Day: December 13, 2023

The Vihiga County Government has prepared a youth bill aimed at mainstreaming the socio-economic empowerment of the young people in the county.

Governor Dr. Wilber Ottichilo has said the majority of the youth are languishing in poverty due to unemployment and an unfavourable environment for doing business.

Ottichilo, who spoke during the commemoration of the 60th Jamhuri Day at Hamisi Stadium, explained that the enactment of the Bill would provide a legal framework for enabling the County administration to promote youth empowerment.

The County head also stated that they intend to set up a Persons with Disabilities Board to coordinate and tackle issues related to the disabled.

On his part, County Commissioner Felix Watakila urged the residents to ensure peace and security prevail during the end-of-year festivities.

He pledged to collaborate with the County government so that criminal activities, including mugging, robbery, stock theft, and sexual violence, do not occur in the area.

He called on the pare
nts and adults in the communities to act as role models to the young people by upholding morality and self-discipline at all times.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Tharaka Nithi County Government will not condone any encroachment into land that belongs to public amenities.

Speaking during the Jamuhuri Day celebrations held at Picnic Grounds in Chuka town on Tuesday, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki disclosed that some unscrupulous civil servants have continued to occupy government residences even after they left service.

‘The government cannot rent land to extend public utilities while some people continue to illegally occupy its land. The government does not give out its land to any person, and anyone who is occupying such land should vacate before they are evicted,’ said the governor.

Njuki further revealed that his government is committed to the war on illicit liquor and called on the judiciary to support this cause by desisting from ordering the police to release the exhibits to the illicit traders once they are acquitted.

‘It does not make sense to release an exhibit to those prosecuted for selling alcohol on unlicensed premises. Where are they expected to
continue selling their alcoholic drinks if they were arrested for selling in unauthorised outlets?’ the governor asked.

He said the county government has employed the services of experienced alcoholic drink tasters who are able to tell whether the brand being sold is genuine, and the days of those selling counterfeit brands are numbered.

‘We have further heightened the war on alcoholism by reducing the bar’s operating hours to between 5pm to 11pm on weekdays and from 2pm to 11pm on weekends. This will ensure our youth spend more time working than drinking,’ Governor Njuki added.

The County Commissioner (CC), Wesley Koech, said the government is committed to empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and will fully utilise their services in the Affordable Housing Project.

‘The government has allocated 200 units of the housing project to each constituency and will utilise the services of SMEs to help them grow,’ said the CC.

He further disclosed that the government is committed to reviving cooperatives
to shield coffee farmers from exploitive cartels, a sentiment that was also echoed by the county governor, who encouraged farmers to revive their coffee farming as its future is very bright.

‘I have sought a coffee market in America that, although it consumes 19 per cent of the coffee produced globally, does not produce any coffee at all. We should go back to our former economic backbone, as the future for the crop is very bright,’ stressed the governor.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Busia Governor Paul Otuoma has urged the residents and elected leaders to work closely with the County leadership to realise economic development.

Speaking during the celebrations to mark the 60th Jamhuri day at Nambale Polytechnic on Tuesday, Otuoma stated that it is only through a joint effort that they can build a better Busia.

‘As we mark this important day in Nambale Polytechnic grounds, I wish to invoke the Harambee spirit by imploring you to walk with me and this government so that you make your contributions, however small or big, we will welcome your contribution to making this government a greater county,” he said.

Busia Governor Paul Otuoma and County Commissioner Kipchumba Ruto join an entertainment group alongside other leaders during the 60th Jamhuri Day celebrations. Photo by Salome Alwanda

He noted that the roads in the County were dilapidated, and there is a need to renovate them so that they can attract business in the county.

‘There is no other way we can attract business apart from
improving the infrastructure of this area,” he said, adding that the initiative will make Busia a real gateway to East Africa.

The governor stated that his leadership has undertaken many other projects, including the Busia Alupe Road, among others.

‘I also want to tell you that the ongoing Industrial Park in Nasewa will be completed within the stipulated time,’ he said.

At the same time, Otuoma said that his administration was pushing for the upgrade of the critical infrastructure to serve the environs around the Industrial park like the road from Butula-Nambale-Amukura and the one for Matayos to open up the areas.

‘We also want to come up with infrastructure that offers services to long-distance truck drivers so that they consider Busia as their first stopover to their destinations,’ he said, adding that around 4,000 people use Busia and Malaba borders, but they are not integrated into the county’s economy.

He further said that the County needs to identify life-transforming economic activities that can
have an impact on its residents.

‘We must think strategically so that Busia is positioned to create jobs,’ he said, adding that this can only happen if Busia is positioned as a logistic hub for East and Central Africa.

The governor at the same time thanked the national government for advertising bidding contracts for the construction of EPZ in Nasewa, adding that this is another project that will position Busia as a serious economic hub in East and Central Africa.

‘I also want to urge both the agriculture and cooperative departments and the MCAs to be serious on the issue of economic revitalization,’ said the governor.

Otuoma further challenged the elected leaders to lobby the national government and other development partners so that they could support the revival of cotton ginneries.

‘We need to have a clear guideline on how cotton is going to be priced so that these people can rise against poverty,” he said, adding that elected leaders should look at the Cotton Act properly.

He also advised the MCAs
to be champions of the ward-based economic revitalization programmes by ensuring that there is at least one cooperative society in each ward.

‘After Independence, we had factories like Mumias, Nzoia, and cotton ginneries, but what is the current generation doing?’ he asked, adding that even elected leaders have resorted to complaining endlessly.

The county boss argued that the best way to create wealth is through aggregation and cooperatives, adding that the county can create 40,000 jobs within the next four years if they embrace the process.

‘I want to direct that the government of Busia from now on will only adhere to a programme-based budget,’ he said.

Otuoma further urged MPs to push for the legalisation of ward funds so that the MCAs can carry out some programmes in the wards.

‘The issue of ward funds was on the dialogue committee, and we are praying that it should be addressed further,’ he said.

Busia County Commissioner Kipchumba Ruto assured the residents that his team will ensure that there are
proper security arrangements across the county during this festive season.

A section of the residents expressed security concerns, especially in Nambale Sub County, where they complained about the killing of boda boda riders.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Farmers from Kerio Valley in Elgeyo Marakwet earned Sh10.4 million from the sale of 250,800 kilogrammes of sorghum in the just-concluded harvesting season.

According to Governor Wisley Rotich, the farmers planted 700 acres under contract farming with the East African Breweries.

Speaking at Koindabilet Secondary School in Marakwet West Sub-County during Jamhuri Day celebrations, the governor said that farmers earned a further Sh5 million from the sale of 1.7 tonnes of pyrethrum to Kentegra Pyrethrum Company.

Rotich noted that the company had reviewed the price of flowers from Sh260 to Sh290, thus translating to better returns for farmers, adding that more farmers were waiting for seeds from the company, which will see the acreage under pyrethrum, which currently stands at 633 acres’ increase.

He therefore urged farmers from the traditional pyrethrum-growing zones of Metkei, Kapsowar, Lelan, and Kapyego, among others, to embrace the crop now that there was a ready market and better prices.

The governor sa
id a total of 133,000 bags of fertiliser have been sold to farmers for use in the coming planting season under the last mile programme after his government managed to talk with the National Cereals and Produce Board to open more stores to ease the distribution of the same.

He regretted that fertiliser has been out of reach for many farmers due to high prices, adding that even after it was subsidised by the government, it was not easily accessible to farmers owing to distance and bureaucratic challenges.

The governor said while agriculture has remained the backbone of the economy for the past 60 years, lack of adoption of new farming technology and poor application of fertilisers have led to poor harvests.

He added that the NCPB will soon be installing dryers in some of the stores where farmers can dry their maize and prevent post-harvest losses.

He disclosed that the county had installed a cold storage facility for potato farmers in Kapchebel with a capacity to store 50 tonnes of potatoes for more than th
ree months.

‘This will reduce post-harvest losses and protect farmers from exploitation from middlemen, thus increasing their earnings,’ he said.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Kericho County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to carry out an investigation and arrest suspects behind the retrogressive and archaic Female Genital Mutilation that has re-emerged in Kericho County.

The CC disclosed that three elderly women who are mothers have sustained serious injuries and are now undergoing treatment at Fortenant Sub County Hospital in Kericho after undergoing FGM.

The mothers were rescued from seclusion by Kunyak Chiefs from the hands of a circumciser who was reported to hail from Cherara sub-location in Kokwet location, Kipkelion West sub-county.

Mr. Kitiyo noted that there is a resurgence of FGM activities in the county, and there are concerns that there is the existence of a cultic movement that is forcing married women to undergo FGM, which he said was an 18th-century retrogressive culture.

Mr. Kitiyo, who spoke during the Kericho County Jamhuri Day celebrations at Chilchila Village in Forte Tenan, Kipkelion West Sub-County
, also disclosed that some boys undergoing rites of passage (Morongochki) in the area attacked some women and injured them.

The CC, who also read the president’s Jamhuri Day speech, issued a stern warning to the culprits, saying they will face the full force of the law.

‘Six boys are currently admitted at Kericho County Referral Hospital after developing complications during traditional circumcision, where one boy is reported to have had his manhood chopped off by a traditional circumciser,’ said Kitiyo.

The CC condemned the act, saying that parents should be cautious when engaging traditional circumcisers who are unprofessional for the safety of their children.

Kericho County Governor Dr. Eric Mutai urged all stakeholders to join in the fight against the triple threat, disclosing that the HIV prevalence rate stands at 3.1, with new infections among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 29 contributing 51 per cent.

The government was concerned that the county’s teenage pregnancy prevalence remained hig
h at 21 per cent.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Candidate of Chotrana, Soukra, in December 24 local elections Mohamed Eleid Hlal shed light on his electoral platform placed under the slogan “No Discrimination between Individuals.”

The candidate pledged to lend a listening ear to the concerns of locals and meet their demands. Environment issues, mainly the fight against pollution, are a top priority, he said.

The candidate undertook to support needy families and provide them with healthcare cards, in addition to securing better health services.

The candidate emphasised the importance of attracting investments to generate jobs for locals.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse