Month: August 2023

The state, through the new Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), is set to build a Sh750 million milk processing plant in Narok County to boost milk productivity and farmers’ income.

Cabinet Secretary in Charge of Cooperative and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Simon Chelugui made the announcement today in a farmers’ meeting held in a Narok hotel and attended by Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu and County Commissioner Isaac Masinde.

He said the state aims at wiping out middlemen who exploit farmers by buying their produce at a very low cost and later selling the milk at almost a double price, causing farmers to incur huge losses.

In this regard, the CS directed the new KCC Chairman, Mr. David Maina, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nixon Sigey, to oversee the sale of milk in the county, even before the processing plant is built, so that farmers are no longer exploited.

‘By building the factories, we will be eliminating the hawking of milk, where farmers sell a litre of milk for as low as Sh30. The standard buying price will not be less than Sh50,’ he said.

Other areas that will benefit from the second phase of the programme include Mogotio and Kabianga, where similar milk factories will be built.

‘We target to increase our daily milk production as a country from 1.5 million litres to 4.5 million litres by empowering farmers to do more production,’ he reiterated.

Chelugui said the initiative follows an instruction from President Dr. William Ruto that directed his ministry to implement a milk factory in the county, adding that the President would be launching the construction of the factory in a few days’ time.

He expressed confidence that Narok County has the potential to produce over 100,000 litres of milk daily, owing to the favourable climatic conditions and large parcels of land.

Apart from building the factory, the CS announced that the state will build a model dairy farm adjacent to the processing farm that will act as a training ground for the farmers.

‘We want to empower Narok farmers in all ways so that they can lead in milk production in the country. The milk from Narok is known to be of high quality, which is recommended in the international markets,’ he said.

Governor Ntutu underscored that the county government had set up 30 acres of land to put up the factory, saying it would be a game changer for the residents as the farmers would have a market for their milk as well as many job opportunities being created.

‘200 people will be employed directly, while another 1,000 will be employed indirectly. This will reduce the rate of joblessness in our county as almost all these people will come from our county,’ he said.

The governor wondered why milk sold at a cheaper price than water in the county, yet water was more easily available than milk.

He called on the farmers to keep productive breeds of livestock that yield more milk so that they could benefit from the factory.

The county boss said there are estimated to be 300 milk cooperatives in the county, which would be responsible for ensuring the milk sold out is of high quality and meets the standards of the international markets.

Governor Ntutu promised to renovate all the roads in the county so that farmers could have easy access to the market.

Narok County Farmers Forum Chairman Simon Poror thanked the government for prioritising Narok County in the construction of a milk firm, reiterating the factory would motivate farmers to increase their production.

Source: Kenya News Agency

About 400 youth turned up at the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment centre in Mandera as the nationwide exercise kicked off today.

However, there was a notable gender gap, with only four young women participating compared to a larger number of male candidates.

Addressing the press, Senior Recruitment Officer Lt. Col. Paul Njue expressed satisfaction with the initial turnout, emphasising that the numbers have been encouraging.

Lt. Col. Njue also said a significant number of youths were disqualified from the exercise, some due to possessing fraudulent documents, while others did not meet the minimum qualifications.

He added that, to date, there have been no reported incidents of bribery among the recruits. Lt. Col. Njue stated that thorough checks would be conducted on all recruits to ensure that none arrive with any form of bribery.

The KDF recruitment drive is looking to enlist General Service Officer (GSO) Cadets (both regular and graduate degree holders), Specialist Officers, General Duty Recruits, Tradesmen and Women, and Defence Forces Constables.

The KDF recruitment exercise is scheduled to run until September 8, 2023.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Over 400 boda boda and tuk tuk riders in Kisumu over the weekend benefited from a free training on road safety and self-first aid courtesy of Watu Credit, the County Government of Kisumu, and the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA).

The initiative, dubbed ‘Tujenge Msingi’ targets to equip the riders with the necessary skills to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the road.

This comes amidst the rising number of boda boda accidents, with the sector reporting 1,670 accidents last year.

Speaking during the training, Wetu Credit Country Manager Erick Massawe said the safety training targets to ensure the riders operate within the law and at the same time contribute to their overall wellness.

The riders were taken through comprehensive training on safety, which covered creating awareness of safety rules that they should adhere to on the road.

Furthermore, they were trained on how to provide self-medical aid and aid to others in cases of accidents; they were given free medical check-ups to promote good health while on the road; free checkups for their motorbikes, including oil changes; and a second-hand motorbike marketplace with affordable options.

Besides the training, he added that the campaign was pushing for the adoption of electric motorbikes to reduce the number of accidents involving motorbikes.

‘We are also sensitising them on new developments in the sector. We have electric motorcycles which are less complicated mechanically, and we believe this will go a long way in reducing the number of accidents on our roads,’ he said.

Watu Credit East Africa General Manager Andrii Volokha said the boda boda sector was set to benefit immensely with the adoption of electric motorbikes in the country.

‘This will help them sustain themselves during these tough times and at the same time help to conserve the environment,’ he said.

