Tasks Performed.............................................................................................................11
2.2 Specific Tasks Performed..............................................................................................................11
2.2.1 WEEK 1: 8th May-12th May 2023...........................................................................................11

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 2.2.2 WEEK 2: 15th may- 19th may 2023.........................................................................................12
2.2.3 WEEK 3: 22nd may- 26th may 2023........................................................................................12
2.2.4 WEEK 4: 29th may- 2nd June 2023..........................................................................................12
2.2.5 WEEK 5: 5th June- 9th June 2023...........................................................................................13
2.2.6 WEEK 6: 12th June – 16th June 2023......................................................................................13
2.2.7 WEEK 7 TO WEEK 13: 19th June – 7th August....................................................................14
CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT EXPERIENCE........................................................15
3.1 Skills gained..........................................................................................................................15
a) Communication skills................................................................................................................15
b) Interpersonal skills.....................................................................................................................15
c) Planning and Organisation.........................................................................................................15
d) Multi-tasking.............................................................................................................................15
e) Computer skills..........................................................................................................................15
3.2 Knowledge gained....................................................................................................................16
3.3 Challenges experienced...........................................................................................................17
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.......................................................................18
4.1 Conclusion......................................................................................................................................18
4.2 Recommendation...........................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................................i

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

I undertook my attachment at the County Government of Makueni, department of Finance and

Socio-Economic planning in the Directorate of Finance and Accounting Services

1.1 Objectives of the Field Attachment

As I began the attachment, my objectives were:

1. To put into practice the knowledge gained in class in a working environment

2. To improve competency in my area of specialization

3. To gain more skills as well as professionalism through interactions with others in a

working environment

1.2 geographical location

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 1.3 Historical Background
Makueni County is a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest

town is Wote. The County covers an area of 8,008.9 km². Makueni County represents the former

Makueni district together with other districts. It is one of the 47 counties established under the

new constitution in 2010. It geographically borders Kajiado County to the West, Taita Taveta

County to the South, Kitui County to the East, and Machakos County to the North. The County

lies in the arid and semi-arid zones of the Eastern region of the country.

The County is divided into six sub-counties: Makueni, Mbooni, Kaiti, Kibwezi East, Kibwezi

West, and Kilome.

The County has 30 Assembly Wards, namely:

1. Mbooni sub county: wards {Tulimani, Mbooni, Kithungo/Kitundu, Kisau/Kiteta, Kako/Waia,

Kalawa,}

2. Kilome sub county: wards {Kiima Kiu/Kalanzoni, Mukaa,Kasikeu}

3. Kaiti sub county: wards {Kee, Kilungu, Ilima, Ukia}

4. Makueni sub county: wards {nzaui/kalamba, muvau,kathonzweni, mavindini, kitise/kithuki ,

wote , mbitini.}

5. Kibwezi West sub county: wards {makindu, kikumbulyu south, nguumo, nguu / masumba,

email/mulala}

6. Kibwezi East sub-county: wards {Masongaleni, Mtito Andei,Change, Ivingoni}

1.4 Vision Statement

A prosperous value-based county with high quality of life

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1.5 Mission Statement

To transform the livelihoods of each household through accountable leadership that creates an

enabling environment for inclusive, effective and efficient service delivery

1.6 Core Values.

In a holistic development approach, Makueni County is guided by the following Christian

principles;

a) Integrity and accountability

b) Inclusiveness

c) Equity and fairness

d) Patriotism

e) Responsiveness

f) Hard work, creativity and innovation

1.7 Rallying Call

Our county, our future

1.8 Organization Structure

The County Government of Makueni has adopted the following organization structure to

accommodate its administration activities and strategies.

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1.9 Departments
Makueni county government has various departments, each having specific duties as stated

in the fourth schedule of the constitution of Kenya 2010.

1.9.1 Finance and Economic Planning Sector.

 County statistics.

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  Monitoring and evaluation of economic affairs and trends.

 Preparation of county appropriation bill.

 Preparation of the County's annual budget and coordinating preparation of county

government revenue and expenditure estimates.

 County planning includes County integrated development plans, annual development

plans, county sectoral plans, and county spatial plans.

1.9.2 Agriculture, irrigation, livestock & fisheries.

 Crop and animal husbandry.

 Livestock sale yards.

 County abattoirs.

 Plant and animal disease control.

 Fisheries.

 Licensing of dogs.

 Facilities for accommodation, care, and burial of animals.

 Soil and water conservation.

 Water and sanitation services.

 Forestry.

1.9.3 Health services.

 County health facilities and pharmacies.

 Ambulance services.

 Promotion of primary health care.

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  Licensing & control of undertakings that sell food to the public.

 Veterinary services (excluding regulation of the profession).

 Cemeteries, funeral parlous, and crematoria.

 Refuse removal, refuse dumps, and solid waste disposal.

1.9.4 Roads, Transport, Energy and Public works.

 County roads.

 Street lighting.

 Traffic and parking.

 Public road transport.

 Ferries and harbors, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and

matters related to it.

1.9.5 Trade, industry marketing, tourism & cooperatives development.

 Markets.

 Trade licenses (excluding regulations).

 Fair trading practices.

 Local tourism.

 Cooperative societies.

1.9.6 Devolution, county administration, public service, and youth.

 To provide firefighting services and management of disasters.

 Strengthen the engagement of the diaspora in the development affairs of the County.

 To provide security to the government and enforce laws.

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  To promote youth development and empowerment.

 To promote citizen action and engagement in development processes.

 Coordinate county government functions from County up to the sub–ward level.

 Nonstate actor engagement for effective devolution and participatory development.

1.9.7 Water and sanitation

 Promote irrigation to attain food security and agricultural commercialization.

 Enhance access to reliable and potable water for domestic use.

1.9.8 Education, sports & ICT.

 Implementation of the curriculum and national policies.

 Early childhood development education

(ECDE) and county technical training institute (CTTI).

 The ICT directorate deals with enhancing service delivery by developing application

systems, networks configuration and implementation, and ICT equipment service

maintenance and support.

1.9.9 Gender, children, culture, and social services.

 Music development, promotion, and preservation.

 Performing arts development and promotion.

 Heritage development, preservation, promotion, and protection.

 Language and literature development and promotion.

 County parks and recreational facilities.

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  Arts and culture promotion and development.

 Video shows and hiring.

 Libraries.

 Museums.

 Betting, casinos, and other forms of gambling.

 Racing

1.9.10 Lands, urban development, environment, and climate change.

 Undertaking land survey for issuance of leasehold titles on public Land.

 Collaborating with NLC and the national ministry of Land and physical planning to

verify allocations and processing of ownership documents to support the issuance of title

deeds on settlement schemes.

 The department collaborates with the national government through the directorate of land

adjudication.

 Land and property valuation services.

 Land information system development for effective data storage.

 Planning of towns and markets in the country.

 Managing public Land.

 Formulating mining and mineral development and utilization policy.

 Survey of public Land, especially in urban centers.

 Development of geospatial data management systems.

 Development of urban infrastructure.

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 1.10 Finance Department Structure

County Executive Committee Member

(CECM)

Finance & Social

Chief Officer Chief Officer(CO)

Social Economic Planning Financial accounting

Budget and Revenue service(FAS)

Director Director Director

Director of
Social Audit Director
Revenue FAS
Economic Procureme
Planning nt
Director

Budget

Budget
officers

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1.11 Functions of Budget and Expenditure Directorate

1. Managing county vote book

2. Preparation of annual and supplementary budgets

3. Preparation of PBB

4. Preparation of implementation reports, i.e., quarterly, half-year

5. Carrying out participatory planning/ public participation

6. Consolidation of cash flow reports

7. Preparation of field reports, project analysis

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 CHAPTER TWO: WORK EXPERIENCE

2.1 General Tasks Performed

 Summarized Makueni vision 2025 Blueprint

 Taught about formal business writing, quantitative and qualitative data and data analysis.

 Taught about how to design online questionnaire using google form.

 Learnt about kobo collect, how to create an account in kobo tool and how it is used in

data collection.

 Analyzed United Nations Sustainable goals and how they with Makueni County Vision

2025 Blueprint

 Prepared the County Planning and Budgeting cycle

 Analyzed the County Treasury structure and chain of command.

 I conducted Census of Business Established in the County

2.2 Specific Tasks Performed

The following are the specific activities I undertook during the attachment period on a weekly

basis

2.2.1 WEEK 1: 8th May-12th May 2023

 Induction and acclimatization to work place

 Summarized Makueni County Vision 2025 Blueprint.

 Learned County Vision, Mission and the County Pillars

 Made presentations of above summarized work using power point.

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2.2.2 WEEK 2: 15th may- 19th may 2023

 I was taught about formal business writing and effects of social media

 Review of the constitution of Kenya 2010 to understand the different devolved functions

 Preparation of slides for the constitution review

 Taught about types of data [ quantitative and qualitative data] and data analysis

2.2.3 WEEK 3: 22nd may- 26th may 2023

 I was exposed on how to design online questionnaire using google form.

 Designed a questionnaire to determine the impact of Thwake dam project on completion

to the people in Makueni County.

 Learnt about kobo collect tool, how to create an account in kobo too and how it is used in

data collection.

2.2.4 WEEK 4: 29th may- 2nd June 2023

 Analyzed United Nations Sustainable goals and how they align with Makueni County

Vision 2025 Blueprint.

 Made presentation on the above summary in the power point form

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  Prepared the County Planning and Budgeting Cycle.

 Made presentation of the above summary

2.2.5 WEEK 5: 5th June- 9th June 2023

 Analyzed the County Treasury Structure and the chain of command.

 Taken through the legal framework supporting Revenue collection and revenue

management.

