mt. kenya star (july 2015)

BY MT. KENYA STAR REPORTER

Several water projects are set to feed Kutus town with enough piped water, ending decades of water

shortage that has always forced residents to draw from the nearby rivers.

Although the town has al-ways had piped water, it was not enough, said Dr. Joseph Muthike, the County Minister for Water, En-ergy and Natural Resources.

“Kutus has always been served by a KIRWASCO line which, how-ever, does not carry enough water to supply the whole town and of-ten dries during the rainy season,” said Dr. Muthike.

The three water projects will feed Kutus with enough water. The first is the Ksh20 million wa-ter supply system for Kianyaga. This project was initially meant to supply water to Kianyaga town and its environs but has excess wa-ter which is now being supplied to Kutus town.

for the good of kirinyaga people

KUTUS | JULY, 2015 ISSUE 012 PRICE: KSh40

MT. KENYA STAR

SPECIAL REPORT: KIRINYAGA HISTORY SERIES

How Nyeri, Embu schemed to take Kirinyaga District

Kirinyaga District almost remained as part of Embu District and survived being taken over by Nyeri District just two years before Kenya attained full independence. Opposition from Kirinyaga’s pioneer professionals who had been lucky to attend school however saved the day.

How Kirinyaga produced the bulk of Mau Mau Generals.

Kerugoya hosted Kirinyaga’s first food processor in 1940s.

How Kutus was selected as the headquarters of Kirinyaga in 1962.

STORY ON PAGE 2 >>

CONT. ON PAGE 2 >>

Water projects delivering water to Kutus.

INDIA COMES TO KIRINYAGAMWEA MISSION hOSPITAL Our Lady of Lourdes Mwea hospital (Karira) in collabo-ration with St. Elizabeth Mission hospital of Mumbai, India will host a medical camp to screen and treat the following diseases: Cancer. Heart diseases. Kidney diseases. Orthopedic cases like back pain, Arthritis etc. Infertility. Pediatrics. Eye diseases. Diseases of the Ear, Nose & Throat

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DATES:2nd -7th

July 2015Save the Date

kutus gets piped water

Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi.

31. Kianyaga Water Project

2. Rukenya-Kutus Water Project

3. Mwea-Makima Water Project

Retired Senior Chief Jotham Nguri. He led Kabare Location from 1955-1980.

How Mau Mau war played out in Kirinyaga

Kutus as headquarters, land titles and the deadly plague

Formal currency, banking, and Kirinyaga’s first food processing factory

BY STEVE MBOGO

Kirinyaga District al-most remained as part of Embu Dis-trict and survived

being taken over by Nyeri District just two years before Kenya attained full indepen-dence. Opposition from Kirin-yaga’s pioneer professionals who had been lucky to attend school however saved the day.

Kirinyaga County as it is

known today may not be in existence were it not for the then newly educated young people from Kirinyaga most of who had been employed in various po-sitions in the colonial govern-ment and were expected to be abosorved in Kenya’s first independent government.

Efforts were made to se-cure Kirinyaga territory by the neighbouring districts, Embu to the East and Nyeri to the West. This is based on interviews with pre-inde-

pendence leaders like retired Senior Chief Jotham Nguri, who was the Senior Chief for Kabare Location from 1955 to 1980 and references from his-tory scholars.

It all started in 1962 when the British colonialists rep-resented by the then Gov-ernor of Kenya Colony and Protectorate Sir Patrick Muir Renison appointed the Royal

Boundaries Commission to come up with 40 Districts that would form the post-

colonial administrative units. Kenya was get-ting ready for a self-rule.

By then, Kirin-yaga was part of Embu District and so there was no district known as Kirin-yaga. The old Embu District had four divi-

sions: Mbeere, Embu, Gi-chugu, and Ndia. The

c o m -

mission rec-ommended that

Gichugu and Ndia should be hived from Embu District to form Kirinyaga District. (Mwea division was formed after Kirinyaga District was fully recognized).

The commission’s recom-mendation for a formation of Kirinyaga District drew protests from Embu District leaders led by former cabinet minister the late Hon. Jere-miah Nyaga who wanted the two divisions of Gichugu and Ndia to remain under Embu.

On the other hand, Nyeri

leaders also wanted the two divisions to be transferred to its territory to form the greater Nyeri District.

It appears that the Nyeri leaders almost won the day to get the two divisions as the Royal Boundaries Com-mission recommended they should be transferred from Embu to Nyeri. This meant that Kirinyaga District would not be formed.

This recommendation drew a lot of protests partic-ularly from Kirinyaga pro-fessionals who made protest notes to the then transition government of Prime Minis-ter Jomo Kenyatta.

Among those who pro-tested the recommendations of Kirinyaga being taken over by Nyeri were; Senior Chief Nguri, then heading Kabare Location, the late Mr. Habel John Nyamu who would later become a senior official in the Ministry of Education, and the late Geoffrey Kareithi who was then the District Of-ficer for Voi and later became Kenya’s longest serving Head of Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet during the reign of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Others joining the fight for Kirinyaga District were Mwalimu Alvan Kagema Njinju who was later to be-come the Head Teacher of the Kabare Girls High School, Marclus Njiru who was later to become the Chairman of the Kirinyaga District Co-operative Union and Hon. Bernard Gathanga, later the MP for Gichugu. Other pro-fessionals not mentioned here also contributed to the protests.

“Some of the professionals then went to see Ronald Ng-ara to protest why Kirinyaga should not be a district of its own,” said Senior Chief Nguri.

Ronald Ngara was then the Chief Minister in the interim government headed by Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta that preceded Kenya’s indepen-dence. He was also the leader of the Kenya African Demo-cratic Union (KADU). Kenya was then a multi-party state.

“Our protests and assis-tance from leaders like Ngara finally won the day and it was agreed that Kirinyaga District should stand on its own,” said Senior Chief Nguri.

The second is the Rukenya-Kutus water project which is now complete and is already serving Kutus Old Town popularly known as Mnjini.

The third project is the Mwea-Makima water project which is funded by the World Bank and im-plemented by the County Government and the Tana Water Services Board. This project has a dedicated water line for Kutus town.

The developments are good news for the dusty Kutus town which is Kirinyaga’s county headquar-ters. The lack of enough piped water has been a major disadvantage for Ktutus business community and residents, some of whom are forced to draw wa-ter from nearby rivers, with obvious doubts about the hygiene.

Lack of piped water has affected the general hos-pitality industry at Kutus as people shun hotels and food outlets fearing for their health.

But this is set to change as the town starts enjoy-

ing the fruits of being the county headquarters. Al-ready the construction of the headquarters building is ongoing. There are reports that some corporate

bodies have expressed interest to beautify the town and assist in paving the roads and improving the drainage.

2 JULY 2015KIRINYAGA STARNEWS

OLLIN SACCO SOCIETY LTD PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

How Mau Mau war played out in Kirinyaga

HARAKA PLATOON

Kirinyaga experienced one of the most intense wars during the Mau Mau period partly because it is near Mount Kenya forest which

offered a safe ground for the Mau Mau.“It was a very bad period,” said retired

Senior Chief Nguri, who became the Senior Chief of Kabare Location in 1955, in the heat of Mau Mau war. The State of Emergency had been declared in 1952.

“The activity of Mau Mau was intense. There were lots of killings then,” he said. He said he survived that period despite work-ing for the colonialists as an administrator because of being fair to the issues of Mau Mau and the government then. “I survived because I followed justice,” he said.

Indeed, most of the leaders of the Mau Mau Haraka Platoon, which was respon-

sible for waging the war in Kirinyaga and Embu were from Kirinyaga.

Even more insightful is that there were three detention camps set up in Kirinyaga by the colonialists. One was at Karaba, an-other at Ndunduini near Karumandi and later the mega Gathigiriri Detention camp.

The Mau Mau war in Embu (Kirinyaga was then part of Embu) was led by a pla-toon known as Haraka while another platoon known as Hekaheka led the war against colonialists in Nyeri. A Mau Mau platoon was made up of 500-2,000 soldiers.

In 1952, General Ndaya of Kabonge area in Ndia Division was the overall leader of Haraka. He was however killed in 1953 and General Odera of Kariti in Sagana took over the leadership. He was killed at the end of 1953.

This information is based on a research paper by Dr. Julius Gathogo of Kenyatta University titled, ‘Mau Mau War and the Church in Kirinyaga, Kenya: Accounting for the tension and conflict (1952-1960).

After his killing, Chui wa Mararo and Kassam Njogu from Kianyaga were pro-moted to Generals by the Mau Mau War Council. General Chui took over from Gen-eral Odera as the leader of Haraka.

As the movement grew, Haraka platoon was divided into three; Gichugu platoon, Ndia platoon and Haraka platoon that re-mained on Embu side. General Kassam Njogu took over the leadership of the Gi-chugu platoon. He had been recalled from Nairobi where he was working.

General Aga Khan (name after Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi where he had been working) took over the leadership of Ndia platoon. But General Chui remained the overall commander of the two platoons in Kirinyaga. He was killed in 1956 while General Aga Khan was killed in 1955 by the surrendering Mau Mau fighters who had defected to colonial army.

In the same year, General Kassam Njogu was shot by the colonial army on his left leg which was later amputated. General Matene of Gitumbi village in Inoi was then appointed to replace General Kassam.

How Nyeri, Embu schemed to take Kirinyaga District

<< CONT. FROM PG 1

Kutus gets piped water after decades of promises

The late General Kassam Njogu. He was called by Mau Mau War Council to be the General Commander of the Gichugu Haraka Platoon.

Map of Kirinyaga County

Mau Mau fighter take a break from the war.

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MT KENYA STAR is a monthly newspaper published by Content News Limited and printed by Nation Media Group printing plant on Mombasa Road, Nairobi.

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Debate on whether Kutus should be the adminis-trative headquarters of Kirinyaga did not just

start with the coming of the county governments. When Kirinyaga Dis-trict was agreed on in 1962, Kutus was selected as the headquarters.

But there was a problem; the place did not have enough build-ings to accommodate the new dis-trict administrators.

It was then agreed that as the process of constructing the build-ings was going on, Keurgoya would act as the district headquarters. Kerugoya had many buildings then thanks to the activities of the co-lonialists and the CMS Mission. It remained so for 50 years until 2013 when Kutus became the headquar-ters of Kirinyaga County.

One of the major issues that had prevented the residents of Kirinyaga from investing in build-ings was the lack of title deeds. By 1956, the land was still communally owed by clans.

Developing the land was diffi-cult because of the process it took for the clan leaders to approve any development. It was also difficult then to buy land, again because of the process of the approval and the risk that some clan members would reposes the land from the buyer.

Land was the bought with honey, goats, cows and arrow poi-son (uta wa migwi) among other

commodities. To end this menace, the adminis-

trators decided that the land would be divided among the families of the clan. Division was equal among all families. Then a family would be issued with a title deed. This en-abled the family to either develop the land on sell it. The title deed of-fered certainty of ownership to the buyer who could then develop it.

It also assisted in enabling those families who did not belong to clans to buy land as previously they lived as squatters.

Around 1935, a major plague hit Kirinyaga and many other parts of Kenya. The plague was brought by rats. There were very big rats the size of a grown-up cat. It is said that before the colonialists came, there were no rats and jiggers in Kenya. It is said the parasites came along with the Indians who were hired to construct the Kenya-Uganda Railway.

Rats and jiggers found their way to the interior of the country be-cause of labour movement. In this year, the plague killed many people because there were many rats. Rats would invade a house during meal time and grab the food from the person’s hands.

To end the menace, village ad-ministrators including chiefs and headmen were given the mandate to mobilize the people to kill rats. It was a national campaign.

Where there were many rats,

people would surround the houses (then mostly grass thatched huts) and burn them. The escaping rats would be killed by those surround-ing the burning houses.

The people would cut the tails of the killed rats and hand them

over to the headmen, who would then hand over to the chiefs. The chiefs were required to take all the tails to the local District Officer in the evening as evidence that they were obeying the government di-rective to kill the rats.

Kutus as headquarters, land titles and the deadly plague

JULY 2015KIRINYAGA STAR4 NEWS

Formal currency, banking, and Kirinyaga’s first food processing factory

BIODATA

The Second World War (1939-1945) had many impacts in Kirinyaga among them the fact that tens of people from the region were recruited to fight alongside the allied forces in countries like Burma, India, Egypt and Somalia

among others.But one of the little-known impacts was the introduction of for-

mal currency and banking. As the war raged, demand for food to feed the soldiers became intense. Kirinyaga was among the places with fertile soils which could produce food. And that is what hap-pened.

The colonial administrators first got a group of farmers who were trained on better agriculture practices. Two agriculture ex-perts were dispatched to Kirinyaga from Britain to train these farmers.

The farmers were assisted to clear the bushes to make way for cultivatable land. Then, the colonialists built the first food process-ing factory in Kerugoya, which was located at the site where the former District Commissioners (DC’s) office building is. The office now houses several departments of the County Government and the Administration Police.

“Farmers would grow cabbages, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes and deliver to this factory,” said retired Senior Chief Jotham Nguri who was then the Head Teacher at Ngariama Primary School.

The food would then be dried at the factory and transported by ship to British and allied soldiers across the world.

“This was the start of formal agriculture enterprise in Kirin-yaga. Money started coming in. The colonialists then set up a Post Office in Kerugoya which acted as a bank. So people were enticed to come and deposit come money that they were paid from their deliveries,” he said.

The most interesting part of it is that everyone who came to deposit their money would only deposit one shilling as people pre-ferred to keep money in their houses.

“Those who came did not so much come because they liked the bank but because they only wanted to please the Mzungu,” he added.

He remembers that one of the most prominent and hard work-ing farmers then was the late Geoffrey Kareithi, former Secretary to the Cabinet, Head of Civil Service and short-lived MP for Gi-chugu.

“He was one of the farmers who took the challenge and made good money from the project. Even if Kareithi did not go to school, he would still have transformed the society. He was a straight for-ward person. His no was a no and yes a yes.”

Senior Chief Jotham Nguuco Nguri

Retired Chief Jothan Nguri is 92 years old who drives himself, undertakes daily normal economic building

activities, has all his teeth intact and does and is not on a special diet.

He was born in 1923 in Ngiroche, Kabare Location. His home is near Kiangwenyi in Gichugu.

He has seen Kirinyaga grow hav-ing become the Senior Chief of Kab-are Location from 1955 and retired in 1980. Then, Kabare Location ex-tended from Mount Kenya forest to Gathigiriri and Kibibi in the present day Mwea.

He was first educated at Ga-

tunguru Elementary School. He father was not for him going to school wanting rather that he herds the family livestock. He did both, going to school in the morning and herding goats and cows in the eve-ning.

He then joined Mutira Elemen-tary School in 1937 and Kikuyu Gov-ernment Primary School in Kagumo which was then a primary school. This is the present Kagumo Teach-ers Training College.

He then became a teacher at Kahuhia Normal School in 1941. In 1942, he earned a certificate that qualified him as a Lower Primary

School teacher. In the next ten years, he became a Headmaster for several schools among them Ngariama, Ga-tunguru, Kabare and the a supervi-sor of schools in 1953 to 1955, when he became a chief.

His leadership skills were seen early in that he was an adminis-trator working for colonial govern-ment in an area which had one of the most intense Mau Mau activities in Central Kenya.

“I survived that bad period be-cause I followed justice,” he said.

His leadership has had a pro-found impact in Kirinyaga, from agitating for the formation of Ki-

rinyaga District from Embu, to facilitating issuance of title deeds, the construction of schools like Ka-bare Girls High School, Mutige Boys High School, Kianyaga Boys High School among others.

His contribution to education in Kirinyaga has been immense. For instance after independence in 1963 there was only one public second-ary school in Kirinyaga- Kerugoya Boys High School – thus the local leaders felt the need to build more public schools all over the district. Chief Nguri working with local leaders like the late Richard Ka-gachi convened a leaders meeting at Ngekenyi. The meeting resolved to solicit for funds from coffee farmers through the management of Kabare Farmers Cooperative Societies un-der the umbrella of Kirinyaga Dis-trict Co-operative Union, then under the Chairmanship of Mr. Marclus Njiru to start two schools, Kabare Girls’ High School and Mutige Boys.

Farmers agreed to contribute 2 cents per half kilogram of cherry. This raised over Ksh80,000 to be shared between the two secondary schools. Land was then earmarked at Kabare and 30 acres of land ac-quired. The owners were relocated to Mwea through a request to the County Council of Kirinyaga.

On April 6th 1964 Kabare Girls High School started a form one class with 35 girls from Kirinyaga District on harambee basis through the sponsorship of Anglican Church.

He is one of the most respected elders in Kirinyaga, a mentor and an inspiration to many young and elderly people.

Senior Chief Jotham Nguri is in-deed one of the most transforma-tive leaders Kirinyaga County has ever produced. His legacy will live for ages.

SOURCE OF REVENUE IN KIRINYAGA FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2014/2015

Rev. Joseph Kibucwa of ACK Kirinyaga Diocese when he visited Gategi Church, one of the smallest but growing ACK churches in Kirinyaga. It is located at Ciagiini, the border between Embu and Kirinyaga.

Outside and Inside the magnificent All Saints Gatwe ACK Church that was consecrated recently.

ACK KIRINYAGA DIOCESE

Former Kabare Senior Chief Jotham Nguco Nguri and his successor Senior Chief Mwaniki wa Thuo.

The late Geoffrey Kareithi. He was among the farmers who took full advantage of colonial project to grow and dry food at Kerugoya for export to soldiers fighting in the Second World War.

GATWE ACK CHURCH

JULY 2015KIRINYAGA STAR 5ADVERTISEMENT

JULY 2015KIRINYAGA STAR6 NEWS

BY MT. KENYA STAR REPORTER National Youth Service (NYS) personnel are to be de-ployed in Kirinyaga County to carry out repairs on roads

in an initiative that will also see 3,700 casual labourers employed, officials

from the Ministry of Devolution has said.

About 270 servicemen will be deployed for the works across the county.

