Day: June 20, 2024

A 57-year-old fine artist, Leo Odoyo Obambo, has volunteered to mentor youth to learn and practice fine art that can earn them a living.

Obambo who hails from Migori and has been working for the last 30 years, says he deals with fine art, murals, portraits, drawings, developing signage and other forms of fine arts that earn him Sh. 75 000 to Sh. 80 000 monthly.

He says he is also willing to link the youth who will undergo training and mentorship to many of his clients and other customers across the country to kick start their journey in fine art.

Obambo was speaking in Kakamega after developing a ground model which took him four days cashing in Sh. 35 000.

He says with fine art, a client provides the materials needed for instance; for the ground model he required several materials like tree seedlings, gravel, sand and timber whose cost was met by the client.

Obambo noted that he acquired the skills in fine art from a village polytechnic in Migori in 1989 and started practicing the skill that has enabled
him to take care of his nine children.

‘Art pays, you can be a fine artist, you can be a mural artist, wildlife artist and you can even sell your products online,’ he noted.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Residents of Sensi Ward in Kitutu Chache North Constituency have a reason to smile after the Kisii Woman Representative Dorice Aburi sunk a borehole to increase access to clean water in the area.

Speaking when launching the borehole, Aburi said supply of adequate water among over 6000 households in the community would boost agricultural productivity and promote food security.

‘Despite Kisii receiving adequate rainfall every year, our women continue to travel for long distances in search of water from the rivers and streams because of lack of knowledge on water harvesting and storage techniques,’ she noted.

The Woman Rep reiterated that she would not relent in her campaign to sensitize the residents on the importance of water storage and ensure they benefit from the national water harvesting and storage programmes.

Aburi noted that all the boreholes done by her office were solar-powered, as a sustainable way of ensuring the essential commodity is available to the residents at all times.

She also underscor
ed the need for elected leaders to continuously take part in public participation exercises in order to align their development projects with the needs identified by the residents in those forums.

On the contentious Finance Bill 2024, the Women Rep urged the leaders to consider the public views of Kenyans and drop some of the proposed taxes that would increase the cost of living among the people.

‘We are getting concerns from residents to review various clauses on the finance bill and we are saying that let those clauses be removed so that Kenyans can be comfortable,’ she concluded.

Already, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Finance Committee Kuria Kimani has announced the removal of proposed extra taxes on bread, eco tax on targeted products such as sanitary towels, cooking oil, mobile money services and motor vehicles from the finance bill.

Kitutu Chache North MP Japheth Nyakundi who attended the event lauded the county MP for fulfilling her campaign promise of providing safe and adequate water to the p
eople.

‘We are also grateful for the sanitary towels that were provided to our school-going girls recently because it is an initiative that we are benefiting from for the very first time,’ said Nyakundi.

Through the support of the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), the area received a total of 47,600 sanitary towels that were distributed to 5950 girls in 66 public primary and junior secondary schools in the region to ensure they remained in school.

Nyakundi rallied the residents to support the proposed finance bill saying it would provide additional funding for government projects, particularly the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and NGAAF kitties.

Meanwhile, Aburi has so far launched the drilling of seven solar-powered boreholes in several areas including Tabaka ward in Gucha South Sub County, Daraja Mbili secondary school in Kitutu Central Sub-County, Kiobegi grounds in Nyamache Sub County and Magena and Masimba towns in Kenyenya and Masaba South Sub-Counti
es among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Lodwar Farm Produce Market in Turkana County has been upgraded with new cobbles stone technology to ensure it lasts for years without requiring repairs on the pavements.

Assistant Director General for International Labour Organization Mia Sepoo, together with the county Deputy Governor Dr. John Erus presided over the commissioning of Lodwar Fresh Produce Market.

The Assistant Director General stated that ILO was proud of the partnership that made it possible to realize the vision.

Sepoo assured traders that the market would help towards economic empowerment of residents, key of whom were women.

The Assistant Director challenged traders to thrive through decent business engagements that would benefit them as a business community, generate revenue for the government and enhance services for their customers.

She said, ‘The International Labour Organization promotes labour rights, labour standards and decent work. It works with both employers and the private sector to enhance democracy at the workplace.’

Sh
e also assured of her continuous support for the TVET sector and skills development that responds to job opportunities in Turkana County.

On his part, the Deputy Governor expressed his gratitude to the International Labour Organization for the collaboration on investment and continuous partnership to upgrade the Lodwar Fresh Produce Market.

Dr. Erus noted that the market would create social-economic opportunities for people by increasing access to finance through the Ministry of Trade, Gender and Youth Affairs, which provides an environment where businesses could thrive.

He said Turkana County is moving into consolidating finances that were intended for socio-economic development under the cooperative framework as a business model.