 Discussed and presented on risk associated in the revenue collection.

 Discussed and presented on ways through which the County can improve the

2.2.6 WEEK 6: 12th June – 16th June 2023

 Review of the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 to understand the county treasury

and linkage to Central Bank of Kenya

 Preparation of PowerPoint slides for the reviews on the county government act and public

finance management act,2012

 Attended a 3-day training on how to conduct Census of Business Establishment.

 Prepared report on the same.

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2.2.7 WEEK 7 TO WEEK 13: 19th June – 7th August

 I conducted Census of Business Establishment (CBE) in Makueni County where we

collected data from all the businesses in our county.

 Presented weekly reports to discuss the challenges faced during the exercises, lessons

learnt and observations made.

 The CBE exercise provided me with practical skills in data collection.

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 CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT EXPERIENCE

3.1 Skills gained

a) Communication skills

The attachment practice gave me a chance of improving my communication skills since I was

involved in various official and casual communication with fellow staff working in the

organization. I was able to Improve my active listening abilities as well as my confidence. I

learned to be polite, patient, and to show respect to different people. Good communication

improves the organization's image to its outside world.

b) Interpersonal skills

I was able to improve Interpersonal skills as I communicated and interacted with other people,

both individually and in groups. I was able to listen and speak effectively. Throughout the

attachment, I learnt to control and manage my emotions. I was also able to sharpen my problem

solving and decision-making qualities as well as being a great team player.

c) Planning and Organisation

The attachment practice gave me the ability to manage time and prioritize work effectively to

achieve objectives. I had different tasks which had to be delivered on different timelines hence I

had plan on working on them accordingly according to priorities.

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 d) Multi-tasking

I learnt the skill of multi-tasking as most of the time I was required to coordinate several

activities while still maintaining a good performance level. This was as a result of the finance

and accounting services directorate being a busy office.

e) Computer skills

Examination of payment vouchers for completeness and compliance, maintaining and updating

cash book, preparation of monthly bank reconciliation statement and also posting and processing

payment through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) made me

improve my computer skills. I was also assigned duties such as data entry and cleaning that

required me to use excel hence sharpening the skills.

3.2 Knowledge gained

i. Knowledge in examination of payment vouchers

ii. Gained knowledge in preparation of various reports like periodic financial report

iii. Gained knowledge in maintaining and updating cash book.

iv. Competency in the responsibility, authority, and accountability

v. Understanding of the structure of the county government, hierarchy of office, and the

devolved functions from the national government.

vi. Gained knowledge in working with advanced excel

vii. Gained knowledge in preparing monthly bank reconciliation statement

viii. Knowledge and understanding of the different county plans, the county treasury and its

linkage to county treasury

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 ix. A broad understanding of both the recurrent and development expenditure of different

departments.

3.3 Challenges experienced

 Inadequate personnel

The department I worked in has a serious shortage of staff that is, understaffing, and this

sometimes makes staff members in the department carry out duties that they've not specialized

in, e.g., Being sent to deliver documents in other offices, work that would have otherwise being

done by different persons like office messenger. This leads to wastage of useful time instead of

being used in executing work specialized in. Sometimes, this would make the supervisors assign

me duties unrelated to my field of study [finance field].

 Power shortage

The department sometimes experienced power shortages, which hindered office operations,

making it challenging to perform office tasks as most works were done using computers.

 Inadequate computers

The department, especially the Finance Accounting Services directorate, had a shortage of

computers. This led to failure to do work within the set deadline because some colleagues didn't

17
have computers at their desks, making sharing of work requiring the use of computers

impossible.

 Poor communication

The directorate I was attached to, there was poor flow of communication from the seniors to the

juniors.

CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

4.1 Conclusion

The attachment exercise helped link skills, and knowledge learned in class and the practical

application of those skills in real-life work situations. I gained enough experience and knowledge

on how technical tasks are carried out with the helpful supervision and guidance from more

experienced professionals. I enhanced my decision making and problem-solving skills. It is

worth noting that basically, all the subjects that I did in the Bachelor of Commerce were, in one

way or the other amounted, to application in the industry at large, especially in the field of

Finance. I matured personally and professionally as well as developed team work skills.

4.2 Recommendation

Based on my experience in the attachment period, I would encourage the Department of Finance

and Accounting to encourage students to take attachments positively as it’s the best tool to gain

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knowledge on what happens in real life working environment. Since excel is the most widely

used software in different organizations, it would be of help for the department to introduce units

that teach students on the basic applications.

I would encourage the finance department to ensure each attachee has been assigned a

supervisor immediately he/she reports for guidance and professional support. It should also

procure enough computers to ensure smooth running of activities.

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 REFERENCES

https://www.makueni.go.ke/

Kenya, L. O. (2013). The constitution of Kenya: 2010. Chief Registrar of the Judiciary.

KENYA, L. O. (2012). COUNTY GOVERNMENTS ACT.

NO, L. N. (2013). The public finance management act.