Senior NYS Official Ruth Mbuvi an-

nounced that part of the servicemen will be based at the Kianyaga Youth Empowerment Centre, which will be used as a logistics command and con-trol centre for the next two months, while a similar number will be based at Wang’uru in Mwea

“It is now upon the respective MPs to determine how recruitment of 3,700 youths from Gichugu and Mwea constituencies, who will be providing manual labour, will be done,” she said.

Mbuvi said once hired, the youth will be operating in groups of ten, un-der the supervision of one serviceman, to work on a given road adding that casual employees will receive a daily stipend of Sh471.

“Each of the youths will receive their pay on a weekly basis. They will take home Sh330 every day and we will retain Sh41, which we save for them until completion of the pro-gramme, when we will release the sav-ings to each one,” she said.

Mbuvi said these savings earning from the programme should enable the youths venture into income gen-erating projects and improve their livelihoods.

The NYS official was speaking at Kiirinyaga East sub-county after tour-ing the site where the service men will be located.

She was accompanied by Gichugu MP Njogu Barua, among other offi-cials, who hailed the Government for the initiative.

Mr Barua said since most of the area roads are impassable, youths who also come from the constituency will be committed to ensuring their work-manship is of the highest quality.

Other than the youths, some 50 women have also been identified to make meals for the servicemen at the two sites.

“These women will now be fully engaged until the programme is com-pleted and am sure what they will have earned will uplift them to an-other economic level,” said the MP.

“This will see our access roads, bridges and other facilities improved to high level standards. Youths and women will be the major beneficia-ries since their livelihoods will be im-proved through securing casual jobs in the programme. Each platoon of the NYS servicemen and women will have 10 youths from Gichugu translat-ing to over 1350 personnel. I am glad that this exercise will create a trans-formative path towards achieving our main objectives as a people,” said MP Barua.

NYS to repair roads, bridges in Kirinyaga

BY STEVE MBOGO

Lainisha Sacco has ex-panded its Mpesa agency network to the towns of Karaba, Kandongu, Ciagini,

Muthithi, Kagio, and Kimbimbi.The expansion is meant to bring

the services of the Sacco closer to the customers, said Lainisha Sacco Chairman Symon Kamau.

The Sacco is investing heavily in expansion and diversification of its business following the recent re-branding.

The rebranding means that it now accepts membership from all

members of the public and not only the rice farmers. The marketing and expansion campaign is also meant to tap new customers in Kutus, Kerugoya, Kagion, Sagana, Maku-tano, PI and its traditional base of Mwea among other areas.

“We are known to offer the best interest on loans. We want everyone in Kirinyaga to enjoy our excellence in customer service and product of-fering,” said Mr. Kamau.

As part of marketing campaign, the Sacco held a roadshow across Kirinyaga late March, which was organized by KIRINYAGA STAR on behalf of Lainisha Sacco.

The roadshow resulted in regis-tration of thousands of new mem-bers and increased awareness of the Lainisha Sacco brand across the county, its officials said.

The Sacco is expected to start opening new branches out of Mwea, the first being in Kagio which is at the advanced stages of being opened.

The Sacco will also introduce ATM services, SMS Banking and M-Banking services. The Sacco has also acquired a new IT system as it seeks to deliver efficient services to members.

BY STEVE MBOGO

The cost of transporting money realized from the sale of processed tea at Kenya Tea Development

Authority (KTDA) factories is set to drop drastically following a partnership with Safaricom’s MPESA service.

Buyers of processed tea at the factory gate will now pay via

MPESA, saving the 66 factories the costs of hiring security com-panies to transport the money to the banks.

Revenue from the factory gate sales has been rising, now averaging Ksh1 billion per year as more Kenyans prefer to by the high quality KTDA tea.

The factory gate sales are also meant to encourage consump-tion of more tea in Kenya to

widen the local market. Kenyans are being encour-

aged to consume more tea to widen the market for the local tea farmers. Most of the KTDA processed tea is exported. The export revenue is sometimes affected by external factors like oversupply of tea in the world market which reduces the prices and the final pay to the farmers, and also fluctuation of the Kenya shilling against the US dollar.

Local consumption of tea has been growing in the past seven years according to the Tea Board of Kenya.

Statistics shows that local consumption grew from 17.4 mil-lion kilogrammes of tea in 2008, to 26.5 million kilogrammes in 2013 and further 32.1 million ki-logrammes in 2014, Tea Board of Kenya statistics show.

The growth has been attrib-uted to the education and mar-keting awareness campaigns car-ried by Tea Board of Kenya and tea packers like KETEPA.

Lainisha Sacco expands Mpesa network

MPESA deal to save KTDA cost of cash transfer

Gichugu MP Njogu Barua (left) Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru and Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi press the switches on the Rung’eto Farmers Co-Operative Society Milk Cooling plant .

Peter Kanyago, Chairman KTDA.

Lerionka Tiampati, CEO KTDA.

Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom.

LAINISHA sales lady explains products on offer to a potential customer.

3,700 Number of casual labourers employed during the exercise

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Local Tea Consumption in million kilogrammes

Source: Tea Board of Kenya


Residents of Kirinyaga have been urged to frequent health facili-ties for cancer screen-

ing to ensure that cancerous cells growing in the body are detected early enough before reaching the chronic stage. At an early stage, cancer can be treated.

The chairperson Women-4Cancer Benda Kithaka told women attaending a medical camp organized by the Rotary Club of Kirinyaga at Kerugoya Stadium that if detected early, cancer can be cured.

“It breaks my heart that can-cer is diagnosed when it is too late bearing in mind that it can be cured if detected during its early stage. Let us get screen early instead of waiting until it is too late when we can on¬ly manage the pain and not treat it,” she said.

She said county governments should organize awareness ac-tivities about cancer and in reg-ular intervals to enlighten the public on the risks of cancer and its treatment to help fight the killer disease which is claiming lives of many Kenyans.

“The government has the re-

sponsibility to equip the public with the right information to help fight this monstrous dis-ease,” she said.

She was speaking at the Keru-goya Stadium during a medical camp organized by Rotary Club of Kirinyaga in partnership with Kerugoya County Hospi-tal, Equity Bank, Bingwa Sacco, Goodway Sacco, Bekam Hotel, Effort Schools and Machere Driving School among other sponsors.

She thanked the Rotarians for the commendable job of orga-nizing a medical camp where sponsors chip in to assist the needy in the society.

“An initiative where like-minded people assemble to assist the disadvantaged in the society is a positive move and a sign of humanity and there-fore should be encouraged,” she said.

During the medical camp, pa-tients were screened and some

treated for various diseases in-cluding cancer, tuberculosis (TB), diabetes, blood pressure, HIV/AIDS testing among others.

The current Rotary Club Pres-ident Peter Warui said that this is the first medical camp that they have organized Kirinyaga and with the help of interested partners, the club will organize others in the near future.

“We are hoping to attract more sponsors so that we can organize another camp in the future with the aim of benefit-ing our people,” he said.

The president-elect of Ro-tary Club of Kirinyaga Cyprian Muriithi who will assume the club’s presidency later in the year said that the club has a heart of giving and that there is a lot of charity work coming up to ensure that the disadvan-taged in the society develop a sense of belonging.

“It is our (Club) duty to give back to the society especially to the underprivileged,” he said.

A patient who claimed ano-nymity said that he is pleased with the initiative and that they should organize another (medi-cal) camp as soon as possible. “I am dearly pleased with the Ro-tary Club of Kirinyaga and may God bless you,” he said.

NEWS 7KIRINYAGA STARJULY 2015


Farmers in Kirinyaga County have complained that they are being forced to pay for subsidized fertil-izer all the way to Murang’a and

asked the Ministry of Agriculture to find a cheaper alternative.

There are two deports that distribute fertilizer in Kirinyaga, one in Mwea Ngu-rabani and the other in Sagana. The chal-lenge is that payment has to be made at KCB Bank branch and there is none in Sa-gana. The closest there is Murang’a.

But a new mobile payment system for subsidized fertilizer that is being developed by Safaricom and the Ministry of Agricul-ture may end those frastruations.

Safaricom and the Ministry of Agricul-ture, Livestock and Fisheries have launched an electronic-based fertiliser distribution system that will easily avail the input to farmers.

The solution called “E-fertilizer Subsidy Management System”, allows farmers to directly access vouchers for the subsidised products through their mobile phones. The solution has been developed by Safaricom.

“Traditionally, the process of getting sub-sidies to farmers has been time-intensive and inefficient as there was no single way to reach them all effectively.

Our solution, should the pilot be success-ful, will allow us to increase transparency in the allocation of fertiliser to over 3.5 mil-lion small-holder farmers across the coun-try using mobile phones,” said Sicily Kari-

uki, the Principal Secretary for Agriculture.It will also enable the Government to

plan future requirements in terms of ferti-liser types and quantities.

E-Fertilizer Subsidy leverages data and SMS services to manage the issuance, re-demption and reconciliation of vouchers on behalf of the MoALF input subsidisation intervention programme.

The solution offers simple reporting ca-pabilities in order to improve decision sup-port for the ministry, which is charged with distributing fertiliser to farmers across the country. Registration of farmers to benefit from the programme as well as agro-dealers is being carried out by the ministry.

A dry system run will be done in Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia and Bungoma coun-ties in preparation for next season’s distri-bution and the ministry has appealed to farmers to register for the programme dur-ing the dry run.

“Mobile technology has the ability to revolutionise traditional distribution mod-els and enhance supply chain issues. This turn-key solution is just one of several that Safaricom hopes will transform the opera-tions of businesses across Kenya,” said Bob Collymore, the CEO of Safaricom.

The solution will also allow the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to establish a network of dealers and reduce the cost of distribution of the product to farmers while creating a first-of-a-kind da-tabase of stakeholders such as agro-dealers, county agricultural extension workers, and Ministry of Agriculture staff.


Nairobi-based busi-nessman Josiah Murigu has started a youth project in

Kirinyaga Central constituency that encourages young people to quick consuming excessive

cheap alcohol in exchange for support to start pig-rearing proj-ect.

Mr. Murigu said the inten-tion is to contribute towards the efforts of reducing the rate of consumption of cheap brew in Kirinyaga County, which is threatening to affect a whole

generation.Mr. Murigu, who is also an

aspirant for Kirinyaga Central parliamentary seat in 2017 said he is not opposed to the youth taking alcohol but drinking should be done at the right time after work and the right amount of it should be taken.

“Am buying 20 pigs per a group of 20 youths. In six months they will each give birth to at least 10 piglets. The youth can sell the piglets and continue building on the proj-ect,” he said.

He called on more sponsors to come on board and support the project as it addresses the biggest challenge facing the young peo-ple in Kirinyaga Central today.

“We want those administra-tion police and chiefs encourag-ing illicit brews sacked and pros-ecuted. Those many factories manufacturing cheap liquors should as well be closed down,” he said.

Mr. Murigu also called for the sacking of NACADA Chair-man John Mututho for what he termed as ‘sleeping on the job’.

“Months after President Uhuru Kenyatta gave Mututho ultimatum to end this scourge, nothing is seen to have been done. It is the high time the president got someone ready for the job. If we don’t get someone committed to this work, we risk losing a whole community in the near future,” he said.

Kirinyaga farmers cite frustration in paying for fertilizer in Murang’a

Murigu project to support youth who stop excessive alcohol intake

Residents urged to get screened for cancer

Rotary Club of Kerugoya Medical Camp at Kerugoya Stadium

OBITUARY

Murimi wa Kahalf

It is with utter shock that we had to say goodbye to you, our cherished friend Sammy Murimi Nderi, Murimi wa Kahalf as the world knew you.

From your humble begin-nings, you worked on your talents to bring fame to Ka-bare, and indeed the whole of Kirinyaga County.

You made the history by being one of the first mu-sicians from Kirinyaga to command a national fol-lowing.

You were an example to the youth that nurturing talent is possible and can bring food and fame. You

shock the Kenya music in-dustry with your hit song ‘Ino ni momo’, which has become a household song and was number one on national airwaves for a long time.

You shall forever be re-membered for the huge im-pact you had on so many people in your time on earth. We loved you but God loved you even more. We believe your spirits will inspire more musicians from Kirinyaga to follow your footsteps. Your voice shall forever remain on the airwaves of this nation. KWAHERI.

Mr. Murigu.

GOVERNOR’S SPEECH8 KIRINYAGA STARJULY 2015

Delivering the promise of developmentThis is a summarized version of Governor Joseph Ndathi’s speech during the Madaraka Day Celebrations on June 1.

Health

We are investing Ksh320 million in health in this financial year. There are more than 35 development projects, with many complete and other at advanced stages of completion. At Kerugoya County Hospital, the mortoury is op-erational, we have renovated the maternity, we have built new laboratory block in Kimbimbi Hospital, Kirogo and Kangu dispensaries while completion of wards and x-ray departments is at advanced stages of completion in Sagana and Kianyaga hospitals

We recently employed 279 new health work-ers including nurses, clinical officers, medical laboratory technologists, pharmaceutical tech-nologists, and physiotherapists among others. The county government took on board 109 addi-tional health workers who were previously work-ing under contract terms.

The purchase of 4 new ambulances has been done, and these are now awaiting delivery to the county. We have purchased digital x-ray machine for Kerugoya County Hospital at a cost of Ksh14 million, a new modern dental chair at Kerugoya, mortuary coolers for Kerugoya at a cost of Ksh6.8 million, an oxygen plant at Ksh.8 million, a stand by generator for the same hospi-tal at Ksh.4 million.

Public participation and fight against corruption

I urge you to always take part in public partici-pation exercises so that you can influence devel-opment in your area. This is a government that you elected. Engage us as we engage you. Lets us discuss development issues openly and freely. I practice an open door policy. You can walk in to our offices without appointments and I or my of-ficers will attend to you. Be our eyes and report to us any cases of misuse of any resources or even theft especially of our medicine in hospitals, health centres and dispensaries.

Water and environment

In the last 2 years we have implemented 75 wa-ter projects, 46 are ongoing and 60 are under pro-curement. Among these include 16 boreholes, lining of several irrigation canals, irrigation and domestic water projects. In the domestic water supply front, we have over the last 2 years period availed more than 29,900 people access to piped water in their homes. We anticipate connecting up to 20,000 consumers in Mwea and Kutus with piped water following a partnership we have en-tered with the TANA Water Services.

An additional three 10-ton trucks for garbage collection have been procured and will be be de-livered before month end.

Energy

We installed high mast floodlights at Wang’uru, Kandongu, Kagio, Kianyaga, Kutus

and Mutithi with plans to have additional ones at Kimunye, Kagumo and Kiangwaci markets.

To enhance the connection of our homes to the national grid, we are supporting, in collab-oration with the rural electrification authority, power supply to the Kariko-Thaita, Kiangurwe, Kamutithi-Kabare, Kiaragara and South Ngari-ama electrification projects.

Agriculture

We now have macadamia, horticulture, aqua-culture (fish) and dairy associations. We have de-veloped seven bills that when fully operational, will transform the agricultural sector.

We have also transformed Kamweti Farmers Training Centre into a parastatal with the aim of unlocking its potential.

We are actively seeking partners in marketing and value addition and well as in production. We have trained farmers and employed ward agricul-tural officers who are offering the much needed extension services. In order to ensure that our horticultural produce meets the required inter-national standards, we have trained spray tech-nicians who will help farmers in the correct ap-plication of farm chemicals.

Education

In the last financial year we gave Ksh60 mil-lion and we have set aside another Ksh63 million in this financial year for bursary. This figure is set to increase to Ksh75 million in the coming year. We have firm instructions that only the de-serving cases should get the bursary.

The early childhood development education (ECDE) has been one of the most successful proj-ects. We employed 400 teachers and the result was increased enrolment and retention.

We are also completing the ECDE sanitation

improvement project at a cost of Ksh74 million where each ward will get three sanitation blocks. We have also ensured that all our 195 ECDE cen-tres have desks and learning materials where we have in excess of 16,000 pupils.

We have recruited 107 skilled and qualified instructors for the vocational training institu-tions. We will also establish computer labs and ict resource centres in four vocational training institutions.

Transport and infrastructure

The ministry of transport, roads and public works was allocated Ksh180.4 million for new projects, Ksh48.5 million for purchase of a fire engine truck; as well as Ksh134.7 million rolled over for completion of projects that commenced in the 2013/ 2014 financial year totaling to Ksh352.1 million.

The ministry is in the process of acquiring 3

new tipper trucks and 2 graders, 1 excavator, 1 lorry, 1 roller and other equipment from the na-tional government’s mechanical department. It is expected these will substantially lower the cost of road construction in the county.

The ministry is also in the process of acquiring a new fire engine truck to add onto the existing two small fire engine trucks. This is expected to improve the county’s response to fire disasters.

Trade and tourism

In the current financial year we have targeted 27 markets across all the 4 sub counties. They include Kagio fresh produce market at a cost of Ksh50 million, Kerugoya market with Ksh10 million, Kianyaga market Ksh 9 million and Ka-gumo market at Ksh6 million. We have issued loans worth Ksh8.7 million to small scale trad-ers across the county

In the tourism sector, we plan to open tour-ism circuits especially around Mt. Kenya. We

are currently engaging investors interested in set ting up cable cars from the base to the top of the mountain. Once this project is implemented, it will created an unmatched

County investor conference

We are planning to host an investors confer-ence later in the year. The main objective is to attract both local and international investors in-terested in setting up industries in different sec-

tors especially in agriculture, tourism, education, water and real estate among others.

County cooperative societies development

Presently the county has 104 cooperative soci-eties with membership of over 350,000 members. Share capital value raised by the membership is equivalent to over Kshs 1 billion. We encourage large saccos to rebrand and open branches in other counties. Our focus is to create an enabling environment for our cooperative societies to op-erate more efficiently and effectively in serving interest of cooperative movement fraternity.

In our efforts to promote the dairy industry and also enhance value addition for milk prod-ucts, we have procured a milk pasteurizer and a deep freezer for Kirinyaga Cooperative Dairy Limited at a cost of Ksh1million. I commissioned it last week.

Finance

In January this year we implemented the au-tomated revenue collection system that has now collected 38 per cent of our revenue. This system was implemented to seal linkages and increase collection of revenue.

I take this opportunity to encourage the resi-dents of county to pay the taxes and levies due to the county to enable us serve you better.

Youth, gender and sports

We have prepared legislation that when en-acted we shall be able to support the youth in income generating activities. Soon the talent academy is coming up soon with the objective of tapping and developing youth talents. It will also have a music theatre and other sports com-ponents. We also in the process of building re-habilitation centre to rehabilitate our youths as we sensitise them on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

We have not forgotten our old people in the county and we have been with them when they need us most. Our desire is to see the old peo-ple live their twilight years in relative comfort. We are however disturbed by the constant com-plaints that many of them still do not get the sti-pend offered by the national government.

My government is keen setting an emergency fund to help in such cases and when other di-sasters like flooding, fire or tragic incidents like terrorists attacks that affect our people.

Recently when we lost four students during the Garissa University terrorist attack, we held a mini harambee to help their families and survi-vors because we did not have such an emergency fund.

We continue to encourage our youth to take part in the 30% procurements reserved for them to uplift their economic status.

Governor Ndathi engages supporters at Mutira after the presentation of County Bursary Fund cheques worth KShs2.8 million.


Mutira Education Trust Fund has awarded 13 stu-dents with bursary

support of Ksh10,000 each. The fund was set up by Mutira Ward MCA David Kinyua Wangui, who is also The Leader of the Majority at the Kirinyaga County Assembly.

The awarding of the bur-sary support was presided by Governor Joseph Ndathi, who also sponsored further three students with Ksh10,000 each under the fund.

During the ceremony held

at Mutira Coffee Farmers Coop-erative Society, Ksh2.8 million was given under the as County Bursary Fund.

The beneficiaries included 142 university and college students and 867 students from second-ary schools.

During the event, County Minister for Education Ann Wambui said there was a marked improvement in sec-ondary school performance in last year’s KCSE partly because of the County Bursary Fund that is helping keep more students in school such that they are not sent home for fees and therefore do not miss lessons.

NEWS10 KIRINYAGA STARJULY 2015

A model where rice and fish are reared in the same fields could be replicated in Mwea, assisting farmers to increase income from their fields.

The rice-fish farming is popular in some Asian countries where rice is grown like Indonesia. It involves farmers introducing fish into their rice fields.

This technique is good for both the fish and the rice. Safely hidden from birds, the fish thrive in the dense rice plants, while they in turn provide a source of fertiliser with their droppings, eat insect pests and help to cir-culate oxygen around the rice field. Farmers say keeping fish in rice fields can increase rice yields by up to 10 percent, plus they have the additional supplies of fish.

In the strictest sense rice-fish farming means the growing2 of rice and fish together in the same field at the same time. However, it is also taken to include the growing of rice and fish serially one after another within the same field or the growing of rice and fish simultaneously, side by side in separate compartments, using the same water

Combined rice, fish farming

a thoUgh for MWea

BY STEVE MBOGO

Farmers supplying milk to Kirima Slopes Dairy Cooperative Society earned Ksh105.9 million from milk sales in 2014 and expect to

earn more as production per cow has increased.

“We expect to earn more because milk delivery to our cooling plant has now increased from 6,000 litres to 8,000 litres. Farmers are encouraged by the good prices,” said the Chairman Mr. Sa-muel Kabiru

He said farmers have also increased production from 6 to 8 litres per cow.

Kirima Dairy farmers are also bene-

fitting from the partnership the coop-erative has with Kirinya County Agri-cultural Sector Development Support Programme.

The programme is currently train-ing the dairy farmers on how to double their production, said the programmes County Coordinator Stanley Humaya.

He said the biggest challenge facing dairy farmers across Kirinyaga County is access to quality feeds. The programme extends to the agro-dealers agro-veteri-narians to ensure that the feeds they sell to the farmers are of the highest quality.

“There are many low-quality animal feeds in the market today. It would be good if the County government sets up

an animal feeds inspectorate unit which can monitor and regulate the feeds be-ing sold to farmers,” said Mr Humaya.

He said it would also be good to have a private-public partnership on live-stock feed manufacturing to ensure that farmers in the county only access the best feeds.

The ultimate aim of the programme is to help the farmer acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to help them achieve the best milk production from their cows. For instance, the average production of a dairy cow in Kirinyaga is 8 to 10 litres per day, while ideally, it should be an average of 25 to 30 litres per day.


Goodway Sacco (for-merly Teascom Sacco) has set up a Ksh4 million re-

volving fund under its micro-finance department to em-power women and the youth.

Ksh2 million will be used to assist the youth to acquire boda boda for public trans-port business or for domestic use.

“We have started buying boda bodas for the youth. Ev-ery ward in Kirinyaga County will benefit from five boda bodas,” said Goodway Sacco Chairman John Kabui.

Another Ksh2 million will be loaned to women and women groups to undertake various economic activities.

The youths buying boda boda under the project are being vetted through a due diligence check using the groups they belong to. The boda bodas must have a com-prehensive insurance cover and the beneficiary must be of good standing in the society.

Currently the Sacco has 3,900 with deposits of more than Ksh11 million in the last year. The Sacco was recently registred by the regulator Sacco Societies Regulatory Au-thority (SASRA)

“I am delighted to report

to this meeting that our Sacco has already been licensed by Sasra which is an indication of good progress over the years,” said Kabui.

The chairman has called on more community mem-bers to join the Sacco which is fully committed to serving the interest of its clients and guiding them to a prosperous future.

The Sacco has also comput-erized all its services in order to remain relevant to the dig-ital era and improve on the service offering system and efficiency.

The chairman commended the members for the support they have offered to the Sacco all along and emphasized the importance of unity in order to maintain the positive prog-ress achieved so far which will further boost the Sacco toward brighter days.

Kirima Dairy farmers to earn more money

Goodway Sacco’s Ksh4m fund to aid youth, women

Mutira Ward benefits from trust, bursary funds

Mutira MCA Hon. Wangui.

Kirima Dairy Board members and senior management.

NEWS JULY 2015KIRINYAGA STAR

11

SPORTS Sicily Karani pioneers women refereeing

BY RICHARD MUGOBesides working with Joyful Women, a

women empowerment organization as a program officer, Sicily Karani is a referee by profession.

Based at Kagio, Ms Karani was trained by the Kenya Football Federation back in 2008 and her ambition is to referee in the national matches particularly the Kenya Premier

League.In these times of gen-

der equality, she notes that women can do anything which can be done by their male counterparts and, there-fore, more women should come up in plenty and join this profes-sion for health and earn respect from the entire society.

“You get to exercise a lot in the pitch which is a good thing as far as health is concerned in addition to the fact that no one should dis-courage you from achieving your goals in life,” she says.

During the one month train-ing sponsored by KFF in Nairobi, she observed that there were many trainees but soon after the training was over the ladies vanished to the thin air and have never surfaced to practice what they learnt.

“We were about 30, but the others have never surfaced in the pitch to show-case the skills they archived during the period of training,” she explains.

Sicily began playing football at a tender age but later developed a

passion for refereeing immediately after high school and when an opportunity to train came to light; she realized that her long time dream had come true.

She has been judging matches played across the county and has so far acquired noticeable recognition being one of the most adorable referees in the region for over seven years now.

“I went to Nyagithuci Primary School where I begun playing foot ball and in most cases I went up to the national lev-els. I later proceeded to Karatina Girls High School and did not relinquish my ambition on playing the game where I found peace of mind,” she explains.

It was a bit challenging in the begin-ning although the passion she had for football kept her guts rolling enabling her maneuver through a male-dominated field towards the peak of a career which has not been exploited by most women due to the fear of being subjected to rid-icule by the people surrounding them especially parents who would wish their daughters choose a more desirable career.

“I am driven by the passion I have for football all along. People will talk at the end of the day but you listen and the words will give you strength to move on through the darkest parts in life,” she says.

Miss Karani has not faced any difficulty balancing the two lines of duty as a referee and a Program Officer since she is required in the office over the weekdays and is needed to be present in the pitch during the weekends.

“I have to check into the office during the weekdays but during the weekends, I go have fun with the boys,” she says.

BY STEVE MBOGO

Kirinyaga Dairy Farmers Coop-erative Society has received machines worth Ksh1 mil-lion from the County Gov-

ernment of Kirinyaga to help it add value to its milk.

The main machine is helping the society pasteurize its milk meaning that milk can stay for longer without spoiling. The society has also received milk coolers.

“Before we received this machine, we were using firewood to pasteurize the milk. This machine has not only made it cheaper to pasteurize the milk but it is also hygienically recom-mended,” said Lucy Wakaria Njiru, the Secretary Manager at the society.

Pasteurized milk is similar to the packaged milk sold in the shops. This means the society will now only need to buy a packaging machine in or-der to have its packaged milk sold in shops and supermarkets.

The machine will also enable the society to get the permission from Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) which requires the pasturing milk for packaging to be done by a machine like the one donated to the society.

The society produces yoghurt, mala and pasteurized milk that is sold at its premises at Kerugoya town. It also supplies raw milk to various institutions in Kirinyaga like Keru-

goya County Hospital, Kianyaga Hospital, Ngaru Girls, and Kerugoya Law Courts, and also to the New KCC cooler at Baricho.

“This machine means we shall now start packaging our milk. It will en-able our farmers earn more from their milk sales. We shall also not have any wastage of milk as a result of packag-ing. We are now looking for a sponsor to help us acquire a packaging ma-chine,” said Ms Njiru.

The society draws most of its mem-bers from Kirinyaga Central and Ndia constituencies. There are 500 farmers who are active suppliers, delivering 1,200 litres of milk per day.

Kirinyaga Dairy Farmers Coop gets new milk value addition machine

Governor Joseph Ndathi commissions the new machine. Looking on is the society’s Secretary Manager Lucy Wakaria

This machine means we shall now start packaging our milk. it will enable our farmers earn more from their milk sales. we shall also not have any wastage of milk as a result of pack-aging. we are now looking for a sponsor to help us ac-quire a packaging machine

BY CLAIRE WAMBUI

Tea farmers have been urged to re-place their tea bushes with the new improved varieties and also con-sider diversifying to growing pur-

ple tea that is fetching more income. Speaking during a farmers’ open day

in Kangaita, Dr Lusike Wasilwa, Head of Crop Systems at Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) new varieties offer farmers opportunity to increase their yield per tea bush.

“New tea varieties offer the best option for farmers not only to increase their pro-duction but also to ensure their bushes are less affected by diseases and changing weather conditions,” she said.

Dr. Wasilwa urged farmers to conduct proper pruning and tea replacement at the right time to increase productivity per unit area. Many farmers are witnessing bush deaths with some not knowing the reasons behind it.

Kiriyanga County Director of Agricul-ture Muriithi Gachingiri encouraged tea farmers to diversify to other farming ac-tivities like dairy and horticulture farm-

ing to ensure price volatility experience sometimes in tea sector does not adversely affect their income.

Tea farmers were also urged to plant purple tea because of its high demand in the international maket. TRI Kangaita Training Centre Manager Samson Gith-inji said a kilo of purple tea costs US$50 (Ksh4,500) and, therefore, assures farmers of more income.

“Purple tea contains antioxidants that help in fighting chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cholesterol which causes heart problems among other benefits,” said Mr. Githinji.

Beth Wanjiku, a local farmer who spoke to KIRINYAGA STAR said that tea can bring in a good income when a farmer takes care of the bushes. Wanjiku advices farmers to use recommended fertilizers, NPK 26:5:5: which is available from KTDA offices.

KALRO is working to introduce more drought resistant tea varieties in the face of climate change phenomenon that is changing the long known weather pat-tern. So far, 52 improved tea varieties with higher yield potential have been devel-oped, officials said.

Tea farmers urged to plant new improved varieties

ADVERTISEMENT10 KIRINYAGA STARJULY 2015

Our Lady of Lourdes Mwea Hospital MWEA MISSION HOSPITAL (KARIRA)

ABOUT US Our Lady of Lourdes Mwea Hospital (OLLMH), also known as Mwea Mis-sion Hospital, is a Catholic institution ran by the Sisters of Mary Immacu-late of Nyeri who are the sole proprietors of the facility in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Murang’a. It has a mandate of delivering af-fordable and accessible health services to all, especially the poor and vul-nerable. It is one of the largest County Referral hospitals in Kirinyaga County, serving a large and diverse population of approximately 500,000. It started in 1962 as a dispensary and promoted to health centre in 1968 and has grown to a modern referral hospital after upgrading in 1979.

OUR SERVICES Inpatient. Outpatient. Laboratory. Imaging – CT Scan, X-Ray, Ultra-sound. Special Clinics – Eye, E.N.T, MCH, Gynocology,Pediatrics, Den-tal, Surgical. Physician Clinics. Maternity. Men’s Clinic.

S.M.I DIAGNOSTIC CENTRE This centre comprises of CT Scan, Ultra Sound, Digital X-Ray, and E.C.G (electrocardiogram) CT Scan Our CT SCAN Machine is a great advance-ment in modernized diagnostics through computerized technology. It has ability to perform special scanning Protocols Like 3D image reconstruction, provide very high image resolution, provide reliable and very efficient data collection, and re-duces radiation. X-Ray Unit Our digitized X-Ray Unit Systsm facilitates instant and high resolution image capture, which translates to timely service delivery to our patients. E.C.G This is electrocardiogram that measures and records human heart electrical activ-ity. It helps to avoid major heart problems through early diagnosis and treatment.

E.N.T (Ear, Nose & Throat) Audiology service

OUR LADY OF LOURDES NURSING SCHOOL In addition to health care services provided, the hospital offers facilities for teaching/training of health professionals (Diploma in Nursing), is an internship centre for medicine students (Bachelors), clinical medicine stu-dents (Diploma), and is an attachment center for pharmacist technolo-gists, laboratory technologists, social workers and medical researchers. OLLMH has strong partnerships with the greater community, the private sector, public health department, and other organizations. NEXT INTAKE IS SEPTEMBER, 2015

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS If you have graduated from high school and willing to take a diploma in Nursing, the following are the performance requirements in subjects and grades. Our school of nursing is an approved and accredited institution that offers the Kenya Registered Community Health Nursing (KRCHN) programme at a diploma level. It has two intakes in a year, March and Sep-tember, but application is all year round. We admit youths from all walks of life provided they meet the minimum requirements which are: Mean grade: C and above. English/Kiswahili: C Plain. Biology: C Plain. Chemistry/Physics/Mathematics: C Other requirements: Birth certificate, Baptismal certificate, National ID, Letter of willingness to pay fees, KCSE Leaving Certificate. MODE OF APPLICATION Hand written application, copies of relevant academic transcript and pro-fessional certificates to be sent to the school. An application form can be obtained from our website www.ourladyoflourdesmweahospital.org

Nursing Students in class session

Maternity Services Eye Unit

CONTACTS P.O.BOX, 51, Wanguru 10303, Kenya Tel: +254-020-2032376 Mobile: 0737801707 www.ourladyoflourdensmweahospital.org [email protected]

Sr.Josephine Ndege. The Administrator

With Compassionate Care We Treat. Jesus Heals. Makutano Junction

Nairobi/Nyeri Higway

Mw

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Mwea Town HOSPITAL

To Sagana/Nyeri

LOCATION

Official opening of the S.M.I Diagnostic Centre

Patient being examined on the CT Scan


Kirinyaga Central MP Gachoki Gitari has praised the improved performance of pri-

mary and secondary school students in Kirinyaga Central.

Gitari said the improvement has been realised because of the cooperation among all the stakeholders in the constitu-ency and urged them to con-tinue the spirit of ensuring con-tinuous improvement in the performance.

The MP said to ensure the performance is improved, he will through the CDF continue to provide the necessary facil-ities for the students includ-ing teaching aids, laboratory equipment, and modern toilets

among others. One of the teaching aid kits

to be provided is the Primary Science and Mathematics Kit already in use in some of the schools in the constituency.

The manager of the company that designs and makes these teaching aids Mr. Paul Kinyua Mithamo said he is ready to supply the kits as soon as they are ordered by the CDF.

Meanwhile, MP Gitari has reprimanded the management committee of Karaini Primary School for allegedly misusing Ksh500,000 CDF cash allocated to it to build a toilet. The MP said parents were asked to pay Ksh500 to fund the project de-spite the CDF paying for it.

“This is outright theft of public funds and cannot be

condoned,” he said. He warned that institutions which do not use CDF money for the in-tended purposes will be black-listed.

“I am instructing my CDF staff to ensure all projects they allocate money are completed on time and there should be transparency and accountabil-ity in the use of the cash,” he said.

He said the Karaini commit-tee must account for the money since it is taxpayers’ cash. He said the lighting project is aimed at improving security and also making the dream of a 24-hour economy a reality.

NEWS KIRINYAGA STARApRiL - MAY 2015

for the good of kirinyaga people

Alex Nyaga wins entrepreneurship award

MP Gitari commends schools’ performance Kabare Girls High School holds annual maths content

Alex Nyaga received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the category of Emerging Entrepreneur from Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed.

Alex Nyaga, the CEo of parapet Group has won the 2014 Eastern African Chapter of the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in the category of Emerging Entrepreneur.Mr. Nyaga is from Kirinyaga County. He is the founder and group CEo of parapet Group. Alex’s dream to be an entrepreneur started when he was in Form 3. Then, he would clean and paint Merry Christmas messages on windows in Nairobi during his school holidays for pay. Nyaga started parapet 16 years ago .Today, the company is the leading professional cleaning and allied services company in Kenya. Armed with a degree in hotel management from Ecole Les Roches in Switzerland and an associate degree in food & beverage management from the New England Association of Hotel Management School in the US, Mr Nyaga’s passion for hospitality has helped him turn parapet into an employer of choice with more than 3,000 employees. its clients include airports, hospitals, shopping malls, office buildings, hotels and private residences.

wambui Mureithi named Miss united Continents Kenya

Wambui Mureithi has been crowned Miss United Continents Kenya 2015/2016. Ms Wambui is the former holder of Miss Tourism Kenya – Kirinyaga County.“i will be heading to Ecuador in August to represent Kenya and also Kirinyaga County to the world as well as market tourism and investments opportunities,” Ms. Wambui told KiRiNYAGA STAR.Miss United Continent, also known in Spanish as Miss Continentes Unidos, is an international beauty contest held annually. The annual beauty pageant began in 2006 as Miss Continente Americano (Miss American Continent) and is based in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Up to 2012 the participants were restricted to the countries in America; in 2013 participants of world were invited; and the name changed to Miss Continentes Unidos.The current Miss United Continent is Geisha Montes de oca from dominican Republic. She was crowned on September 13, 2014 in Guayaquil by Miss United Continent 2013, Carolina Aguirre from Ecuador.

Wambui Mureithi wins Miss United Continents Kenya

Kirinyaga Central MP Eng. Gitari flanked by Paul Mithamo during the Kirinyaga Central Education Day


Nairobi School Team A emerged the overall winner in this year’s Kabare Girls High School Mathematics Contest organized by the school on the last Saturday of the month of May.

Kabare Girls High School Team B was among the top ten in a contest that is meant to improve the mathematics skills and raise the subject’s interest among high school students.

The second position went to Njiris High School Team A while Thika High School

Team A took position three. Others were Nairobi School Team B, Murang’a High School Team A and B, Kagumo Boys High School, Kangaru School Team B and Kabare Girls High School Team B.

St. James Kiaritha Secondary School, a day school in Kirin-yaga that has been performing well in national examination emerged the best in the cate-gory of Best Mixed School.

“The intention of this an-nual contest s to change the attitude of students that math-ematics is a difficult subject,” said Mrs. Irene Njagi, the Head of Mathematics Department

at Kabare Girls High School. It was the 13th annual content. Secondary schools from across the country are invited to par-ticipate.

In this contest, 60 schools participated. It was sponsored by Riara University among others. Mrs. Njagi called on more sponsors to come and support the content.

“The contests have proved to be very beneficial because we have noticed that the at-titude towards mathematics is improving from positive to negative,” she said.


Teacher Peter Gakuo of State House Girls presents an award to one of the winning students. Looking on is Mrs. Njagi, the Head of Mathematics Department at the host school, Kabare Girls High School .

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CONTINUED ON PG 2

Runyenjes benefits from new focus on rural towns

Manyatta CDF well managed – MP Muchiri

Nestlé to train more coffee farmers

The 54 illicit brew deaths: One year later

PAGE 06 PAGE 07 BACK PAGE

CONT. ON PG 3 >>

governor Martin wambora turns focus on growing rural towns

STORY ON PAGE 2 >>

BY ROBERT NYAGA

Winas Savings and Credit Cooperative Society has announced growth in profits and mem-bership, plans to introduce housing finance product and expected expansion Nairobi,

Thika, Matuu and KivaaThe Sacco’s asset value stood at Ksh1.8 billion in 2013

while the total share capital grew to Ksh59.9 billion from Ksh55.6 billion in 2013, indicating a 7.7 percent grown within one year.

According to a report released to the EMBU STAR by the Sacco’s marketing and public relations department, the institutions membership today stands at 10,114 while the asset value of the Sacco considered as one of the best managed in the country had by close of books in 2014 im-proved to Ksh2.3 billion.

The details of a cross section of some of the major successes of the Sacco are drawn from the organization’s last Annual General Meeting (AGM) which indicates that members ‘ deposits increased by 23 per cent from Ksh1.04 billion to Ksh1.2 billion between 2013 and 2014.

EMBU ASK SHOw

MCAs, ministers seek solutions to improve

tax collection

Mbeere South roads hinder

growthPAGE 4 PAGE 5

Winas Sacco’s profits grow, plans expansion to Nairobi

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Cecily Kariuki accompanied by Embu County Minister for Agriculture Patricio Njiru (in black suit) sample processed and packaged banana and arrow root chips during the ASK Embu Show that was held early June.

MT. KENYA STAR

PROFIT UP

NEWS2 JULY 2015EMBU STAR

Works have started to tarmac roads in Runyenjes town.

Some of the scrap art products.

Runyenjes benefits from new focus on rural towns

Artist a crowd-puller at ASK Embu Show


Embu County government has started improving infra-structure in rural towns in a bid to enable them become

the better centres of business within their rural surrounding and reduce dependency on Embu town as the main centre of commerce.

The new program involves im-provement of rural urban roads, wa-ter supply, vehicle parking bays, and markets, therefore attracting traders from as far as Nairobi, Meru and northern Kenya.

Farmers in these areas will travel shorter distances to the market, as they will not need to take their pro-duce to Embu town, while traders and financial institutions will benefit from the increase in money circula-tion, which means more business.

Runyenjes town is the first ben-eficiary of this program. Others ex-pected to benefit include Kiritiri, Ishiara, Siakago, and Kibugu towns among others.

The new program will also help decongest Embu town, which has better market infrastructure.

Early June, Embu Governor Mar-tin Wambora launched the tarmack-ing of roads in Runyejes town and its environs. The tarmacking will use a new technology that reduces the cost

and time it takes to construct roads compared to roads done by the cen-tral government.

The two and a half kilometer road will cost Ksh42 million and will take six months to complete.

“This project employs modern technology and utilises locally avail-able resources to ensure that the costs are kept at a minimum and completion is faster,” said Governor Wambora.

The construction of the road is being done on a pilot basis, with an-other 500 kilometres of road to be constructed in the next eight years using the same technique.

Governor Wambora said the con-struction of the roads will be partly financed using the tea and coffee cess money which will now be managed by the county governments unlike before when the money was man-aged by the Kenya Rural Roads Au-thority (KURA).

The improvement of the rural towns is critical in decentralising the devolution within the counties and avoiding the national government disease that saw too much attention given to Nairobi at the expense of other major towns.

The result was congestion of in-dustries, major private businesses and government offices, triggering rural-urban migration that has seen Nairobi unable to cope with its cur-rent population.

But more important for counties

like Embu whose economies are driven by agriculture is that the im-proved towns will offer a near mar-ket for farmers, cutting their trans-port costs and that means they will have more money in their pockets.

Runyenjes, in particular, is strate-gically located along the Nairobi-M-wea-Embu-Meru-Isiolo road, giving it the advantage to develop as a high-way market centre. This has been the case with a town like Mwea (Ng-urubani) in Kirinyaga whose boom-ing growth is partly attributed to its being located along the highway and its agriculture wealth seen in rice and horticulture growing.

More trade in rural towns means the County Government of Embu will also earn more revenue from the traders.

Runyenjes town serves resi-dents from the greater Runyenjes and Manyatta areas. Its economy is driven by income from coffee, tea, macadamia, bananas, dairy farming and miraa and horticulture.

Silas Njeru, the Chairman of the Runyenjes Central Business Welfare Association, which has a member-ship of 130 traders in the town said the town is ready for business when the right infrastructure is put in place.

He said the town still requires proper roads drainage, good town planning, garbage collection among other essential services.

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Inside a stand at the Agricultural So-ciety of Kenya (ASK) show at the Njukiiri grounds in Embu County, a polite looking young man stands next

to a collection of unique pieces of art.A jungle colour painted metal jacket

rests on the table next a vintage black car while on the background a large one metre long metal fish is prominent in this stand, set under the Ministry of Industrialization hosting a cross section of exhibits.

Though black in color unlike tissue rolls normally are, the piece resembling a toilet paper held on a round object and going about a metre down clearly connotes a tis-sue paper and can be used to indicate the presence of a restroom.

On the ground is a large guitar painted black but made from different pieces of scrap metal standing next to the remains of half open traditional log bee hive with the top section made complete by a small branchy stump held by a calabash.

The car piece is made of items collected from discarded items most easily available at many homesteads. The tyres are from a discarded baby walker while the exhaust section is the top section of a kerosene lan-tern lamp.

An elderly man arrives at the scene and is first wholly engulfed in studying “the gui-tar” another piece on display. Based on the many admirers, perhaps this is the best in the collection of the young man’s pieces.

Welcome to the world Gerishon Ngari, 21, a University of Nairobi Bachelor of Arts in Design student who prefers to be referred to as an aspiring sculptor.

Based on what he has already created since he launched serious production in 2013, it is clear Ngari could soon be headed to the local and international journals and websites despite perhaps being the only art-ist of this genre in Embu County

Despite being patched at the furthest corner of the Ministry of Industrialization stand, the young artist attracted huge at-tention and remained busy explaining his works to various who poured at the stand for the three days during which the event continued.

And judging by the flow of visitors ex-pressing interest in the sculptures, it clearly emerges that this creative artist from Embu County could soon be conquering space in local and international exhibitions.

Ngari explains that he started drawing as young boy in primary school during which time he would spend hours creating images on paper and that improved to some levels

of professionalism at Murang’a High School where he earned pocket money from fellow students charging them between Sh.20 to Sh.50 to paint beautiful creations on enve-lopes.

“While at high school, my paintings on envelopes for students sending their letters to friends and especially girls earned me at least Sh.1, 000 every month, which was quite comfortable income then,” says Ngari.

He says that around 2013, he started get-ting attracted to sculptures right from his natural environment in his rural home in Mbeere South where he noticed that drifts woods and tree stumps among other item could be improved into attractive sculptors when married with other items.

The artist confesses that as his interest in art was shifting to sculptures, he was lucky to fall in the hands of a relative Hudson Ngari, a professional artist who specializes in creating sculptures who mentored him hugely.

Compared to pieces on offer locally and internationally, the sculptors’ works can comfortably earn him between Sh.50, 000 to Sh.100, 000, a piece.

Embu County is not known to produce many serious artists especially those deal-ing with scrap as their raw material for pieces and the only other artist in the show was imagery painter and sculptors who is winning international accolades using dis-carded mattresses to salvage sponge and create unique pieces of art.

Ngari says that although his heart is in art, he decided to pursue a design degree so that eventually he ventures in original, well thought and eventually finished sculptures.

Unlike other artists who start from a rural background and quickly relocate to main cities for incomes and international fame, this young sculptor insists that he will remain in Embu County and join hands with other qualified and aspiring artists to promote art at County level.

Wealthy and capable entrepreneurs in Embu County, the artist says love and ap-preciate art, but rarely want to make pur-chases to promote incomes for the artists majority who are young people.

“Although scrap art and other genres of art are generally low in Embu County, in-terest in the field is affected by continued relocation of artists to main cities such as Nairobi where there is more money” notes Ngari while clarifying that “for me I have no intention to relocate and I want to see art gain importance in Embu County with new artists emerging and a fresh market being created from the local clientele with good purchasing power”.

<< FROM PAGE 01

“The membership rose to

10,114 up from 9,123 in the year 2013. Members deposit increased by 23 per cent from Ksh1 billion to Ksh1.2 billion,” notes the report.

The Sacco, according to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mrs. Anne Muthoni Njue has in the recent past intensi-fied membership recruitment and education campaigns to strengthen the organizations financial base further as it sets groundwork for opening of new branches.

In perhaps one of the most major expansion programs, the CEO said some four new branches of the Winas Sacco are set to be opened in Kivaa, Matuu, Thika and Nairobi. Plans for the acquisition of land for the building of the four proposed new branches have already been approved by the Board of Directors and will start once financing structures are finalized.

“Some of the major achieve-

ments of the Winas Sacco have been realized through wide consultation during members’ meetings, team work, cohesion creation programs and unity of purpose by both the staff and Board of Directors,” said the CEO.

She noted that education of the members remained a core requirement in the Sacco and disclosed that within the last one year at least 4,796 mem-bers had been reached through 22 forums organized across various branches of the Winas Sacco.

The welfare of the members and their kin, the CEO said, remained paramount in the running of the Sacco and that had seen the institution launch a risk fund kitty to cover de-ceased members’ loans and deposits hence ensuring that refunds were made to the next of kin while financing the af-fected members’ burial ex-penses.

In fact the latest records in-dicate that out of the 29 mem-bers lost through death, claims amounting to Ksh14.7 million were paid with the balance for the account standing at Ksh2.5 million.

The report quotes Mr. Robert Njue Kinyanjui, the Sacco’s chairman explaining

that due to the institutions improved financial perfor-mance attributed mainly to growth in membership and education forums, Winas Sacco presently disburses loans with ease and financed international operations without internal borrowing.

“The increased deposits speeded up our rate of loan disbursements to members and the Sacco was able fi-nance its internal operations without reverting to external borrowing,” said Mr. Kinyan-jui.

According to the chairman, the Sacco will continue to ex-pand its services and promote excellence and efficiency as the only means of attracting members and spurring eco-nomic and social advance-ment in areas covered by the institution.

Initially the Sacco had members drawn from the teachers’ fraternity having been registered in 1977 as Embu Teachers’ Sacco with a mere 503 members but within years the institution had been rebranded and di-versified its membership to tap the economic potential in all viable sectors in Kenya and beyond.

Mr. David Kariuki, the Sacco’s public relations and marketing officer indicates that customers’ interests re-mained a key foundation to the society’s success and that had made the members loyal leading to their acknowledge-ment of their ownership of the Sacco.

The Sacco, he explained aimed at “moving the eco-nomic welfare of the mem-bers to the next level through competitively designed and priced products and services. Through education forums, he said, “the members are in-formed of new developments in the Cooperative sector, changes in relevant legislation and general information on the Sacco product positions”.

In the information tech-nology area, the Sacco records indicate had modernized its systems and also licensed by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA).

The authority has been in-volved in a project to profes-sionally guide the Sacco on channels to follow to estab-lish a mortgage project to im-prove members housing apart from assisting them invest in the real estate’s income gener-ating sector.

This, the report explained, could as well require the reg-istration of an independent

subsidiary company to inde-pendently and effectively man-age the mortgage account and deal with reports emanating from the section.

Already the Sacco has adopted a system of paying loans, deposits and other trans-actions via M-PESA pay bill number to members.

Last year, the Sacco won an award under the Champions of Corporate Governance.

NEWS

The membership rose to 10,114 up from 9,123 in the year 2013. Members deposit increased by 23 per cent from Ksh1 billion to Ksh1.2 billion.

Some of the scrap art products.

JULY 2015EMBU STAR 3

<< CONT. FROM PG 1

Winas Sacco’s profits grow, plans expansion to Nairobi

BY EMBU STAR REPORTER

The Committee on Finance and Economic Planning led by MCA Mugobhai Kanjogu recently held a consultative meeting with

the Chief Officers and county ministers also known as CECs at the Governor’s boardroom to deliberate on how to maxi-mize revenue collection in the county for better service delivery.

Members present held an open discus-sion citing various loop holes which need to be sealed in order to realize maximum revenue collection.

Among the major issues raised in-cluded; failure to fully utilize the recently deployed Ward Administrators as well as Sub-county Administrators to ensure that revenue collectors do not have to report minor problems to the Directors, but rather solve them at the Ward or Sub-county levels.

Each department agreed to work in consultation with other departments to ensure maximum service delivery. It was noted that, the Finance ministry contrib-uted greatly to delay in service delivery

in what some CECs termed as ‘centraliza-tion’ of all funds.

They explained that services requir-ing as little as fifty thousand shillings could not be facilitated when the senior finance personnel are not in office. This in return, is hampering collection of rev-enue as the business community refuse to pay their taxes because ‘ they are not getting value for money’.

The committee urged the ministers to find short term solutions in areas where long term solutions might take years, as the mwananchi still needed the ser-vices, and did not have to wait until; for instance a sewer line was connected to each household.

Members present included Hon Kan-jogu Mugo , Hon Nyaki Muria, Hon Ag-atha Muthoni, Hon John Mwangi and Hon Nancy Murithi from the Assembly and from the Executive were: Dr Mu-turi CEC Lands, Dr Patricio CEC Agri-culture, Dr Musomi CEC Trade, Madam Emily Njuki CEC Youth, Eng Steve Njiru Chief Officer (CO) for Lands, Mr. Francis Nyaga CO Agriculture, Mr. Babu Tim Gutettah CO Trade, and Mr. Paul Kilonzo Muia CO Education.


MCAs, ministers seek solutions to improve tax collection

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

The air is clean and the atmosphere generally conducive for a leisure walk against green well main-tained flowers and trees lining up

the road sides.Pedestrian paths here are just like the

road well paved and free of potholes and li-ter. This is all set against a well done storm water drainage system which is never clogged with garbage and sludge.

Building are constructed meters away from the road reserve and if one was to be dropped here blinded folded and asked where he was, he would not mention being in a part of Embu town in Embu County.

But indeed this is part of Embu town which is always sparkling clean and a walk through this area which spans sections of Kenyatta Highway from the oldest services station in the town today’s BP-Shell to the other oldest town landmark the Isaac Wal-ton Inn feeds the lungs with gulps of clean air and the eyes with beauty.

“This could as well be described as Embu’s one kilometer of beauty with well painted government and state corpora-tion office blocks inside well fenced com-pounds,” says Embu resident John Njiru adding that several key Churches among them the ACK Embu Diocese Cathedral, health facilities including the Embu Level 5 provincial hospital and hotels line up the road and perhaps that is why all the best

infrastructure seemed to have been concentrated here.

As one approaches the exit from Embu town, left behind are leading edu-cation institutions including the Kenya School of Government, Embu Univer-sity College and Kangaru Boys and Girls Schools.

Onwards, the beauty continues with agriculture, the peoples’ main stay domi-nating the landscape thanks also to an on-going beautification program by the Embu County government which is planting flowers along the roads reserves.

That’s all, the attraction and the beauty ends there and wore on to you when you choose the next main diversion from Ken-yatta highway downwards. The nightmare hits you right in the face less than 20 me-tres from the BP-Shell service station.

Traffic and pedestrians’ congestion are a norm all set against heavily potholed roads and unpaved sidewalks where poor drainage has left huge pits which are filled with all types of repulsive smelling rotting waste.

“It appears this particular section of the town was forgotten even by successive lo-cal authorities, all pumping huge amounts of funds in the upper parts and leaving the lower parts in a quagmire,” observes Jane Wambeti, a shop owner next to the Matatu bus park.

Those using the roadside have to keep watch to avoid being hit by handcarts and vehicles struggling to fit on a narrow main road used by hundreds of public service vehicles delivering people to the main Matatu parks.

Food lorries, canters and pickups also struggle through this section of the roads to deliver stuff to the Embu Municipal Markets. The congestion is worsened by the fact that busy commercial building cover entire plots to the beacon and park-ing space is small and extends right to the edge of the tarmac.

When it rains, brown storm water car-rying a mixture of eroded soil and garbage cascades downstream denying pedestrians any space to walk. Freak accidents involv-ing people falling into the poor and open drainage systems and vehicles sliding into the same huge trenches become a norm and young people make some money help-ing vehicle owners pull out their machines from the mess.

Years ago, the road reserve between BP-Shell and Maguna Andu Supermar-ket used to host tree and flower seedling growers and traders and gave Embu an image of a environmentally conscious and friendly people.

Today, however the place has un-planned kiosks including ugly metal con-tainers and a huge collection of commod-ity transporters who park the canters, lorries and pickups in total confusion.

That is against huge amounts of un-collected garbage on the ground and in-side garbage stores which are on fire for hours every day. The hawkers, people on foot, ordinary motorists, stationary and at times speeding motor bikes operators and others seeking space to park or drive through the confusion created by trans-porters is a maddening scene to say the least.

An idle group of young people, some of the clearly intoxicated ran towards every arriving Matatu on the Ishiara section of the Matatu stage seeking to carry baggage for arriving people at a fee. The handcart

pushers also fight for space against those delivering good to various corners for a fee and with all that inside congested Matatu stages can be sickening.

Every evening, a traffic jam forms near all the supermarkets on this zones of the city and the situation is made worse by hawkers who storm into the road reserves to sell types of items some spread on the ground and other placed on makeshift ta-bles.

Kiosks and shoe shine stands here are an eyesore while miraa traders display their stuff in open and at times unhealthy backgrounds. The drainage systems take a long time to be emptied and cleaned mak-ing the efforts by the public health person-nel to keep the city clean and keep away killer and contagious diseases such as chol-era and typhoid a joke.

The business community in this forgot-ten area- which would be classified the Central Business District (CBD) however have a reason to smile following the World Bank announcement of a Ksh284 million funding for a major storm water project for the zone.

The Embu Storm Water Drainage Sys-tem will ensure that storm water formerly a nightmare to the residents and most blamed for damage of roads and growing incidents of unhygienic conditions is prop-erly managed.

Drainage systems will be installed in various lower parts of Embu town includ-ing informal settlements such as Grogon, Dallas, and Shauri Yako where residents would always face floods and damage of their houses and the general environment.

A stakeholder in Shauri Yako, Mr. Mi-chael Njiru while welcoming the project noted that once complete sanitation will also improve because sometimes the storm water ended up in various pit latrines used by the residents forcing the contents to overflow and reach natural water sources such as streams, wells and boreholes.

The World Bank funded project accord-ing to the Embu Governor Mr. Martin Nyagah Wambora who held consultations with the bank officials recently to inspect areas set to benefit will be completed within the next 15 months.

Storm water will also be drained from upper parts of Embu town downstream from Matakari, Shauri Yako, Blue Valley, Embu Municipal Market, Emco Road, the Embu Nairobi road and Kubukubu road.

The governor assured Embu people that during the project’s implementation, they are set to benefit by earning employment and supplying building materials which will be bought. from local markets.

World Bank to rescue lower Embu town as the upper side glitters

The upper side of Embu is cleaner and has a better drainage system.

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BY ROBERT NYAGAH

The Embu County government has been asked to include representa-tives from the Embu branch of the Kenya Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (KNCCI) in its management boards and committees.

Branch Vice Chairman, Mr. Elias Njeru Nyagah Kirachi warned that the continued failure by the government to incorporate the chamber in important policy and devel-opment decisions compromised the govern-ment’s service delivery in the area.

He said it is mandatory for the county government to include representatives from the chambers in its boards and committee based on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the central govern-ment and the national KNCCI offices.

“The inclusion of the representatives of the chamber in all boards and committee was agreed upon between the national gov-ernment and the chamber headquarters as one way of ensuring studied choice of devel-opment projects” said Mr. Kirachi.

Mr. Kirachi blamed part of the infight-ing facing the Embu County government to failure by the authorities to incorporate var-ious organizations representing the interests of the stakeholders in business, industry and other sectors.

He said that consultations between the stakeholders and the government were important in ensuring the smooth man-agement of the council programs because choices would fit the requirements of the public.

The chamber, Mr. Kirachi said, was keen to see controversies affecting the Embu County government resolved so that the government could settle down to accom-plish the various projects it has target to provide to the people of Embu.

Although the chamber has no conflicts in addressing its grievances to the County gov-ernment, Mr. Kirachi said working relations

would be smoother if the chamber officials were inside the various boards and commit-tees.

The chairman said that the chamber was working with experts to ensure grow-ing cases of infighting among Embu leaders

were reduced through reconciliation fo-rums.

He appealed to the Embu County govern-ment to improve its information and com-munication department and ensure that it worked hard to market the county’s activ-ities and reduce the present dissatisfaction and discomfort of the rate payers with its projects.

“It is true the government of Mr. Martin Nyagah Wambora has made quite some strides in development in the county, but perhaps the information and communica-tion department had failed to employ the right styles to ensure people were informed of such projects,” he said.

The people of Embu, Mr. Kirachi said should own the services and the projects the county government provided them with, but that would only be achieved if the people benefiting from the projects were consulted and their opinions on what they needed sought.

“The various experts hired by the Embu County government have been letting their boss the governor down,” said Mr. Kirachi and demanded that they should move away from the ivory tower and reach the ordinary people of Embu.

The chamber, Mr. Kirachi said, appreci-ates the role the national government had played in starting to tarmac the Muthatari-Siakago road noting that once complete the roads which is being constructed by a Chi-nese company would open up the route to commerce.

“The road will open such towns as Kia-muringa, Mosonoke, Kanyariri and Siakago and spur economic vibrancy. This vibrancy will create employment and attract general development which needed by the people of the County” said Mr. Kirachi.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kirachi announced a program in which the chamber will work the ministry of industrialization in a bid to attract investors to put up industries in vari-ous parts of the county.

Part of the program will involve a ma-jor marketing campaign for the chamber through seminars and workshops across the County where stakeholders will be encour-aged participate in the industrialization of the county first through the start of small scale industries which could be later gradu-ally expanded.

The chamber he said would work with expects who will first tour key towns such as Kiritiri, Siakago, Runyenjes and Kian-jokoma, identify potential area where in-dustrials could be started before promoting such regions and the resources therein.

He challenged the county government to play its role to spur industrialist by in-corporating all experts in its programs and policies and avoid being viewed as being one sided because of unbalanced choice of projects.

NEWS 5JULY 2015EMBU STAR

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

The transport of farm produce and building materials from Mbeere South area in Embu County is badly hampered by poor road net-work in the majority of the areas.

Most roads are impassable even during the dry season and they worsen during rains forcing many transporters to raise the cost of transporting most products from the area.

The high cost of transporting the products to the market according to residents forces them to increase prices of the commodities. The high prices in turn dissuade consumers from acquiring the produce forcing the business people to make poor sales where they register low commerce and poor incomes.

Now businesspeople from the region led by Kiritiri town businessman and former Malindi DC Mr. Jan Ireri are demanding urgent measures to be taken to have roads mainly linking the Embu-Kiritiri High-way repaired.

The former DC said that unless the national and Embu County governments launched projects to repair roads in the region, the local people would continue to remain behind in agriculture and other sectors of the economy because little of the farm produce would reach the markets.

Large amounts popular and nutritious drought re-sistant crops including cereals such as sorghum and millet which performed well in the semi-arid area, Mr. Ireri said continued to go to waste or reach the market at high prices due to poor roads.

Production and marketing of the regions’ most popular cash crop- the Muguka miraa, the busi-nessman who operates a Guest House in Kiritiri said continued to be expensive because moving the perishable produce to the market was too costly.

The businessman said that improving infrastruc-ture through the opening of all the rural roads would promote better farming and finally spur the economy of the region once the various products are transported to the market and sold without losses being recorded due to delays on various roads.

He said that the other of the regions’ key sources of income including building sand, stones, and ballast and murram delivery to the various markets in Embu, Kirinyagah and Nairobi had been affected by poor roads.

More than 100 Lorries carrying at least 10 tons of sand each move the product from various quarries to various markets every day, said Mr. Ireri. With many roads to the quarries scattered all over the rural areas of the region makeshift and impassable, moving the materials remained very expensive.

Building materials from Mbeere South, he said remained the pillar under which the real estate and construction industry depended upon and unless major projects were carried out in the sectors, move-ment of the materials would continue to be low and expensive.

“We would like the national and county govern-ments to know what spurs our economy and support us to expand our investments in such areas” said Mr. Ireri noting that it was unfair that the local people remained poor when their land hosted some of the best building sand and stones in the Country.

Experts, Mr. Ireri at the same time said, were needed to help the people of Mbeere South manage their natural resources such as sand and building stones professionally to avoid overexploitation and damage to the environment.

The businessman asked the National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA) to employ positive means to discuss environmental issues with quarry owners and operators to ensure that environ-mentally friendly modes of exploiting the sand and building stones were put into place and respected by stakeholders.

“We must be assisted by experts to exploit our nat-ural resources in a viable and renewable way to avoid damage of the economy which take time to repair,” said Mr. Ireri. He expressed dissatisfaction at the way quarries were being started and managed to note that water catchment areas needed to be protected for future generations.

Mbeere South roads hinder growth Embu Chamber of Commerce seeks

closer ties with county government

Mr. Kiprono Kitonny, the KNCCI National Chairman: Embu chapter wants more engagement with the County Government.

Parts of road network in Mbeere.

it is true the government of Mr. Martin Nyagah wambora has made quite some strides in development in the county, but perhaps the information and communication department had failed to employ the right styles to ensure people were informed of such projects

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Kenyans have a right to seek for transparency and ac-countability in the manage-ment of the huge funds un-

der county governments, Manyatta M.P. Mr. John Muchiri has said.

The MP defended the systems under which the Constituency De-velopment Funds (CDF) funds were managed in his area and nationally saying that audit systems were open.

Addressing the public during Ma-daraka Day festivities at Moi Stadium in Embu, the M.P. defended the se-lection of areas and projects benefit-ing from the Manyatta CDF terming them as fair and transparent.

Partly answering local Members of the County Assembly (MCA) who ac-cused the MP of laxity and failing to ask questions over various issues af-fecting Kenyans in parliament led by Kirimari MCA Mr. Ibrahim Swaleh, Mr. Muchiri promised the publica-tion of a brochure on all complete Manyatta CDF projects.

He mentioned schools, police posts as some of the projects set for sponsorship especially at Kirimari ward and noted that delays had been caused by land ownership issues forcing the holding of the funds al-located to the projects to be held in a Bank account.

The MP said the Ksh90 million sent to the constituency had been well spent with Ksh30 million going to the bursary kitty. MCA’s and the

Embu Governor Mr. Martin Nyagah Wambora who was the chief guest in the celebrations should also explain the spending of annual allocation to the County.

The public and MCAs, the MP said should learn and understand the sys-tems under which CDF funds were managed to avoid the impression that the money belonged to the MPS.

“I do not carry the money in my pocket, the money is managed un-der transparent systems and leaders should understand these systems and explain them to the members of the public.” said Mr. Muchiri.

The MP asked Embu leaders to reduce wrangles among themselves noting that the political direction some were taking could be danger-ous to the future politics of the re-gion.

With bulk of the funding for projects managed at by the County governments, Mr. Muchiri insisted that the governor Wambora had a challenge to explain to the people of Embu how the funds allocated to the region were being spent.

“The bulk stops at you Governor Wambora. You will be held respon-sible of the way development funds are managed and questions about accountability should not be viewed as opposition or politics,” said Mr. Muchiri.

“The bulk of development funds fall under County governments and Kenyans have a right to seek account-ability and transparency in the man-

agement of the funds, that should not be always viewed as politics,” said Mr. Muchiri noting that even with all the distractions in Embu County government, the accounting officer would be the governor.

He said Governor Wambora should not tire of explaining completed and ongoing projects.

He described as modest the Ksh90 million Manyatta constituencies re-ceived under the CDF but assured that, the fact that the funds were “like pocket money when compared with what the county government received” that did not mean that transparency and accountability de-mands were being ignored.

The MP clarified that his declara-tion that he was not a political cow-ard during a past Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) rally at Embu University was not a threat to the Kirimari MCA as Mr., Swaleh had claimed.

Commenting on the two emerg-ing camps under the presently being founded JAP Mr. Muchiri clarified that JAP positions would be shared fairly and competition allowed.

He said that concessions would be allowed in the party to ensure that all leaders including those opposed to one another were offered oppor-tunities. Embu leaders, he insisted should be accommodative and avoid branding any politicians as failures or non entities.

The MP asked Embu people to avoid being divided on tribal lines adding that JAP should unite all peo-ple with fair political competition being natured as a means of promot-ing democracy.

On the controversy surrounding the raising of National Health and In-surance Fund (NHIF) to Ksh500 per month for members in the informal sector, the MP said the parliamentary committee on health which he was a member had launched discussions with the NHIF board and set charges at Ksh300 which if discussed and passed in parliament was be adopted.

“Kenyans should not assume that we are not discussing the matter, we are only using the provided pro-cedures to ensure the monthly pre-miums are reduced to an affordable and acceptable amount,” said Mr. Muchiri.


Manyatta MP John Muchiri (centre) and Manyatta CDF Manager Mr. Dave (left) at a ceremony.

Manyatta CDF well managed – MP Muchiri

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Children protection or-ganizations have been challenged to launch campaigns to curtail vices

afflicting young people in Embu County.

Some of the vices affecting the youth in County include drug abuse, defilement of young girls and early marriages.

The County’s Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Chairperson Mary Kavinda suggested that campaigns to fight the vices should first in-volve expert studies on the reason behind increasing cases of involve-ment of the youth in dangerous lifestyles.

She warned that unless such lifestyles were minimized oppor-tunities for involvement of young people in beneficial and national building would continue to be compromised.

Addressing members of the pub-lic during Madaraka Day festivities at the Moi Stadium in Embu, Mrs. Kavinda said that drug abuse cases among the youth in the region had increased to worrying levels.

She warned that drug abuse

could easily push the youth of the county into joining criminals groups such as the Al-Shabaab due to bad influence and poor judg-ment.

The Maendeleo leader asked the County government to organize youth forums where issues to res-cue the youth from vices such as drug abuse and alcoholism could be discussed with experts and im-plemented.

The County, she claimed, pres-ently recorded worrying cases of defilement of girls with some par-ents and guardians easily condon-ing early marriage yet these were crimes whose perpetrators deserved punishment.

“Why are cases our young girls being defiled on increase” won-dered the Maendeleo leader. Par-ents, she said should stop viewing young girls as sources of income by marrying them off to elderly people and earning dowry instead of letting the girls pursue their ed-ucation.

She called on leaders in the county to unite in shaping the re-gions development noting that se-curity remained a challenged with cases of attacks on the increase.

Maendeleo ya Wananwake wants youth programs

yoUth eMpoWerMent

NYS to clean Embu town slumsBY ROBERT NYAGAH

The National Youth Service (NYS) will soon start cleanup campaigns in informal settle-ments in Embu County, Embu

County Commissioner Mr. Amos Gathecha has announced.

An initial team of 270 members of the NYS will arrive in Embu town once accommodation plans are finalized to start work in Shauri Yako and Dallas informal settlement in Embu town.

“We are in the process of search-ing for a place to host this group, the NYS members will come to Embu as soon we identify a place to accommo-date them,” said the County Commis-sioner.

The County Commissioner said the clean up would cover all the informal settlements in Embu town before moving to other urban centers.

Addressing guests during Ma-daraka Day celebrations at the Moi Stadium in Embu, the commissioner said that the NYS members would be each allocated 10 local young people to work as trainees.

Under the program, 2700 local young people to be recruited in a transparent way, Mr. Gathecha assured would receive an allowance Sh. 330 per day with an extra Sh. 141 being kept into a saving account for involved members.

The local youth, Mr. Gathecha said should be registered in groups and open accounts to qualify under the program. “If the program is successful it could be adopted to cover other urban centers in Embu County such as Runyenjes.”

The Commissioner asked the local people and the leaders to cooperate to ensure the identification and selec-

tions of the beneficiaries were smooth and without controversy.

On protests that elderly peo-ple benefiting from cash transfer program were being subjected to suf-fering by queuing for hours outside bank for them to be turned away over various anomalies, the Commissioner announced that a program to register the elders and issues them with ATM cards had started.

The cards, he said would be issued to them in company of their caretak-ers to ease their quick access to the money allocated to them.

“We have realized that indeed the elderly people covered under the Cash Transfer program experienced problems and at times queued for long hours to get their money from banks, for that reason they will be issued with ATM cards to ease the access to their money,” Mr. Gathecha

said.On security Mr. Gathecha interest-

ingly said the government was sat-isfied with the security standards in the County even after growing cases of attacks and killings of members of the public especially night guards in schools and business establishments where death have been reported.

The commissioner expressed satis-faction with the cooperation offered to the security teams through the “Nyumba Kumi” system noting that action had been taken against those identified to be a threat to security after reports were made.

Mr. Gathecha dissuaded numbers of the public from taking the law in their hands by administering mob justice on suspected criminals as that was against the law. “Avoid mob justice and always report suspected criminals to the police for legal action

to be taken against them”.“We are satisfied with the present

security situation; we have identified new strategies to improve security and those suspected to be involved in criminals activities are arrested and investigate whenever intelligence report are forwarded to the security personnel,” said Mr. Gathecha.