Watu Credit, he said, was already providing affordable and flexible financing for electric boda bodas with a wide network of dealers in the country.

So far, he said some 100 electric motorbikes have already been procured through the flexible financing, adding that since its inception, the company has financed over 730,000 boda boda in the country.

‘We are driven by the goal to support entrepreneurship by providing financial inclusion for unbanked and underserved individuals,’ he said.

NTSA Programme Director Samuel Musumba said the training was timely and critical to address the rising number of accidents in the sector.

Musumba said most of the accidents were the result of human error and the riders failure to observe traffic rules.

‘Most of these accidents are caused by human error. We have operators who don’t wear helmets. Some even engage in alcohol before venturing out to pick up passengers,’ he said.

‘Initiatives like this will continue to address the rising number of accidents annually and add to the positive contribution that the sector brings to economic development,’ he added.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Significant progress was made in efforts to put out flames which erupted in Fernana, Balta-Bou Aouane and Ain Draham, Local Civil Protection Director in Jendouba Adel Abidi told TAP.

Civil protection in coordination with forestry officers and volunteer citizens are carrying out cooling operations and batttling the last pockets of fire, he added.

The Regional Disaster Management Committee reported that some 28 families evacuated Sunday in a precautionary move had returned to their homes on Monday.

Over 50 ha of forest in the communities of Sechwala, Abda, Farouha, Athamania and Argoub Rihane had been burnt, Head of Jendouba forest district Lotfi Hmaidi said.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

A training session on the manufacture of products from date palm waste started on Monday for 15 women members of the Wifak group in the locality of Nouil delegation Douz-sud.

In a statement to TAP news agency, Abdelkarim Maali, the regional commissioner for handicrafts, said this training was organised within the framework of Tunisian-Swiss cooperation, adding that a similar session had already been organised in the town of Douz.

The aim of the training is to use oasis waste to make boxes for collecting agricultural produce, he added.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Firefighters are still trying to extinguish the fire that reignited on Monday in Mount Ennahli, near the Maherzia neighbourhood (Ariana governorate).

Although the fire was brought under control early Monday morning, it reignited due to strong winds, said Civil Protection spokesperson Colonel Moez Triaa.

14 fire trucks were mobilised to rescue the locals, as well as a C-130 Hercules equipped with liquid substances to contain the fire and limit its spread, Colonel Triaa told TAP.

The causes of the fire are still unknown, the same source said.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

President Kais Saied called for the initiation of legal proceedings against all those who stole the assets of the Tunisian people after January 14, 2011, as he met with the Minister of State Property and Land Affairs, Mohamed Rekik and the General Commissioner for State Disputes, Ali Abbas at the Carthage Palace Monday.

The Head of State urged speeding up the submission of requests, accompanied by all the evidence, to extend the deadline for freezing funds looted abroad, in the knowledge that the deadline for submitting these requests is the end of this month. «Any delay could benefit those who have plundered the Tunisian people’s money for decades,» according to a statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic.

Saied pointed out that requests for postponement should have been made earlier, not two days before the deadline.

The meeting discussed “the lengthy procedures and the far from innocent conditions of the states and banks where the looted funds are deposited, as some of them want an adversarial verdict against the accused, knowing for sure that they fled abroad”.

Experience has also shown that “sentences handed down in some countries are only enforced after many decades, and the people whose money was stolen receive only the crumbs left over. There are many examples of these practices, which contradict the most basic human and peoples’ rights,” the source said.

Saied pointed out that “if the Tunisian people had recovered these funds, which belong to them and amount to thousands of billions from bank accounts, real estate and movable assets, they would not be living in this financial crisis; they have the people’s money and want to lend it to Tunisians on their terms”.

The meeting emphasised the need for diplomatic action to go hand in hand with judicial action. The Head of State stressed the need to raise the issue within the framework of international and regional organisations in order to unify the positions of countries that have seen their people’s assets stolen.

More

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The administration of the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) has removed the name of MP Sami Ben Abdelali (Constituency of expats in Italy) from the list of MPs published on the parliament’s official website.

In a statement to TAP news agency on Monday, Sirine Mrabet, Assessor to the Speaker in charge of Information and Communication, noted that MPs, especially those belonging to the Independent National Bloc, were surprised by the absence of MP Sami Ben Abdelali’s name from the list of deputies.

“The ARP Bureau has not met since the beginning of the current month of August and therefore the request to lift Ben Abdelali’s immunity has not been considered,” she added.

She clarified that the reports of the Rules Committee on the matter were received on July 30, the beginning of the parliamentary recess.

Mrabet stressed that, according to the rules of procedure, the Parliament’s Bureau must review these reports and decide on a plenary session within 12 days of receiving the committee’s reports.

“No data, such as a judicial decision or otherwise, has been received that would require an acceleration of the examination of this case,” she added.

The Ministry of Justice last June 2 submitted a request to the ARP to lift the immunity of the MP in connection with a case of suspected embezzlement brought against him by the Tunisian consulate in Palermo.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse