Day: March 3, 2024

The inaugural Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owallo’s basketball tournament saw Onjiko High school narrowly edge out Maseno by 39 – 37 Saturday.

The clash, watched by the CS himself who is the sponsor through Eliud Owallo Foundation, culminatinated in Onjiko, the reigning Nyanza Basketball champions carrying the day.

Owallo, CS for Information, Communication and Digital Economy, promised to revamp the basketball game which was at its lowest ebb in the region.

He said the region was once upon a time the main feeder of Kenya national basketball team producing top notch players in the country.

The CS singled out former basketball giants in the sport as including: Lakers and Juakali with secondary schools; Maseno, St. Mary’s Yala, Cardinal Otunga (Mosocho) and Kisumu Boys.

He challenged the tournament organisers to select players to form two Nyanza based basketball teams- male and female- which would represent the region.

The CS appealed to the former top basketball players, charged with organising the tourna
ment to select best players to represent Nyanza.

He revealed that the players would be in two categories for boys and girls, saying they would be supported all the way.

‘We cannot watch our teams sink to the lowest ebb but we must work to nurture fresh talent as we strive to revive this game in Nyanza,’ he reassured.

Respective schools will also be supported depending on their priority needs alongside sports, he stated.

The tournament has attracted 26 schools from the Nyanza region with various organizations led by Kenya Sports Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) camping there keen to scout for the best talented players.

All the 26 teams received uniforms donated by the Foundation. The participating teams included 13 boys and 13 girls’ schools from Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Nyamira, Kisii and Migori counties.

This translates to 390 student-athletes drawn from Nyanza schools having taken part in the tournament under the watchful eyes of some of the top cream players Kenya has ever had.

Ow
allo said that having been a basketball player himself, it was time to team up with other top notch colleagues to pay back to society.

He pointed out that talent is good only if it is well nurtured and fully exploited for income generation.

The CS advised the Basketball Federation to watch out for corruption which rocked the soccer game in Kenya with far reaching consequences.

The matches were played at Maseno, Kisumu Boys, Kisumu Girls, and Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.

Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) Director John Okwemba said they were scouting for talented players for a team set to represent Kenya in USA later this year.

Joseph Were who is the head coach for Onjiko, the Nyanza giant has set his eyes on the Eliud Owalo basketball trophy.

Were exuded confidence that his team would win the secondary basketball festival trophy despite the anticipated challenges from their arch-rivals.

Source: Kenya News Agency

About 500 metres before you enter Nyeri town, at the Temple Road junction, is where you find Boaz Njogu, a dancing sensation who has captured the attention of motorists on the busy Karatina-Nyeri highway.

For anyone keen to observe, you will notice that the 23-year-old is not just focused on entertaining road users, rather he is on a road safety campaign mission. Next to Njogu’s dancing stage (the sidewalk), your attention is quickly drawn to a wooden stand bearing messages neatly written on a manila paper. The tidbits, a combination of traffic rules, inspirational phrases and a Bible verse, are dedicated to drivers.

‘I want to appreciate drivers for what they do. I also hope to motivate them to stay focused behind the wheel regardless of the situation they may be going through,’ says Njogu.

Armed with a piece of carton box, Njogu started his solo road safety campaign six months ago in the middle the Nyeri Central Business District. He would later relocate to the highway upon realizing that he was not attr
acting enough attention. His motivation was the heart wrenching statistics on road carnage.

‘I started this campaign with the hope of changing the situation on our roads. We had gotten to a point where nearly every day, the country would wake up to news of a road accident,’ he says.

True to Njogu’s assertion, last year, more than 20,000 people are reported to have been involved in road accidents in the country according to statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

Data released by NTSA in February this year showed that losing control of the vehicle was one of the main causes of accidents in 2023 accounting for 929 deaths. Lane indiscipline accounted for 491 deaths while careless overtaking led to 443 deaths during the year under review. The NTSA report further reveals that 310 deaths occurred due to misjudging road clarity, distance or speed.

‘We are still witnessing a lot of accidents because motorists are not adhering to traffic rules. Many of the accidents are caused by speedi
ng, careless driving and careless overtaking. Motorists need someone to remind them of the traffic rules if we want to regain sanity on the roads,’ he says.

Currently, he has dedicated four hours of his day to this campaign. His day starts at 4:30 am in the morning when he writes down the messages and creates a music playlist to dance to. By 6:50 am, Njogu arrives at his duty station armed with his reflector jacket and wooden stand ready to start his campaign.

‘I take advantage of the morning traffic between 7-9 am and the evening rush hour from 4-6pm to pass my message to the motorists,’ says Njogu adding that during his free time, he fends for himself by taking up landscaping and fence trimming jobs.

His absence from the junction is also not taken kindly as motorists plying the route have gotten accustomed to his presence.

Martin Muriithi, a boda boda operator in at the Temple Road stage says, that whereas many may not appreciate what Njogu does, his presence on the road has played a part in restoring s
ome semblance of sanity among motorists especially his colleagues who are notorious for flouting traffic rules.

‘It is very rare to find someone that young who is that committed and courageous to take on such a huge task without any form of support. In fact, we normally get concerned when we don’t see the young man at his usual spot. As a boda boda rider, I appreciate that he takes his time to remind us about road safety and I would urge the county government to support his campaign,’ says Muriithi.

But it has not been a bed of roses for Njogu. He says much as he finds fulfillment in his daily routine, his campaign has also come with its own set of challenges. The greatest one being lack of finances to support his work. On most occasions, he is forced to dig into his pocket to afford stationery but on good days he receives tokens of appreciation from motorists.

‘I try my best to write fresh messages everyday so that I don’t lose the attention of the readers. To do this, I need a manila paper, masking tape
and a marker pen. The estimated cost of one message is Sh150. Since I don’t have a steady job, I have resorted to repeating some messages on several occasions especially when I can’t afford the stationery,’ says Njogu.

Similarly, he has not escaped the wrath of first time motorist and pedestrians alike who have misconstrued his campaign for an attention seeking venture. Njogu says that he has been yelled at and insulted on several occasions by people who thought he was a mad man.

‘One of the biggest misconception that people had when they first saw me on the roadside holding a placard, was that I was under the influence of drugs. Some said I was mentally unstable but with time, some have comeback to apologise and to even support this campaign by giving me money and some donate reflector jackets to support this course,’ he says.

Njogu believes that aggressive road safety campaigns such as his coupled with support from the relevant government agencies such as NTSA and the Traffic Department of the Kenya Poli
ce could help change the situation on the Kenyan roads.

He says that even though he may not have data to prove the effectiveness of his campaign, so far he has positively impacted on Nyeri motorist who have encountered him.

‘It is hard for people to forget about road safety and traffic rules when they have a daily reminder. What I do may not impact on all the road users, but I am sure I touch the heart of one or two motorists in a single day,’ he says.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Contractors who fail to complete county government project on time will have their contracts terminated, Makueni County Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr has warned.

Consequently, Mutula put on notice all contractors doing county projects saying his government would not condone delays and that he would ensure all development projects are completed within the time specified.

The governor was speaking on Friday at the Kathozweni Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society where a contractor has delayed piping water to the dairy processing plant for the last 10 months.

‘Going forward, I will personally ensure projects initiated by my government are completed within the time specified in the project. My government will no longer entertain such contractors, their contracts will be terminated,’ warned Mutula who was on a development tour of Kathozweni Subcounty.

During the development tour, the governor also visited Kwa Mbila Dam where he officiallycommissioned solar power panels that will help in pumping water to 13,500 benef
iciaries drawn from 23 villages in the area.

While saying the solar replaced diesel generator, the county boss expressed his concern at the vandalism of county projects allegedly by a businessman that he did not name and asked the police to take action against him.