ILO Training expert Joab Osika stated that cobblestones technology seeks to improve the employment of youth and women.

‘I believe this is an employment opportunity for the youth because they had nothing to do,’ he said.

Osika said that ILO has invested a lot of funds to run t
he project in Lodwar in terms of labour force, stating that women were the majority in Kalong’oromoe, where stones are shaped into various sizes and brought into the market for pavement construction.

A trader in Lodwar, Sheila Akwam, expressed her gratitude for the opening of the fresh produce market which she said has since addressed the challenge of selling commodities at the roadside.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Nandi county government has embarked on the promotion of coffee farming in Tinderet Sub-County to tame perennial landslides and boost income for farmers.

Through the initiative which targets areas prone to landslides, the county government seeks to restore degraded land while encouraging farmers to increase acreage under the crop.

Nandi Governor Stephen Sang said his government was keen on reviving coffee farming while at the same time addressing land degradation which has left pockets of Tinderet prone to landslides.

Speaking during the launch of the initiative at Lengon in Kapchorua ward, Sang said the county government will construct farrows in the affected areas and at the same time support the affected households with coffee seedlings to roll out the initiative.

Over 500 people who were affected by landslides during the recent floods in Kapchorua and Tinderet wards, he said stand to reap big from the programme.

‘Coffee pays and our farmers are going to benefit immensely from this initiative. Coffee
is also a tree through which we can increase tree cover in this areas to control floods and landslides,’ he said.

The Governor donated coffee seedlings to Persons Living with Disability (PWDs) in the two wards adding that through the programme, 40km of furrows would be done by the county government to restore degraded land.

Chief Officer for Agriculture Paul Sanga said the project has been designed to allow steady flow of rainwater while protecting the soils from being washed away.

Sanga asked the community to embrace coffee farming saying the benefit was two prong.

One of the beneficiaries, 96-year-old Lucas Simatwo, lauded the county government for the initiative saying the landslides menace has left a trail of destruction in the area impoverishing households.

‘Year in year out farmers in this area incur losses worth millions of shillings due to floods and landslides,’ he said.

Tinderet Sub-County, he added, was marginalized and has continued to lag behind in development adding that the renewed focus
by the county government was set to change the fortunes for the locals.

He said besides the coffee, the furrows would help in the conservation of soil allowing farmers to venture into production of other short term crops to boost food security.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A one-day exhibition featuring Kenyan cuisines was held at the Masai Market in Nakuru town, with exhibitors displaying a diversity of local foods.

The exhibition showcased a variety of locally sourced, plant-based and traditional foods, displaying the rich heritage of the country.

The cultural diversity highlighted the unique flavors and traditions that define each region.

In his remarks, City Manager Gitau Thabanja emphasized the importance of celebrating local food culture and sustainable practices, noting that they play a critical role in fostering community engagement and supporting local farmers.

Thabanja noted that Nakuru County leadership under Governor Susan Kihika was dedicated to improving sustainable farming and therefore enhancing food security and environmental conservation. The symposium attracted participation from over 30 counties.

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with PELUM Kenya (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management) the City Management, and the County Department of
Trade and Tourism.

The event served as a platform for PELUM Kenya Member Organizations to demonstrate efforts in building community resilience and addressing climate change through agro-ecological practices.

PELUM Kenya is a network of Civil Society Organizations / NGOs working with Small-scale farmers in East, Central, and Southern Africa.

The Association membership has grown from 25 pioneer members (in 1995) to over 280 members.

PELUM Kenya is the Kenyan country chapter of the PELUM Association and has a membership of 60 Member Organizations and promotes agro-ecological principles and practices through advocacy and policy influence, networking, capacity development, information, and knowledge sharing.

The various agro-ecological practices promoted include organic agriculture, sustainable agriculture, regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, permaculture, conservation agriculture, biodynamic agriculture, family farming and bio-intensive agriculture.

PELUM Kenya Member Organizations do not promote GMOs o
r the use of synthetic agricultural inputs.

Participants and exhibitors at Maasai Market benefited from networking opportunities and the chance to promote their sustainable agriculture products.

The exhibition facilitated the sharing of best practices in agro-ecology and sustainable livelihoods, promoting learning and collaboration among stakeholders.

A key focus of the symposium was promoting sustainable farming techniques to enhance soil health and support the production of high-quality, locally sourced foods.

This approach not only supports environmental sustainability, but also enhances community resilience in the face of climate change.

In their communique, PELUM Kenya urged the government to continuously explore avenues that would make small scale farming viable as a way of ensuring every Kenyan gets access to food.

The team noted that changing dynamics across the globe were making it difficult to sustain food production and therefore increasing the number of people facing food deficiency.

PELUM
Kenya called for a shift from mineral based fertilizers to organic and biological based farm inputs as a way of reducing soil acidity and increase nutritional value of agricultural products.

In order to avoid a repeat of the fake fertilizer scam and other similar scams, the organization has urged government to scale up relevant technologies for production of biological fertilizers and equip the youth with entrepreneurial skills at community levels.

Exhibitors were drawn from communities in Rift Valley, Central Kenya, Western and Nyanza regions among others.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Narok County Government and the World Bank under the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) programme has launched a school greening programme and the distribution of energy saving jikos expected to boost environmental conservation.

Speaking during the launch at a Narok hotel, Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu said a total of 723 out of 923 schools in the county would benefit from the distribution of fruit trees.

The initiative, specifically targets 86 schools in Narok East, 185 in Narok North, 87 in Narok South, 134 in Narok West, 72 in Trans Mara East, 67 in Trans Mara South and 92 schools in Trans Mara West sub counties.

The governor further distributed 3000 clean cooking stoves that would be distributed equally to the 30 wards of the county in order to boost clean energy technology across the county.

He said the efforts represent a continuation of the ongoing efforts to conserve soil erosion in a bid to curb effects of climate change in the county.

‘I challenge these schools to dedicate their time
and efforts to nurturing the planted fruit trees to maturity, while with the collaborative oversight of the Ministry of Education and the Ward Climate Change Planning Committee, we will monitor the progress,’ he said.

Ntutu underscored that the programme would not only achieve a greener environment, but also enhance food security and nutrition among the school going children.

He called on the residents to embrace modern farming technology that would reduce soil erosion so as to conserve the environment.

The governor said the county government has committed to fence all the forest land in the county in a bid to achieve their target.

Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia reiterated that the security team is keen in protecting the forest land and stemming illegal cutting of trees saying in the recent past, 35 motorbikes have been seized while transporting forest produce illegally.

He called on the residents to give vital information on any individual found cutting down trees illegally or destroying for
est land, so that appropriate action could be taken.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi has officially commissioned a new water project in Gathanje, Githunguri Township Ward.

The newly constructed borehole will provide a reliable water supply to over 550 households, benefiting approximately 3,000 residents.

Wamatangi said that the borehole, expected to yield 6.7 cubic meters of water per hour, is a testament to the county’s commitment to improving essential services for its citizens.

‘This region has had a long struggle with water scarcity, hence this development is poised to bring the much-needed relief. The project is further bolstered by a 30-cubic-meter elevated tank, ensuring consistent water distribution to the villages of Gathanje, Ikuri, Karia and Lioki,’ said the elated governor.

One of the standout features of this project is the use of sustainable energy. The borehole is powered by solar energy, a move that underscores the county’s dedication to environmentally friendly solutions. This approach not only reduces operational costs, but also aligns wi
th broader environmental goals, added Wamatangi.

He said the initiative aims to improve water accessibility, especially in areas that previously received insufficient service or none at all.

The governor’s sentiments were echoed by several other key officials present at the commissioning ceremony including the County Executive for Water and Environment David Kuria, the county Chief Officer for Water Jennifer Musyoki, Githunguri Township MCA Joseph Muhinja and his Ngewa counterpart Charles Kang’ethe.

With the successful commissioning of this water project, the Governor noted that the county takes a significant step towards addressing water scarcity and improving the quality of life for the residents.

He underscored the importance of reaping tangible benefits, arising from strategic infrastructure investments, with a view to fostering sustainable growth and development across Kiambu County.

Some of the residents of the area interviewed by KNA, expressed optimism that the County administration will expedite
and complete the project in good time.

One of the residents, David Ndunduri said, ‘We have been living in a sorry state around this area due to perennial shortage of water.

Water is life. We now know the county administration is working, but we challenge them to move with speed and complete this project for the benefit of the people, added Ndunduri.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Nandi County Government has in partnership with Green Belt Movement, launched a massive campaign to conserve Kiptangus forest in Nandi County by planting 92,000 indigenous tree seedlings.

Nandi Forest Conservator Denis Kerengo said Kenya Forest Service is closely working with Community Forest Association to ensure working co-existence between the community and government forests for the purpose of protecting trees and other diversity.

Speaking during a public participation exercise to educate locals on the importance of planting trees, Kerengo urged them to cultivate the habit of planting trees in degraded areas to protect environment and water catchment areas.

He said his organization is partnering with the community and Community Based Organisations to ensure trees planted are protected to maturity.

‘Trees are vital to our existence because they provide us with oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Let us practice planting trees even without being told by the government or leaders,’ he s
aid

The Forest Conservator noted that KFS has groups which are producing seedlings in their tree nurseries to meet the high demand adding that the County has a target of planting 171 million trees in the next five years to achieve 40% tree cover.