The government, the County Com-missioner announced would continue its crackdown on illegal operation of bars and those failing to respect the stipulated laws on the hours’ alcohol can be sold.

He said the increase in the number of illegal alcohol outlets was a causing concern. “We must respect the law, there is a huge distribution of bars and some of them are illegal and we shall not spare those who operate such illegal establishments”.

CLEANER TOWNS


One of the World’s lead-ing coffee processing and packaging company Nestlé SA has announced

the renewal of the Nescafé Plan II initiative of training and building capacity of 37,000 farmers across Central and Eastern Kenya for an-other 3 years following the success of the initial phase.

The new phase runs from 2015 to year 2017. In Embu, Governor Martin Wambora lauched the new Nescafe plan II at Kanjugu Kamurai Society offices in Mufu.

“This is part of our initiative to sensitize farmers on coffee farming and its benefits,” said the Governor during the event.

Nescafé is a brand of instant cof-fee made by Nestlé. The training is being done through the partnership with Coffee Management Services (CMS) Limited and will benefit ad-ditional 11,000 coffee farmers and four coffee farmers’ cooperative so-cieties.

Nescafé Plan aims to build capac-ity by offering training and techni-cal support to farmers. It hopes this will help to improve productivity, quality, and higher incomes for farmers.

The first phase of the plan that was launched in 2011 has been very

successful with Coffee Farmers’ Co-operative Societies from Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Embu and Meru counties recording be-tween 70 to 400 percent increase in coffee production in the three year period to 2014.

“The first phase of the project was remarkably successful impact-ing on over 26,000 farmers who were trained on good agricultural

practices. Over 9,000 farmers also adopted high yielding and disease resistant Batian variety which is expected to further increase their coffee production by 2016,” said Kamau Kuria, Managing Director Coffee Management Services (CMS) Ltd.

The Nescafé Plan is Nestlé’s global initiative to create shared value within the coffee supply chain and

includes measures such as increas-ing direct procurement from farm-ers, offering them free technical as-sistance and training in agricultural best practices, and providing high-yield coffee seedlings at subsidised rates.

The initiative also aims at encour-aging more female coffee growers and youths to take up leadership roles in cooperatives.

“The initial phase has also suc-ceeded in promoting the inclusion of women and youth in coffee farming and cooperatives adminis-tration. About 3,300 women were reached and trained on coopera-tive leadership, coffee production, confidence building, self-develop-ment and coffee verification,” said Nestlé’s Coffee Sustainable Manager and charge of the Global Nescafé Plan, Linda Butler.

According to Linda, renewal of the Nescafé Plan in Kenya also means that more women and youths will be empowered to take up roles in coffee and allow them to receive extended agronomist sup-port.

Nestlé spent over Ksh30 million in implementing the first phase of the Nescafé Plan in Kenya from 2011 to 2014.

During this period there was noted increase in the quantity of coffee produced from 2.5Kgs per tree to between 7and 10Kgs per tree on average.

“We have improved the living standards of over 26,000 farmers, established about 30 demo plots in 9 cooperative societies where training are conducted and also re-cruited over 750 promoter farmers among other achievements,” ex-plained Linda.

BUSINESS 7JULY 2015EMBU STAR

Nestlé to train more coffee farmers


Generation from the cheaper hydro sources is set to go up in the coming weeks

following significant rise in water levels at the main power dams.

KenGen CEO Eng. Albert Mugo says favorable weather will raise contribution from the hydro power stations going for-

ward.“From the daily reservoir re-

ports, the inflows have been very good. The main Masinga dam has risen over four meters since May 1 2015. Average output from hydro has also increased from around 8.6GWh to over 10 GWh per day,” said Eng. Mugo.

“We will step up hydro genera-tion in the months ahead but en-sure we conserve available water to last until the short rains later

in the year ,” says the CEO.Forecasts by the Meteorologi-

cal Services also show that cur-rent high rainfall at the major catchment areas are set to sig-nificantly improve the water lev-els by the end of the long rains season .

“The Tana River, Turkwel and Sondu Miriu catchment areas are expected to experience near nor-mal rainfall with a tendency to above normal during the current

season”, says Met in their latest update.

“It is, therefore, expected that the level of water in the Seven Forks and other hydroelectric power generation dams will gradually improve during the season”, added officials.

As of last evening, levels at the Masinga Power dam stood at 1,052.8 meters above sea level (masl), having gained four me-tres over levels recorded at the beginning of May. At the end of April, the dam level stood at 1047.6 masl. At the Masinga dam and indeed the entire seven folks cascade, maximum generation is attained when the water reaches full supply level at 1,056.5 masl, beyond which the dams will at-tain their spilling points.

At the Turkwel power dam, wa-ter levels there stand at 1,123.9 masl, against spilling points at 1,150 masl.

By stepping up hydro genera-tion, KenGen is ensuring stabil-ity and predictability of power bills as this will compliment contribution of the dominant geothermal but whose full ben-efits have been realized by con-sumers.

Geothermal has for the sixth month in a row been the dom-inant source of electric energy contributing an average of 300 kilowatt hours (kWh) compared to 260 kWh from hydro sources. This followed the injection of 280 megawatts (MW) to the national grid in December last year coupled with a prolonged dry spell spanning five months which relegated hydro to second place as a source of electricity.

“Kenya is now relying heavily

on geothermal with the entire capacity of the 280MW coming on stream from December last year. The impact of geothermal is positive in stabilizing our reve-nues,” says the CEO.

During normal hydrology, hydro dams account for 52.04% of total national mix. The to-tal installed hydro capacity is at 820MW, but daily output is pegged at 797MW. However, geothermal operates at a higher load factor (output) almost 100 % compared with hydro’s which is solely dependent on the weather.

A combination of the two sources will yield a healthy gen-eration mix from the two cheap-est sources of electricity. Hydro sources can also be used for peaking in place of the highly priced thermal sources, thereby ushering an era of stability and predictability on the power bills. The improved hydrology is a double blessing for KenGen in regard to stability of revenues as well as a low cost back up to elec-tricity customers who can rest as-sured of fairly stable power.

KenGen is also investing heavily in complementary and cheaper sustainable sources such as the pioneering well head con-densing technology and wind farms to meet rising demand. The firm which has recently ex-panded the Ngong’ wind power plant to 25MW capacity is also gearing up for the 100MW Meru wind project. In the meantime, KenGen is finalizing plans for development of up to 350MW in additional new geothermal proj-ects to further consolidate the 80% market strength.

We will step up hydro generation in the months ahead but ensure we conserve available water to last until the short rains later in the year.

- Eng. Mugo

Masinga Dam aids KenGen’s cheaper power

KenGen says it will step-up hydro generation in the coming months.

Governor Martin Wambora meets farmers during the launch of Nescafe Plan II at Kanjugu Kamurai Society offices in Mufu. This is part of the initiative to sensitize farmers on coffee farming and its benefits.

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Intensified campaigns by agricul-tural extension officers from the government and the private sec-tor to educate livestock and crop

farmers in Embu County on skills to improve production and make farming profitable are yielding fruits.

Various regions of the County could be headed for a bumper harvest of var-ious crops especially from stable foods such as maize and beans, whose crop is flourishing and creating excitement among farmers and stakeholders.

Widespread adequate rains covering more than 70 per cent of the county including a better part of the arid and semi arid parts of Mbeere sub counties have meant that drought resistant cere-als and crops are also doing well.

Since the rains started pounding the County supply and sale of various types of green vegetables especially the traditional and indigenous “Mchicha”, “Mnafu”, “Karimi ka Nthia” and “mag-erema” in the various markets in rural and urban centers has been booming. Such vegetables are usually scarce dur-ing the dry season with the little reach-

ing the market being from irrigated farms and selling at high prices.

Dealers of fresh foodstuffs dealing with popular exotic vegetables such as Kales and spinach have been recording poor sales due to easy access of tradi-tional greens vegetables by consumer at various farms in many parts of the

County including kitchen gardens in urban centers.

For the last three seasons, experts from the private sector, the national and county government partnered to educate groups of farmers through field days, where participants were encour-aged to adopt commercial profit ori-

ented livestock and crop farming under programs taunted as “Kilimo Biashara”.

Most farmers anticipate that this could as well be one of the best seasons in agriculture compared with the last past four seasons when yields of staple crops such as maize and beans recorded more than 50 per cent crop failure and low yields.

Mrs. Rose Muraguri, a small scale farmer who practices mixed farming in her one and half acres of land at Ga-tondo village in Itabua area is a happy woman this time. “The crop of maize, means, potatoes, and caw peas, yellow sweet potatoes among other nutritional and drought resistant crops are flouring and unless something major happens, I am set to get one of the best harvests in the last four seasons”.

Already the family has been picking green beans for family meals and what-ever is available in the farm looks very health pointing to the fact that apart from good yields the quality of beans to be finally harvested will be quite high.

Mrs. Muraguri has been attending field days organized by the African Christian Church & Schools (ACC&S) Church based experts who are under-

taking to promote food security in the region for the last three seasons.

The church experts apart from ed-ucating the more than 300 farmers in various parts of Itabua area, Mrs. Mu-raguri says they have been donating the right type of seeds, fertilizers and sprays for free and at discounted rates.

The church’s extension workers visit the farmers right from the land prep-aration providing guidance to ensure all the technical requirements are fol-lowed. The key factor towards better yields Mrs. Muraguri says lies in en-suring that soils are maintained in a healthy way and not left exposed to the sun to lose nutrients and moisture.

“For the last three seasons we have been discouraged from digging or us-ing ploughs to mix or disturb the soils after harvesting our crops and have been using the leaves from Maize and beans harvested to cover the soils to retain moisture” says Mrs. Muraguri adding that munching was in fact the main reason where the present crop is flouring because it continued even after weeding which only involved plucking the weeds.

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

A smartly dressed man emerges from a Matatu near a fuel filling station in Embu and shows outright em-barrassment and disgust as he to

rubs his feet on the wet tarmac to remove cakes of brown mud from his black shoes.

He shields himself briefly under the roof of the fuel station as heavy rains which have been pounding various parts of Embu town and its outskirts causing huge collections of pools of brown stagnant sludge subsides.

The man’s face relaxes when he looks across the road to notice an attractive clean shed with inscription Embu Shoe Shiners Initiative Project. Relieved and with a slight smile he crosses the road to reach the shed and settles on one stool assured that his shoes will soon regain a shine.

“Hello sir, sorry for the present muddy conditions in our city, but your shoes will soon be clean,” explains a man seated on a lower seat as he hands his visitor the day’s newspaper and fixes pieces of rubber around the shoes to protect the client’s trousers and soaks from becoming wet.

Less than 10 minutes afterwards, the man’s shoes have a sparkle, a thing which makes the once distraught man stand with confidence, inspect his shoes, pay the Ksh30

fees for the work and then walk away with a swagger.

Welcome to Embu town, the main head-quarters of the Embu County, perhaps one of the towns in the Mount Kenya region with some of the most widely accessible well organized and presentable shoe shiners.

The town in the past hosted a large num-ber of shoe shiners who operated in untidy makeshift sheds roofed with tattered nylon papers. The shoe shiners themselves would be untidy and operated in groups always ready to violently turn against customers attempting to resist unfair charges.

For many years, shoe shiners in the town were associated with harassment of clients, rudeness and violent demand of mostly un-fair charges for services. Unsuspecting cus-tomers would frequently suffer in the hands

of the majority of show shiners demanding high and unfair charges.

In the midst of all that, however, some decent, polite and professional show shin-ers started to realize the negative image the public had on the sector. They started to set shop and gradually gain ground finally cre-ating a chance for general improvement of the sector.

According to pioneer show shiners, improvements programs started in 2009 when after learning that Manyatta Con-stituency Development Fund (CDF) under the then MP for Mr. Emillio Kathuri could fund them. However, to qualify to access funding they needed to come together and register Community Based Organizations.

Complications on how to access CDF funds hit the shoe shiners when vicious competition emerged with more than six groups of shoe shiners chasing the funding.

However a one time show shiner and the present Kirimari Ward Member of County Assembly Mr. Ibrahim Swale arrived in time and intervened by convincing all the regis-tered groups to unite into one body.

On agreeing, the MCA, in fact, went further and spend more than Ksh6,000 to sponsor them to register the now popular Embu Shoe Shiners Initiative Project (ES-SIP), as a CBO which brings together more than 150 members.

The CBOs Chairman Mr. Hesbon Nyaga alias Gangara says that shoe shine business was important in the town’s commerce and provided the livelihood to more than 180 families.

Following the registration, the group applied for CDF funding and in 2010 bene-fited with the first financing of Ksh500,000 under the Jua Kali sector. This saw the de-signing and building of the first shed for the Shoe shiners.

Apart from the sheds, special stools for customers and comfortable lower seats for the shiners were also designed and pro-vided. The first batch of shed and imple-ments to be delivered to members were 13.

“The well painted metal fabricated sheds placed at strategic as well as the new stools and seats caused excitement in Embu town with customers literally pouring into the units and expressing their appreciation of the new development and seeking our ser-vices” says Mr. Gangara.

He says that two women benefited from the first batch of sheds with each shed de-

signed to host two members comfortably. The first batch contained the Manyatta con-stituency CDF branding complete with the name of the MP.

The low number of women in the group, according to Mr. Gangara is because “ini-tially most of the women interested in the shoe shine and show making work found the profession embarrassing and kept off despite campaigns to embrace them.”

The Initiative which operates under 13 zones each with a coordinator and supervi-sor to ensure discipline and smooth work-ing conditions has also been able to launch a self-help group which offers loans to mem-bers at affordable interest.

Mr. Gangara, however, says that were not for the then minister for agriculture but present deputy President Mr. William Ruto donation of the first Sh. 300,000 to the orga-nization facilitating the launch of loans giv-ing, self-help programs would have stalled.

The chairman says that to strengthen self-help in the group; the group combined the Ksh300,000 received from Mr. Ruto with another Ksh100,000 out of the members’ savings.

“Every Ksh1,000 borrowed by a mem-ber attracts an interest of Ksh50,” says Mr. Gangara adding that loans repayments have been good. Members contribute Sh. 300 per month and latest records indicate that the highest loan ever issued to a member was Sh. 16,000.

The shoe shiners work closely with the Embu County government which provides designated spaces for the shed and recently donated four shed to the group, one which was taken to Kiritiri market, about 60 kilo-meters from Embu town.

The latest donation of the shed came last month when the present MP for Manyatta Mr. John Nyagah Muchiri facilitated the building of six shed at a cost of Ksh750,000 through the Manyatta CDF.

“The new shed is slightly bigger and de-signed to host three show shiners, meaning that more than more of our members are benefiting from decent units for the smooth running of their businesses,” says Mr. Gan-gara. Under the present CDF funding, shoe shiners also received dust coats

Coming together has seen the shoe shin-ers attract assistance, confesses Mr. Gangara who estimates that it would cost an indi-vidual between Ksh50,000 to Ksh60,000 to fully establish a show shine business cover-

ing a shed implements stools and seats and brushes and polish.

The zonal coordinators, the chairman says play a key role in ensuring discipline among members. In the past cases of over-charging customers and rudeness mainly caused by the use of alcohol by members while at work nearly overwhelmed the orga-nization but strictness has worked.

“Zonal coordinators receive complaints from members and report them to the main committee where the action is agreed upon,” notes Mr. Gangara. In some instances, some members have been deregistered and banned from working as show shiners in Embu town.

“Although the fight to completely erad-icate alcohol abuse among members has been won, we still have some percentage of unruly characters who will irritate custom-ers, but that is quite rare,” says Mr. Gangara adding that disciplinary action has in the past involved reprimanding of indiscipline and sometimes completely expelling those who fail to reform within the stipulated time.

The Embu County revenue collection of-ficers, the shoe shiner say at times mistreat the members while demanding license fees, a practice Mr. Gangara says was unfair and embarrassing to members.

“The habit of some Embu County gov-ernment’s revenue officers to act almost violently to members is not fair because, we have a registered organization and delays in payments should not make the officers em-barrass our members sometimes in front of customers,” says Mr. Gangara.

Respect between the shoe shiners and revenue collectors, Mr. Gangara insist was paramount because the two sides needed one another. “When they are problems re-lated to delays in fee payments, we should be consulted as leaders to avoid any embar-rassing situations”.

The Embu Shoe shiners are a close knit organization whose members assist one another even socially especially when col-leagues face any crisis related to health or death. “We have a system of walking with those who suffer ailment, lose close rela-tives or die. We have set a certain amount of money which we all donate towards alleviat-ing some of the burdens,” says the chairman.

Embu shoe shiners create more wealthBUSINESS8 JULY 2015

EMBU STAR

Although the fight to completely eradicate alcohol abuse among members has been won, we still have some percentage of unruly characters who will irritate customers, but that is quite rare.

- Gangara

Hesbon Nyaga alias Gangara receives a donation from DP WIlliam Ruto.

An agricultural officer explains how to rear rabbits.

Bumper harvest linked to farmers’ education

CONT. ON PG 11 >>

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

More than 400 motor bike taxi operators in Embu have appealed to the gov-ernment to streamline the

registration of organizations manag-ing the operations in the expanding industry to ensure the smooth man-agement and discipline.

The operators warned that over reg-istration of organizations could com-promise the unity of the individuals, maintenance of discipline and security due to limited monitoring systems.

Mr. Paul Maina Kibira, the treasurer of Embu Boda Boda Self Help Group and the Chairman of Wise Link Boda Boda Investors Company asked the government to also consider seeking certificates of good conduct from boda boda operators to ensure discipline.

Speaking to EMBU STAR in Embu town, Mr. Kibira said that lack of coor-dination in registration of self help and welfare groups bringing together Boda Boda operators between the depart-ment of social services and Huduma Centre created a crash between emerg-ing entities.

The boda boda operators’ leader said that in the past, more than 400 motor bike taxi riders had three registered organizations whose leaders worked together to ensure discipline and iden-tification of new members.