‘I urge the police to take action against the prominent businessman who is involved in selling of scrap metal. He sends youths to vandalise county government projects,’ alleged the governor.

Mutula also toured Kathozweni Livestock Yard which is under construction and is 90% complete.

He was accompanied by Executive Committee Member (ECM) Agriculture, Joyce Mutua, Makueni County Assembly Speaker Douglas Mbilu among other senior county government officials and leaders.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi has decried the failure of the government to employ enough persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Public Service despite the legal requirement provided by the law.

During celebrations to mark Wheelchair Day at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Friday, Wanyonyi said only a few PWDs were working in the public sector.

He said the discrimination could only be ended if the law requiring representation of PWDs in employment opportunities was implemented to the latter.

Wanyonyi proposed that all ministries and other organizations should have a disability policy on employment both in the national and county government to ensure their visibility.

He at the same time recognized the appointment of Isaac Mwaura, the government spokesman, saying it was a good step in recognizing PWDs in the society.

To ensure more visibility of PWDs, Wanyonyi proposed that the focus should be on appointive positions since elective positions were difficult to come by due to the c
hallenges that they have as well as the nature of politics in the country.

‘Focus more on appointive positions than elective positions as they are limited to help reach the constitutional mandate of 5%,’ he said.

During the event, over 90 PWDs benefited from wheelchairs. Led by Gakure Njaria, the beneficiaries recounted the number of times they have gone for interviews unsuccessfully despite meeting the qualifications.

‘Despite having fully qualified and being sure of doing well in interviews, jobs have been difficult to come by. The discrimination we face in appointments is saddening,’ said Njaria.

Dr. Mwangi Matheri, the JKUAT Wheelchair and Learning Centre project Leader urged the beneficiaries not to sell the wheelchairs for financial gain but to maintain and utilize them for their benefit.

‘We should ensure that as a country, people don’t only speak of disability mainstreaming but also inclusion within their societies, school, place of work and other spheres of life,’ he said.

Source: Kenya News A
gency

Migori Transporter-Pick-Up Car Association has promised to work with the Migori County government to help the youth acquire valid driving licenses.

Speaking during the Pickup Association’s elections held at the Migori Green Stadium, the newly elected Chairperson Thomas Indire said that the Association was going to work closely with the Office of the Governor to help the youths acquire the crucial document for job creation.

Ondire vowed to work with each member in the pickup sector to ensure professionalism and proper specialization in the transport sector promising to provide a conducive and healthier leadership environment.

Indire also disclosed that the Association would embark on sponsoring needy students whose parents were registered members of the Association to join high schools from across the county.

The newly elected Association’s Treasurer Ms Julian Otieno noted that they would work tirelessly and transparently to ensure the association achieves its goals of recruiting more qualified members to
streamline the transport sector.

Julian however urged women to join the organization and participate in its activities to empower themselves economically.

‘For a long time, the transport sector has been regarded as a male thing and my urge to my fellow women is that they should keep trying to equip themselves with numerous opportunities presented to the female gender,’ said Julian.

She called upon the members to work as a team to enable the association to access county services and tenders for the social and economic growth of the association and the individual members.

Meanwhile, the members decried the high fuel prices and lack of enough parking spaces within Migori town as some of the challenges that have reduced their profit margins.

They called upon the county and the national governments to address these challenges to enable them to survive the harsh economic times in the transport sector.

Source: Kenya News Agency

More than 200 volunteers participated in cleaning River Nanyuki in Laikipia County as part of activities to mark World Wildlife Day.

The volunteers who included university students and community-based environment conservation groups joined Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers in removing about nine tons of solid waste from the river.

World Wildlife Day is celebrated on March 3 every year to help promote the conservation of wildlife. The culmination of this week’s celebration will be on Monday when conservationists and community groups from counties neighbouring Laikipia will converge in Nanyuki Town for a street procession and later hold a daylong exhibition.

KWS Assistant Director in charge of Laikipia County Rose Malenya said river pollution was a major threat in the efforts to conserve water sources noting that they only managed to cover two kilometers in the clean-up exercise.

‘We only worked on two kilometers of the river and removed a huge amount of garbage. Suppose we were to cover the entire rive
r? This shows how serious river pollution is serious in the country,’ said Malenya.

The 97 km long River Nanyuki is one of the major tributaries of River Ewaso Nyiro, a source of livelihood in semi-arid northern Kenya also supporting tens of wildlife species.

Most of the garbage collected from the river included plastic bottles and other non-biodegradable materials that blocked the free flow of the river.

Malenya said as part of celebrating this year’s World Wildlife Day whose theme is ‘Connecting people and planet-innovation for wildlife conservation’, KWS and other stakeholders had organized various activities throughout the week all geared to protecting two major water towers within the mountain region.

‘We decided to clean the Nanyuki River since many people depend on it and wildlife downstream too. This is a clear message that the river is dirty. There is a need to conduct periodical clean-up exercises for the welfare of the community and wild animals,’ she pointed out.

She said they have planted mo
re than 4,000 trees in Mt Kenya and Aberdare forest and invited students to visit national parks and other wildlife-protected areas as part of a sensitization campaign on wildlife and environmental conservation.

Participants during the celebrations called for concerted efforts among conservationists, development partners, and government agencies in combating climate change whose adverse effects were taking a toll on livelihoods.

‘It’s important to conserve the environment and especially the water sources because water is life. And remember that when you use river upstream, there is someone downstream,’ said Ms Silvia Chemtai Ruto, Dedan Kimathi University student and one of Nanyuki River clean-up exercise participants.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The government will give priority to mining investments committed to establishing value-addition and mineral-processing centres in Kenya as part of incentivizing investors to support the State’s agenda for job creation in the mining sector.

The Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Mining Elijah Mwangi said Kenya’s vast mineral endowments have the potential to effectively address the unemployment challenges facing the country through the establishment of a local mineral processing plan; a move that would provide employment opportunities for Kenyan youths.

While calling for investors to apply for licenses to exploit Kenya’s mineral resources, the PS said that the policy on mineral processing and value addition encouraged the setting up of plants and refineries locally to accelerate mineral value addition processes.

That would not only be a catalyst for the creation of jobs but would also significantly increase the value of Kenya’s minerals in the regional and international markets, Mwangi noted

The
PS was speaking in Tharaka Nithi County during a meeting with Governor Muthomi Njuki and other county leaders to explore ways of enhancing cooperation between the two levels of government to promote the full exploitation of minerals in the region.

‘We are asking investors to apply for the mineral rights. The priority will be on investors who have expressed interest and capability to set up value addition centers, refineries, and processing plants that will not only increase the value for our minerals but also create jobs for communities and youth in this sector,’ he said.

The investment’s call comes at a time when the country is investing heavily in value addition in agricultural, manufacturing, livestock, and extractive sectors to promote the growth of local industries. This strategy is being viewed as the critical cog that will place Kenya on the trajectory of an industrialized nation.

The PS further disclosed that all mineral applications would be processed by April as he called upon all miners and deal
ers to get the required licenses to avoid being declared non-compliant. Already, the department has received over 1,200 applications for various mineral rights which would be processed by April. Additionally, 260 mineral dealing applications are being processed.

A major operation would be launched after April to weed out all illegal miners and close down any mining operation that would not comply with the law. Already, a Mineral Police Unit has been established to supplement the enforcement operations in the mining sector.

During the meeting, the State Department and the county government entered into a collaborative framework that would culminate in the establishment of the first state-of-the-art mineral laboratory in the region. This is in fulfillment of the Department’s commitment to decentralizing critical lab services to increase efficiency and promote profitability in the entire mineral value chain.

This collaboration will see Tharaka Nithi County provide land and buildings while the Department will
supply specialized equipment and experts to run the facility.

Governor Muthomi Njuki hailed the working partnership stating that it heralded a new dawn for thousands of artisanal miners and mining operations in the region.

He called upon investors to set up value addition plants in the region as he pledged to create a conducive environment that will allow the sector to thrive.

‘This county is endowed with a very facilitative environment for mining investments to thrive. We have adequate water, power, road infrastructure, and a vibrant workforce that will be an asset to any investor who puts up a value addition centre,’ he said.

He pointed out that the county was home to both strategic and construction minerals including copper, iron ore, and lime; resources that can transform the lives of residents of the region.

He also called upon the government to work closely with counties to exploit the mineral resources as part of bolstering inter-governmental collaboration to address the many challenges facing the
communities in mining areas.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Principal Secretary for the State Department of Information, Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy Eng. John Kipchumba Tanui has affirmed that the government is in full control of the E- Citizen platform dismissing recent allegations that the system is privately run. He said the system, which has been in development since 2013 and has been piloted through the support of the World Bank, was foolproof in supporting the digitization of government services where a total of over 15,000 services have been onboarded to date.

The PS said the government took over the running of the system last year after it entered into contractual arrangements with local innovators to ensure its interests are met adding that the process of standardizing the critical system is successfully achieved.

Eng. Tanui’s assurance remarks come after Auditor General Nancy Gathungu raised concerns over private control of the e-citizen platform which she said could compromise the accountability of the billions of shillings pro
cessed through the platform.

‘The E-Citizen systems marks a huge milestone in the digital transformation agenda which has enhanced clarity, transparency and collection of revenue across government agencies,’ said the PS.

He was speaking in Naivasha on Saturday during a stakeholders’ workshop and engagement of the Ministry of Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy and the National Assembly Committee on Communication, Information Innovation led by Dagoretti South Member of Parliament (MP) John Kiarie Waweru who is also the chair of the committee. During the engagement, it emerged that the State Department for ICT and Innovation has a high budget deficit of over Sh.79 billion for the financial year 2023/24 with the department having been allocated only Sh29 billion to facilitate the government’s digital transformation agenda.

Eng. Tanui said the digitization programme being championed by the Ministry is based on the Digital Master Plan 2022-23 which was estimated to cost Sh500 billion but
it brings huge returns to the country by creating employment for the youth.

‘To this end, we are looking for ways of involving donors in the digitization programme and the World Bank is ready to use support through the Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Fund and a Government Department of South Korea is partnering with the Kenya Government in funding the Konza technopolis. We are targeting to raise Sh1.9 billion through our internal collections with Sh782 million having been collected to date,’ he said.

Konza Technopolis is touted to be Africa’s Silicon Savannah and is a key flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio.

He said there is a need to establish a digitization fund to ensure the digitization of the over 74, 000 institutions which have been mapped out is achieved and a committee comprising of various stakeholders was already working on it.

‘We need funding to maintain, monitor the system and ensure the security of the digital superhighway and steady flow of the broadban
d,’ the PS said.

During the engagement, it merged that the State Department has a pending bill of Sh2.578 billion which the PS said has been committed to the pending bills review committee that seeks to establish if the bills were genuine, inflated or dubious before payment.

On the other hand, the PS said the ministry is championing the critical ICT Infrastructure Bill that will give force to the protection and safeguarding of critical infrastructure from malicious damage, destruction and sabotage.

It’s worth noting that the Government is on course to establishing 25,000 WiFi hotspots across the country as well as 1,450 digital hubs spread across all constituencies and the National Government -Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) will allocate three per cent of its monies towards infrastructural upgrades on this digital hubs initiative in the constituencies.

Digital hubs are physical spaces with access to superfast broadband alongside community and business-focused services.