‘Since our target for tree planting is very high, we are going to expand the groups that are producing seedlings to meet the demand because Kenya Forest Service alone cannot supply the seedlings that are required. We are also encouraging individual farmers to have tree nurseries in their compound,’ he said

Officials from Green Belt Movement asked the locals not to graze their animals in areas which have been planted with tree seedlings.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Principal Secretary (PS) for Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok and the Directorate of Refugees have met to review the proposed Integrated Refugee inclusion in Kenya dubbed the Shirika Plan.

The Shirika Plan is a pioneering approach to transform Kenya’s refugee camps into settlements that are currently designated as municipalities, with refugees included as part of a community-wide development plan.

Bitok announced that they are taking steps to ensure that implementation of the Shirika Plan is in place as the policy has shifted from humanitarian approach to a development approach.

‘We want the refugees to be self-reliant other than just relying on humanitarian assistance,’ expressed Bitok, adding the plan aims to integrate the refugees and host communities to live together in harmony and work together.

He continued, ‘We are going to take the zero draft of the Shirika Plan for stakeholder validation including the counties and the Members of Parliament to get more comments to enrich the docum
ents and later on to the Cabinet for approval by August this year.

The PS was speaking in Nairobi to celebrate the World Refugee Day where he revealed that the zero draft of the Shirika Plan has already been adopted and that on the 1st of November 2024, they will launch the innovative idea.

Bitok reiterated that the landmark plan has already achieved the enactment of the Refugee Act 2021 which acted as the foundation and the gazettement of regulations and documents used by refugees to ensure a legal and regulatory framework to support the Shirika Plan.

‘The Shirika Plan is a phased approach with a four-year transition period and the estimated budget for phase one is 943 million dollars,’ stated the PS.

He said the plan is aimed at involving all stakeholders including Members of Parliament, Governors, refugees and host communities assuring security for the integrated settlements.

Meanwhile, Governor for Turkana County, Jeremiah Lomorukai observed that Turkana is one of the counties that has harbored the l
argest population of refugees in the country for over thirty years.

He however maintained that Shirika Plan will ensure that there will be an imperative balance when it comes to resource sharing and employment.

‘The population of the refugees in Turkana is over two hundred and eighty-eight thousand, more than the population of the Kakuma and the local population causing hostility,’ noted Lomorukai as he thanked the Government for beefing security in refugee camps.

He nevertheless insisted that the Principal Secretaries in charge of Security and Immigration will have to put their heads together to manage the situation in an amicable way.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Tourism and Wildlife CS Dr. Alfred Mutua has launched the National Wildlife Census 2024 in Narok County.

Speaking during the launch at the Airstrip in Narok County, Dr. Mutua said this significant event marks a milestone in the ongoing commitment to the conservation and sustainable management of wildlife heritage.

The CS said the comprehensive wildlife data obtained from wildlife censuses would provide current information to support development of the counties spatial plans, as well as protected areas and ecosystems management plans.

He also added that the data has been used to identify important wildlife areas and therefore establish community conservancies, for example in Narok, Garissa and other Northern counties.

The CS said during the 2021 wildlife census, 343,380km2, equivalent to 59 percent of Kenya’s land mass was covered, whereby over 30 species of mammals, birds and marine species were counted in various ecosystems during the exercise.

‘Some of the iconic species counted were elephants (36,280)
, black rhino (897), white rhino (842), lions (2,589), hyenas (5,189), cheetahs (1,160) and wild dogs (865) amongst others,’ he added

The CS was accompanied by Governor Patrick Ntutu, Tourism PS John Olotua, Deputy governor Tamalinye Koech, chairman of Wildlife Research and Training Institute (WRTI) Dr. David Nkedienye, Director of WRTI Dr. Patrick Omondi and the Director General, Kenya Wildlife Service Dr. Erustus Kanga.

Dr. Omondi said the exercise is usually conducted after every three years and ecologically it was required because of the behavior of animals, particularly the elephants.

He said the Wildlife Research and Training Institute is mandated to conduct comprehensive wildlife censuses, adding that this involves a culmination of meticulous planning, extensive research and collaboration with various other stakeholders.

The Director said that the institute has developed rigorous scientific methodologies to conduct the wildlife census to ensure that they gather reliable data on wildlife populations
, including their distribution habitats.

‘By employing advanced technologies such as satellite imagery, GPS tracking, and drone surveys, we aim to achieve a level of precision and detail that is unprecedented,’ he added.

On his part, Ntutu said the need for counting wildlife plays a critical role in decision making, after knowing the numbers of animals, the animal’s habitat and their behavior.

The governor lauded the passing of the Maasai Mara management plan that it is acting as a tool to conserve the wildlife in the Mara ecosystem.

The Director General Kenya Wildlife Service applauded the county government leadership of Narok for the great work they had done so far by the passing the Mara Management plan, which has contributed positively towards the conservation of wildlife.

Source: Kenya News Agency