He said that after the registration of other organizations manning the

motor bikes, it had become difficult to control some of the members and some of the new organizations lacked proper systems of management.

“The new organizations might not be very well managed and could have members whose backgrounds need to be checked. This is not fair because some unclean characters might infil-trate into the industry, cause insecu-rity and ruin our reputation,” said Mr. Kibira.

The three earlier organizations, he said, were easier to manage and vari-ous forums would be held in which se-curity and traffic personnel would be invited to advise and guide the boda boda taxi operators.

Presently, Mr. Kibira estimates that there could be more than 600 Boda Boda riders in Embu town with close to 200 of them with unknown back-grounds. “While we are not saying that they are criminals or untrustworthy, we also insist that a system of monitor-ing their backgrounds is available and that can only happen through a few, strong and united registered groups”.

The Embu Boda Boda Self Help

Group maintains tight standards of discipline among its members with those who were persistently found to be ill-mannered being banned from ridding passenger motor bikes and fi-nally being deregistered from the orga-nization.

He said the organization demands smartness during work, avoidance of

alcohol and respect of traffic laws as well as passengers. Members he said are also required to be avoid over charging customers.

The boda boda transport indus-try in Embu town he said faces some problems especially because under age young men enter the industry before acquiring national identification cards or motor cycle ridding licenses and ended up endangering the lives of cus-tomers.

“We would like to work closely with the government to ensure that only licensed and licensed people are enter-ing the industry to transport passen-gers and not groups of underage riders who at times resort to careless road use and abuse of alcohol while at work” said Mr. Kibira.

Unity among groups of registered boda boda operators, he said had led to arrest and recovery of stolen mo-tor bikes which had in the past been moved into various bases in Embu.

Suspected boda boda thieves, he said had also been arrested due to the monitoring of those entering the in-dustry without using proper and offi-cial channels.

He said that to ensure security, re-spect of the law, discipline and pay-ment of required government levies, the government should assist the present groups to be united to form an umbrella unit mandated to register all members in the boda boda indus-try, identify their operation bases and henceforth monitor them.

BUSINESS 9JULY 2015EMBU STAR

Bodabodas waiting for customers.

Boda Boda operators want fewer associations

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

More young farmers in Embu are adapting to the modern technology in farming, as they seek

to utelise the reducing size of land to increase yield and profits.

This is according to the Agricul-tural Society of Kenya (ASK) East-ern Region Branch. The adoption is partly attributed to the expansion and frequency of farmers’ training facilitate by the ASK through the an-nual agricultural shows.

In a curtain raiser interview for the ASK Eastern Regional Show held in Njukiiri Grounds, the Chairman of the Embu Branch of the ASK Show Mr. Joseph Njeru described the pace in adoption of new farming technol-ogy as slow but satisfactory.

“Since we started promoting mod-ern food production technologies by inviting experts in various sectors to exhibit and educate ASK show attendees, we have seen tremen-dous adoption of the skills by dairy and horticultural farmers leading to huge improvements in production” said Mr. Njeru.

He explained to the EMBU STAR that the show has attracted more than 80 exhibitors. It ran from June 11 to 13.

Agricultural experts from vari-ous ministries and universities, the chairman said, were expected to attend the annual even set as be of-ficially opened by the Cabinet Secre-tary in the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Felix Koskey.

Embu County and other regions under the ASK Eastern regional of-fice, Mr. Njeru said, should gain interest in the show event if they wanted to improve their agricultural skills.

The theme of the event this year is; “Enhancing Technology in Ag-riculture for Food Security and Na-tional Growth”.

Mr. Njeru said key sectors of agri-culture covering the tea and coffee farming have lagged behind because of the failure by the predominantly elderly farmers to adapt to new farm-ing technologies.

For instance, a stem of coffee in Kenya produces five kilograms per season, the same stem produces about 40 kilograms in countries such as Brazil where modern tech-nological farming is used.

The ASK Show Chairman noted that the dairy and horticultural sec-tors had improved mainly because the main investors are young farm-ers keen to adopt modern technolog-ical means of production unlike the elderly who appear satisfied with old means of production.

“The tea and coffee sector in Embu County continue to lag behind be-cause they continue to managed and controlled by elderly people who are resistant to change and rarely appre-ciate the fruits of modern technol-ogy in farming” said Mr. Njeru.

Newly started means of hay pro-duction through Hydroponic farm-ing, horticulture production in green houses as well as dump irriga-tion where a new technology allows flow of irrigation water from a net-work into a plant system exhibits, he said were on display and were bound to attract huge interested to farmers due to their simplicity.

“We encourage groups of between 10 and more because we know that skills addressed to groups have a bet-ter reach especially in the rural area where farmers share ideas and even correct one another in case of mis-takes during implementation of the learned skills” said Mr. Njeru.

young farmers adopting modern farming technology

farMing for profit

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

More than 200 families living in various informal settlements in Embu town have petitioned UN-Habitat (United Nations

Human Settlements Programme) to consider launching a housing and in-frastructure upgrading project in Embu County to alleviate the suffering of the slum dwellers.

They suggested that the national and county government should partner with the experts from UN-Habitat and local commercial firms to ensure houses and other social amenities were upgraded.

The families say a fund of about Ksh20 million will be adequate to buy 100 acres of land in the outskirts of Embu town where they can put up bet-ter houses.

They said if more than 10 acres of land hosting the Shauri Yako slum is transformed into commercial plots for sale, it could fetch Ksh120 million.

The families warned that unless the

government started major improve-ment projects public health, the town’s beautification aspirations and social security standards would continue to deteriorate.

Local Informal Settlements’ Commu-nity Leader and Shauri Yako Slum Secu-rity Supervisory Committee chairman Mr. Micheal Njeru accused stakeholders in Embu ignoring the plight of the poor by avoiding consultations as the first step toward the upgrading of slums in the town.

The national and Embu County gov-ernments, Mr. Njeru said should con-sider entering partnerships with the UN-Habitat, Non Governmental Orga-nizations, the National Housing Corpo-ration and the Housing Finance Com-pany of Kenya to come up with a policy to deal with the growing and unplanned informal settlements.

Majority of families in local informal settlements, Mr. Njeru said survived in deplorable living conditions and their dwellings including houses and sani-

tations facilities were in a dire need of upgrading.

“The families living mainly in Shauri Yako, Kathita and Grogon, the key shanties in this town survive under makeshift houses in an environment lacking most of the social and health facilities, the social fabric are in tatters and the threat of diseases, violence and death are a normal occurrence”.

Upgrade plans, the community leader says could succeed because much of the land hosting the informal settlements was owned by the County government with sections having been irregularly acquired by private develop-ers.

The land measuring more than 10 acres, Mr. Njeru says is prime and if well planned it could host the poor families and leave aside adequate space for the county government to plan mod-ern commercial areas and completely transform the image and the status of Embu town.

The County government and stake-

holders, the com-munity leaders sug-gested should borrow from the Plan Interna-tional, an NGO which helped to successfully relocate more than 350 households from kathita and Kamiu slums some years ago.

The NGO acquired land way from town and constructed low cost houses which were allocated to slums families to relo-cated. Those covered under the program today enjoy basics such was decent and comfortable ac-commodation, sanitations facilities and clean ample environment unlike the sit-uation is for those left out of the project.

“Major lessons are available from the Plan International success story to any stakeholder interested in helping slum dwellers in Embu town. The National and County governments should check the records and borrow whatever is ap-plicable today to rescue the slums from future suffering,” said. Njeru.

Another community leader at Shauri Yako slum Mr. Peter Nyagah says that promises in the past by the national and county government that an upgrading project would be started have always gone unfulfilled.

One section of the slum next to an open drain whose waste drains into Kanduda stream is used as an open lav-atory and the talk by the public health department on campaigns to avoid cholera sound like a joke in the face of the rotting garbage and other waste in the slum.

HOUSING NEEDS

Slum dwellers call for relocation

Shauri Yako Slum Security Supervisory Committee chairman Mr. Micheal Njeru

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Ishiara Livestock Market is among Kenyan’s first ever large-scale estab-lishment but is in need of urgent rehabilitation.

The situation is also worse across the entire Ishiara towns whose economic activities have expanded at an attrac-tive rate but which lacks water supply, toilets, basic sewerage system, a central garbage dump site and storm water drainage

Various stalls and the general food market have leaking roofs and some sections face imminent collapse unless immediate rehabilitation programs are started. Some of the buildings under

the county government were refur-bished more than 30 years ago.

One of the largest livestock markets in entire Mt Kenya region has lost its fame out of neglect by past local and national governments with little hav-ing been done to elevate standards even after the takeover by the devolved Embu County government.

Buying and selling of more than 1500 animals hosted by the market during each market day are managed in an open space without a fence and other basic veterinary health facilities including water or shelter.

The estimated 800 goats, 500 heads of cattle and 200 sheep are mixed irre-spective of their areas of origin where

diseases could be imported from and confusion reigns in the market which in the early 1980 was described by the local and international media as one of the most vibrant and organized such establishments in Kenya and East and Central Africa.

The market’s magnitude and popu-larity was at that time only comparable to markets is Botswana, Africa’s lead-ing cattle breeding country where at one time the population of cattle was said to have been higher than that of human beings.

Today however, things have wors-ened and the business community in the areas led by Mr. Josphat Ndwiga Karugu are asking the County govern-ment of Embu to support the Ishiara Livestock market regain its historical vibrancy and fame.

Mr. Karugu who operates a transport business and is a local spokesperson for the business community said that due to general neglect, the amount of livestock delivered to the market had continued to decrease with leading dealers choosing other outlets to mar-ket livestock.

Reduced interest in the market had

affected other areas of business and reduced incomes to the business com-munity and general population of the region whose main economic under-taking is livestock rearing.

When the County government was marketing itself as the best place for international investors bagging in pledges worth Ksh441billion, Mr. Kar-ugu said it forgot to recognize the eco-nomic importance of Ishiara Livestock Market and promote it among beef hungry countries in Europe and the Arab world.

“Why did the County government forget such a potential area of local and foreign incomes yet the country has

an expert in Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) in managing beef exports from Kenya? This area still needs to be ex-plored” said Mr. Karugu.

The business community felt that with the Embu County government charging a goat and head of cattle deliv-ered to the market Ksh60 and Ksh100 respectively, it is clear that a large amount of revenue was being collected and the same could be invested to im-prove the facility.

Various other commercial establish-ments in Ishiara town including a con-gested makeshift bus park surrounded by aging stalls, a collapsing food mar-ket remain an eyesore to this key urban outfit in the Embu County.

Public health standards, Mr. Karugu said needed to be improved to avoid outbreak of serious diseases which could devastate a large number of Ken-yans and especially the large numbers customers who visited the town to en-joy Nyama Choma in the various out-lets.

“Due to the livestock market, the town has a large number of butcher-ies and Nyama Choma outlets and the fact meat is freely sold and consumed at various points, there is need for pub-lic health standards to be improved through good levels on cleanliness and hygiene” said Mr. Karugu.

Mr. Karugu described the various facilities as being in deplorable stan-dards and wondered why the County government is only interested in col-lecting revenue from the traders and Matatu operators without considering improvement projects.

Access roads in the town including all the markets, he said had remained without being cemented and when it rains most are flooded and muddy making operations harder.

He said there was need for the review of charges at the market because live-

stock traders paid cess before entering the market area while those who pur-chased the animals were also charged on their way out of the market.

“In some sections of the town the

repulsive smell from human waste and urine as well as rotting remains of waste meat and entrails of slaughtered animals and fermented maize and sor-ghum flour waste from the local brew units become overwhelming to the visitors and traders” said Mr. Karugu demanding action from the respective government departments.

Establishments with makeshift soak pits storing waste from flash toilets, according to the business drains the waste into the open storm water drain-age yet little was being done to correct the illegality.

Business people in the town, he said, are interested in holding consultation with the local Member of the County Assembly (MCA), the Embu County government executive team of officers and senior leaders like the Senator and the local MP, but that had not worked.

He said that while the people ap-preciated the introduction of a grader in the area by the Governor Martin Nyagah Wambora, it was withdrawn after a few months and no murram was put on the graded roads to avoid their damage after heavy rains. “All roads in the town are poor with bushes grow-ing all over and traders at times being forced to foot the bill to clearing bushes and cleaning the town.”

The business community said that only a small section of the town has benefited from floodlights introduced by the County government and the larger percentage of the town is plunged into darkness every evening with trad-ers being forced to leave for their homes early for fear of being mugged.

FOCUS ON ISHIARA

FOCUS ON KIRITIRI

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

More than 15,00 business people in Kiritiri area in Mbeere South in

Embu have appealed to County government to improve the pro-vision of services to the town to avoid a looming total boycott of tax payments.

Poor allocation of funds for services and personnel to such commercial centers’ as Kiritiri, one of the fastest expanding towns in Embu County, the businesspeople warned, could compromise their economic vi-brancy and stunt development.

In a wide-ranging discussion with the EMBU STAR at the Garu Hotel in Kiritiri town, the group accused the county government of neglecting the welfare of the town’s business community.

Leading Kiritiri businessman and the chairman of Ngome Council of Elders Thagicu Sub-Branch Mr. Jan Ireri said that

the Kiritiri market which hosts more than 800 traders is in de-plorable conditions and needs a facelift in all areas.

He said the markets lacks sheds while the drainage and garbage collection have been neglected without the promised repairs or basic maintenance yet the county government always

demanded fees from the traders.Mr. Ireri said it was unfortu-

nate that after major protests including demonstrations by market trades, the County gov-ernment promised it would invest more than Ksh8 million to refurbish the establishment. This has not been done, the traders said.

The County could as well have lost more than Ksh8.4 mil-lion since April 26, following a stalemate which saw traders start a boycott in payment of levies to demand the upgrading of the market.

Estimates indicate that before the boycott the county gov-ernment would collect at least

Ksh200,000 daily from traders at the market which serves Embu, Machakos, and Kitui, Kirinyagah and Carissa counties.

The largest amount of collec-tion emanates from cess levied on huge amounts of agricultural products mainly foodstuffs in-cluding cereals, cassava, sweet

potatoes , bananas, cabbages and fruits among others traded there.

Mr. Ireri said that Kiritiri mar-ket is also the most vibrant “Mu-guka” miraa market with farm-ers in lower parts of the Mbeere South producing some of the best of the mild drug mainly chewed in counties such as Nai-robi, Mombasa, Garissa, Kitui, Machakos, Weir and parts of Tana River.

Mavuria MCA Hon. Joseph Nyaga disclosed that the govern-ment had allocated Ksh4.7 mil-lion last year and another Ksh5 million this year, funds which remain idle.

Governor Martin Nyagah Wambora is on record saying that a supplementary budget needs approval from the County Assembly to cater for market’s re-furbishment.

The traders have been de-manding adequate water sup-ply, rehabilitation of toilets, construction of sheds to reduce

present operations done directly under the sun causing loss of produce and the suffering of the traders.

Mr. Ireri said the market’s floor needs to be paved and drainage improved as stagnant water has affected operations during rains.

The town with more than 40 butcheries and vibrant meat business due to a popular live-stock market, Mr. Ireri said needed a modern abattoir. “The present slaughter of livestock in the small private establishment could easily compromise proper handling of meat and hygiene”.

The town also needs a modern sewerage system to avoid pollu-tion and contamination of the environment and ground waters especially now that commercial and residential establishments had an adequate supply of piped water.

It needs a proper physical planning said the businessman noting that due to high level of change of user of agricultural

land into commercial land buildings had increased without proper planning of such facilities as access roads, drainage systems, and other physical facilities.

The town does not have any street lights or flood lights like the ones supplied to many towns in the county by the county gov-ernment.

“Street lights are very urgent to this town because already “Muguka” buying, selling and packaging takes place at night that the produce reaches the market fresh ever early morn-ing,” said Mr. Ireri.

It needs a proper bus park was constructed because presently the huge number of commuter vehicles from various towns in Embu and others counties are parked on road reserves on out-side private commercial build-ings.

Estimates indicate that before the boycott the county government would collect at least Ksh200,000 daily from traders at the market which serves Embu, Machakos, and Kitui, Kirinyagah and Carissa counties

xxxxxxx

Kiritiri business community to boycott paying taxes


Historic Ishiara livestock market needs renovation

FOCUS ON RUNYENJES

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Growth of Runyenjes town was once very slow with certain families dominat-

ing key businesses and politics. The town was first founded as a stopover for Meru bound travel-ers just before they crossed the Thuci River which marks the Embu-Tharaka Nithi counties border.

Despite being the host of key government offices and for years the home for the bodies such as the then Embu District Land Board, Runyenjes town has taken many years to create an impression as a main urban economic hub.

The enjoyment of years of a vibrant agricultural based econ-omy which saw farmers earn millions of shillings of coffee and tea money never really spurred real expansion of the town.

The slow pace of develop-ment would at times be blamed on superstition and witchcraft with talk that those who showed signs of wanting to expand the town’s commerce through real estate projects would be be-witched-talk never confirmed by any expert and so flatly termed as rumors

Retired President Daniel Arap Moi elevated the town to a Mu-nicipal leading to the election of the first a mayor and doubts were raised about how the town with few commercial establish-ments could sustain itself as a municipal council.

Suggestions were then floated that the municipal status should be withdrawn and the town de-graded to an urban town so that legally various rates and levies on land and business permits re-spectively would be reduced.

The Runyejes of today is however different and ready for business. There has seen wide expansion in commercial build-ings, emergence of various in-ternal access roads and streets, supermarkets, petrol and service stations, financial institutions, food markets and increase in res-idential units in the periphery of the town.

Today, unlike in the past when public transport vehicles were parked on the roadside, the town hosts a basic bus park with a bypass which allows direct movement of vehicles along the Meru-Embu highway.

Runyenjes town which still thrives from incomes from agri-culture serves a huge population of people normally drawn from sections rural parts of Runyenjes and Manyatta constituencies.

It’s central economic position has meant that it continues to witness huge expansion thanks to improving incomes from cof-fee, tea, macadamia, bananas, dairy farming and miraa among growing horticultural invest-ments.