Karie on his part said the
engagement had been fruitful in reviewing the progress made by the ministry in various sectors, challenges encountered and how the Parliament could help find solutions to the challenges and set new targets and budgetary allocations for the new financial year. He was accompanied by committee members; Joseph Tonui (Kuresoi South MP), Hamisi Kakuta Maimai (Kajiado East) and nominated MP Irene Mayaka. The MPs praised the digitisation programme in the country terming it a game changer in terms of creating employment for the youth and vowed to come up with necessary legislation to support it.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula has appealed to the electorate to be patient with the government as it strives to fix the economy.

Wetang’ula admitted that the country is experiencing hard economic times but assured the masses that efforts were in place to change the situation.

He was speaking at Chavakali High School grounds during a function for mobilizing funds in aid of the Sabatia Empowerment Initiative championed by the area Member of Parliament (MP) Clement Sloya.

The Ford Kenya Party Leader called for unity of purpose amongst the political class urging them to pool resources together for distribution to common interest groups for collective prosperity.

Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera urged the political leaders to embrace mutual respect and come together irrespective of party affiliations for the sake of uplifting the living standards of the people.

He urged the legislators from the western region to rally behind Wetang’ula as their trailblazer so that they walk on the same politica
l lane.

The area MP Clement Sloya stated that he had started fulfilling his campaign manifesto that had underscored the economic empowerment of the women and the youth.

Source: Kenya News Agency

United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tunisia Arnaud Peral proposed in a recent meeting with Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Lotfi Dhiab to hold the second edition of the Regional High-Level Meeting on Young People’s Learning, Skilling, Social Inclusion and Transition to Decent Work next June in Tunisia.

This second meeting will bring together the representatives of 20 Arab countries, 250 participants and ten ministers of employment and vocational training, reads a ministry press release.

The meeting is intended to exchange expertise and help take stock of the Tunisian experience in vocational training and employment, the second chance mechanisms, digital transition and green skills.

The UN official said there is readiness to back the ministry’s efforts to set mid and long-term strategic objectives and provide needed support to help the Tunisian government attain its hoped-for quantitative and qualitative targets in connection to youth employment and decent emplopyment.

The minister said i
t is imperative to further optimise the management of international cooperation projects and praised cooperation with the UN.

The ministry is working in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation to revise the national employment strategy, the purpose being to make sure its responds to the targets set for 2035 and the large-scale reform programme.

Cooperation and partnership between the ministry and UN agencies in vocational training, employment and entrepreneurship was also debated.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

At least 200 filmmakers in Kisii have received film and video production training courtesy of the Kenya Film Commission in partnership with the Office of the Woman Representative in Kisii County.

The five-day capacity-building workshop was held at the Woman Rep’s offices in Kisii town and the beneficiaries learnt basic filmmaking skills and gained insights from film professionals.

Speaking during the film festival screening held at Kisii University Amphitheatre on the outskirts of Kisii town, Kisii Woman Rep Dorice Aburi lauded the Commission for equipping the beneficiaries with the relevant skills needed to propel their careers in film production which will help them become financially stable.

Aburi noted that the workshop also provided an opportunity for the young people to network with fellow creatives in the film industry and share their artistic ideas.

She pledged to continue supporting the beneficiaries of the workshop saying the group would form part of a self-help group that would benefit from the
National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).

In addition, Aburi urged the national government to allocate more funds to the Office of the Woman Rep so that they could facilitate more capacity-building training aimed at improving the lives of the people at the grassroots level.

Geoffrey Machoka and Veronica Bochere who were some of the beneficiaries of the training lauded the facilitators of the workshop adding that the training had provided them with a unique opportunity to gain skills in film and video production.

On her part, Lydia Biseri, a reporter and camera person at a local TV station, said she had learnt about filmmaking and script writing at no extra cost and would cascade the acquired knowledge to her peers who did not get the chance to be trained.

Ms. Biseri also encouraged the youth to take advantage of the learning opportunities that being offered by the county and national governments.

Source: Kenya News Agency