The EMBU STAR explored the town to understand what issues the stakeholders have and how they address them in a bid to ensure that economic activities continue to thrive.

A walk through the town by this writer revealed that there are remnants of old commer-

cial buildings, quite dilapidated but perhaps a reminder of the journey the town had walked and the fact that key plots are still owned by influential fam-ilies which controlled the town commerce after independence in 1963 and years later.

Elderly tailors using those old black Singer-branded ageing sewing machines still operate in equally ageing buildings but still attract customers seeking to have their clothes med, despite the overflow of used clothes out-lets which pushed many tailors out of business in many urban centers in Kenya.

But the old and the new move hand in hand and the modern seem to overwhelm the old driv-ing them out of prominence. Like other towns Runyenjes has a large collection of boda boda motor bike taxi operators at ev-ery corner who blast through the streets with loud music and horns penetrating the air.

There are clean and decent eating places, busy financial es-tablishments including M-Pesa outlets, Savings and Credits Sav-ings Societies, branches of lead-ing and small banks, operational internet cafés with good internet connections and Agro Vet shops patronized by the local farming which is dominant.

A county managed fresh food market is available and busy with bananas and green vegeta-bles dominating the outlets. The access roads, however, are dusty and narrow with many building seeming to have encroached right onto the roads.

At the end of one of the main streets in the ground floor of a two storey building, there is a well-marked shop named Joy Studio whose part of the mer-chandise includes electronics.

Seated on a long stool outside is the owner of the establish-ment Silas Njeru. After a brief in-troduction, it turns out that he is

the Chairman of the Runyenjes Central Business Welfare.

The welfare has grown from 50 members to the present 130 businesspeople in Runyenjes town. Initially, it was meant to cater for member’s welfare and especially in death but it has ex-panded to become a lobby group for the rights of the business community.

Last year, Mr. Njeru says the organization successful dis-suaded the Embu County gov-ernment from implementing charges in the Single Business Permit when they wrote protest letters and threatened to hold a demonstration to against the increase insisting the levies be retained at the old rates.

But perhaps the best feat the

organization had achieved ac-cording to Mr. Njeru was just before the last general elections when anticipating that politi-cal differences would cause vi-olence they raised money and promoted peace successfully through awareness talks.

The group through a public address installed in a vehicle which moved around the entire town and its outskirts preaching peace. “It worked and elections were held peaceful and that peace maintained even after the results were read to victors and losers,” says Mr. Njeru.

The latest battle the welfare is taking to the County and cen-tral government is growing cases of insecurity with at least five serious robberies taking place

in the month of May 2015. “We have called for several meetings to discuss how we shall eradicate increasing incidents of violent robberies affecting our mem-bers, one who is still hospital-ized by being violently robbed by armed robbers.”

“We are not satisfied with the security and have written to the local sub-county commissioner and the police commandant and they have agreed on dialogues to identify means of dealing with violent robberies,” says Mr. Njeru.

But the town still requires proper roads drainage, goof town planning, garbage collec-tion among other essential ser-vices.

The EMBu STAR explored the town to understand what issues the stakeholders have and how they address them in a bid to ensure that economic activities continue to thrive

Runyenjes ready for businessNEWS 11JULY 2015

EMBU STAR

Rose Mugendi, another farmer who benefitted from field days organized by the Church and the national govern-ment experts is happy with her pota-toes’ and sweet potatoes portions and is anticipating some of the best yields based on the physical health of the

crops.“I expect good harvests from my

sweet potatoes crop plot which is doing very well, I appreciate that I followed the advice of the experts and ensured that the land was never exposed to the direct sun after my last harvest,” says Mugendi as she pulls out an already fat-tening yellow sweet potato root at least three weeks before maturity.

Past crop failure were attributed to poor choice of seeds, pest sprays and farming methods made worse by gen-eral low rainfall whose retention in the soils was low especially where farmers ignored munching advice.

In the livestock sector small scale farmers rearing chicken, dairy cattle and goats in lower parts of the county, a survey by the Embu Star reveals have been recording good returns since the rains started with grass and other fonder being in plenty from various farms, along main and access roads and furrow land.

Milk production from dairy cattle and goats, the farmers says has grown and incomes improved because prices for a little of milk is selling for up to Sh50. Phyllis Ndwiga, who owns two dairy caws which in the past produced four litres of milk today yield at least eight litres after she started following expert advice gained through various field days.

“I ensure the caws are in a clean shed and are fed well with a mixture of dry and green fonder with water always available” says Mrs. Ndwiga adding that her cattle are also give sprayed to keep ticks way, given medicine to keep worms bay as well as calcium and live-stock salt to lick..

Alice Kanyottu, Embu Livestock

production officer who coordinated the field days further said assistance reached all targeted groups.

Fruits of the educational programs are also being witnessed in many some parts of the County where the Agri-cultural Sector Development Support Program (ASDSP) is partly spending part of Ksh2 million availed to various registered farmer groups whose project proposals were successful.

Mrs. Kanyottu had actually ex-plained during one of several successful field days held at the farm of one of the farmers in Karurina village of Itabua area Mr. Dominic Mungai that only strong partnerships would be funded under the (USDSP).

Farmers are also reaping from a chunk of more Ksh5.4 billion under var-ious projects launched under the Upper Tana Natural Resource Project whose survey work involved farmers coming together in field days.

Hence majority of farmers who own between half and three acres land on average across the county have been managing their plots professionally and growing different highly nutritional beneficial crops in small portions under very professional standards resulting in present success where they are expect-ing maximum yields and finally home-stead and family food security.

Central Division Livestock Produc-tion officers Jane Kinyua and Chris-topher Kinyua in one of the field days took dairy farmers through the process of silage making and today majority of the farmers have adopted small silage making unity which have been success-ful.

In another field day the Embu County livestock production experts di-vided themselves in five sections which covered dairy, poultry, veterinary, rabbit and fisheries and successfully educated more than 100 farmers.

While taking the farmers through the rabbit rearing section another Live-stock Production Mr. Justin Mwangi cautioned those interested in invest-ing in rabbits to select the correct and the most suitable breeds for the Embu County. The California type of rabbit, he said was the best and could breed faster and gain better weights for com-mercial returns.

A cross section of homesteads today rearing of breed of rabbits such as the California is not the specialty or hobby for school boys as before but is an area being professionally managed by par-ents who have been reaping benefits from the sectors by selling rabbits for meat to Hotels and Restaurants.

Bumper harvest linked to farmers’ education

<< CONT. FROM PG 08

Boda Boda, shoe shiners form companies


One year after the small shanty village of Shauri Yako slums attracted global attention after 54 people

died after drinking illicit brews, nor-malcy remains a farfetched dream for this once vibrant informal settlement where good and bad share space.

An estimated 20 partial and total orphans resulting from the deaths caused by the illicit brew and earlier driven here by poverty are scattered in these corroded corrugated iron sheet stalls.

EMBU STAR visited the slum to get a taste of what the bitter first anni-versary brings to the people. On this day, a group of a clumsily dressed group of women and men sip a yel-lowish looking drink from plastic cups as they converse in low voices.

It is still early and a woman serves the stuff, a local alcoholic brew made from sugarcane juice and other sub-stances little worried that the Mu-tutho laws restrict the sale of alco-hol within such an hour of the day. “Don’t worry, this is okay, it is not “Kathuvuria” which killed our peo-ple” a relatively tipsy young man tells the Embu Star writer when he wonder why they do not fear any arrests.

Most of the once busy makeshift al-cohol outlets are empty and the only notable activity is at the operational small food kiosks. Out of more than 30 food stalls which operated a year ago, only five are working and busi-ness the operators confess has been poor.

Micheal Njeru, a community leader and Shauri Yako Security Su-pervisory Committee secretary and the chairman of the committee Mr. Peter Nyaga have been campaigning to ensure the human and constitu-tional rights of Shauri Yako people are revisited and respected.

Working with a number of volun-teers, the two have formed what they call “Pamoja Tuokoe Shauri” simply translated “Together Lets Rescue Shauri”. But they are a bitter group

and are calling on the local and na-tional government to intervene and fulfill some of the pledges they made.

In a statement, Mr. Njeru said; “Hours have passed, days, months and it is one year now since we lost our beloved ones in Shauri due to il-licit liquor which left 56 people dead. Since then nobody or any organiza-tion seems to care about us and our plight.”

Mr. Njeru says that after the mass funeral service at Moi Stadium Embu things changed for the worse with all promises including that by the

National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) and the government that each family of the deceased would be given Ksh50, 0000 restart their lives by starting small businesses being abandoned.

“One year and a month later, noth-ing has been done to assist the fam-ilies of the deceased. Today majority are helpless and hopeless explains Mr. Njeru yet “some are total or-phans, other partial orphans, single mothers, windows and widowers and no one in the Non-Governmental Or-

ganizations, the county or national government has come to their assis-tance”.

County government policies on how to deal with disasters, Mr. Njeru says should be formulated includ-ing rules of how problems affecting slums dwellers could be reduced.

“Those affected by the deaths caused by the illicit brew among other evils which are a day to day occurrence in the slums should be assisted,” says Njeru adding that even the basics of counseling and sharing of the burden by those hit by the Shauri disaster had been forgotten.

He laments that the death had se-rious effects on the family fabric and tree of some of the affected because children born of orphans had been reduced to total orphans.

“We have a third generation of orphans here in Shauri and the same are expected to fend for themselves with guardians who are poor and who cannot actually be fully held re-sponsible for whatever happens to the orphans,” explains Mr. Njeru.

The community leader insists that it was not the wish of anybody to be born and brought up in a slum add-ing that the county and national gov-ernment had the challenge to inter-vene and assist.

“Something should be done to as-sist these poor families because they are suffering a lot, some children dropped out of school due to basics such as uniforms, levies, and food,” said Mr. Njeru.

Today most of those children who include vulnerable girls, the commu-nity leader says are out fending for themselves under tough conditions which expose many to evils such as drug abuse, street life and sexual ha-rassment and abuse.

Stakeholders say that the more in-tervention is delayed the worse for the children and the families.

“We are very concerned to wake up every day and see innocent chil-dren sniffing glue and begging in the streets unless these children are assisted things will worsen,” said Mr. Njeru.

BY ROBERT NYAGAH

Embu Shoe Shiners Initia-tive Community Based Organization (CBO) Chairman Mr. Hesbon

Nyaga alias Gangara says the group has finalized the registra-tion of a limited company with 10 directors under the name Joint Shiners Investment Lim-ited.

Mr. Gangara said the firm aimed to access loans from the government and private sector as well as financial institutions apart from competing for allo-cation of project tenders mainly Embu County government.

Said Mr. Gangara; “We have become a legal entity and can now apply for tenders to un-dertake projects sponsored by

the private sectors, the national and county government. This is something we could not have thought about had we not di-versified into a limited com-pany”.

He said the Joint Shiners In-vestment Limited will also enter the supplies sector and adver-tise their company whenever tenders are announced from various institutions and espe-cially public, private schools, colleges and universities.

The firm he said would also chase projects and use expertise from other companies to fight for projects and complete them in accordance to required stan-dards in a bid to strengthen the future of the company’s capac-ity to win more tenders.

Mr. Gangara praised the gov-ernment for opening opportu-

nities to small scale by allowing them to register companies to eventually ensure fair sharing of the national and regional cake when it came to handling of government sponsored proj-ects, today a key area of income generation.

Another group of boda-boda based CBO which brings together 30 members in a pio-neering feat registered a limited company also becoming legally qualified to pursue private as well as national and county government tenders.

That comes in less than two years leading to the founding of the Wise Link Boda Boda Inves-tors Limited. The firm has even before initiating bids for tenders in various projects acquired a prime commercial half an acre plot in the up market Blue Val-

ley zone in Embu town.The chairman of the com-

pany Mr. Paul Maina Kibira promised to campaign to en-sure that the firm gained re-gional and national status.

The firms’ memorandum of incorporation, Mr. Kibira said would continue to be reviewed in a bid to expand its mandate and to access tenders from the private and public sectors.

“We shall continue to con-sult experts in commerce to en-sure that our rules and regula-tion are frequently reviewed so that we can expand our reach for business, the winning of the public and private tenders can earn us income and help us ex-pand and improve our status in life” said the chairman.

The 54 illicit brew deaths: One year later

Hours have passed, days, months and it is one year now since we lost our beloved ones in Shauri due to illicit liquor which left 56 people dead. Since then nobody or any organization seems to care about us and our plight.

- Mr Njeru

Illicit brew being manufactured.

Shoe shinners stand manyatta

EMBU | JULY 2015

0 7 9 2 3 8 2 3 4 9 2 1 0 >

NYERI | JULY, 2015 ISSUE 012 PRICE: KSh40

CONTINUED ON PG 2

PHILANTHROPY

How Wanjiku brought smile to Nyeri’s elderly

ON OTHER PAGES

Dedan Kimathi University gets new engineering laboratory

Mbau on mission to market fine art

PAGE 11 PAGE 12BACK PAGE

Baraka Sacco to assist Boda-Boda riders venture into horticulture

CONT. ON PG 3 >>

Wanjiku left a Ksh800,000 take care of the abandoned elderly people.

A Motorbike fitted with the Uwezo pump.

STORY ON PAGE 2 >>

HORTICULTURE

Gachagua lobbies for devolution of

irrigation

Street lights to remain

PAGE 10 PAGE 10

Joyce Wanjiku Kairu receives a humanitarian award from Mrs. Deloris Jordan during the recent International Women’s Day.

BY CATHERINE MURINGI

Baraka Sacco has advised young people and especially those in the boda boda industry to diversify to horticulture farming by not only using their motorbikes for transport

but for irrigation purposes as well.Already, the financial institution has stocked

Uwezo Motorbike Pumps which it has been selling to local farmers and mostly targeting the youth.

The motorcycle propelled pump is fitted to a mo-torcycle power takeover which is commonly known as the engine shaft. The shaft propels the pump which thrusts water from the source to the intended destination. The pump can work well in power take-overs of most Chinese made motorcycles.

According to Baraka Saccco marketing manager Francis Kinyua, the move is meant to create employ-ment opportunities for the youth so that they can enhance crop production through the introduction of irrigation in their farms.

Tea cess fees to be paid directly to local factories

for the good of nyeri peopleMT. KENYA STAR

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2 JULY 2015NYERI STARNEWS


The people of Nyeri have been known to have a big heart, wel-coming and generous. This is best demonstrated by Joyce Wanjiku

Kairu, a 44-year-old lady from Kieni who resigned from her international job to come back home and assist the elderly.

Wanjiku left a Ksh800,000 a-month job in South Africa, in addition to other ben-efits like a medical cover, car and house allowances among others. She left all those perks and has come back home to take care of the abandoned elderly people.

And looking back, she says she is proud for having made a difference, in her own small way, enabling the elderly who are neglected and desperate to afford a smile on their faces once again.

“We have touched and changed many lives and we have created awareness in the community about the plight of the elderly. We have influenced many people go back home to see their parents, to take care of the elderly and the main objective

is being felt,” she says.Wanjiku was born in Watuka, Kieni

Constituency of Nyeri County is the founder and director of Purity Elderly Care Foundation-PECF, a Non-Govern-mental Organization-NGO that was formed in 2011.

The NGO takes care of the vulnerable elderly persons in the society who have been neglected, sickly, abandoned or lonely, those forgotten by their families and others stricken by poverty or sickness who become vulnerable.

“I registered the organization after the demise of my mother Purity Wan-jiru Kairu who died due to cancer of the colon in 2010. The reason I started the foundation is because I was provoked by her death after realizing I was not there for my mother yet there was so much she needed from me as her child,” she says.

Though the mother had a driver to take her to hospital and everything else that she needed, she lacked her compassion and this made Wanjiku feels there was more that she needed to do that she did not do.

During her mother’s sickness, Wanjiku lived in South Africa and all she could do was to send money to her while she was working.

The former Tetu Girls Primary School pupil and Othaya Girls High School stu-dent had travelled to South Africa in 1998 after attaining a diploma in secretarial studies in Kenya.

While there, she pursued a course in project management, human resources and operations management before she got a job as a Project Manager for Lex-mark International (US Based) seconded to Standard Bank (South Africa), Parsons Brinkerhoff (US Based) and Skanska Telkom Networks (Swedish based) among others.

She travelled with these companies around the world working on different projects and later joined Lexmark Inter-national which put her on a high-profile job where she was the project manager for Standard Chartered Bank.

“Starting the foundation was not an easy thing because I did not know what I was coming to do. My concept was very different from what I am doing right now. And after spending sleepless nights thinking of what to do, I have come to find more problems than I anticipated,” she explains.

She had initially started the organiza-tion with the little money she had saved but after exhausting everything, she re-sorted to borrowing.

“The things we have done involve tak-ing people to the hospital, building them houses, feeding them but where do we get the support from? The support we give our elderly people is from professional begging. I walk around begging for blan-kets, food, hospital money, transport and firewood among others and so the chal-lenges I face is lack. We lack financial sup-port, transport and human resources to mention but a few,” she continues adding that the move earned her the tag ‘profes-sional beggar’.

She is proud that PECF has managed to build or repair 22 shelters since May, 2012 while 19 elderly people have been given free medical care at the Nyeri Refer-ral Hospital and other hospitals around Nyeri County.

She has managed to organize the end of year fundraising since December 31, 2011. This will continue as an annual event where elderly persons will usher every New Year in style. ‘The Elderly and Cold Campaign’ is another annual activity that takes place during the cold month. PECF collects thousands of blankets, food stuff and firewood which are then

delivered to the elderly persons creating awareness of the cold month. In 2014, more than 2000 blankets were collected and thousands have benefited from June, 2014,” she explains.

Her efforts have not gone unrecog-nized. On 8th March, 2014, International Women’s Day, Wanjiku was honoured with a Humanitarian Award by the Jor-dan Foundation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi.

Kenya Women and Children’s Wellness Centre (KWCWC) and Africa Women En-trepreneurship Programme (AWEP) were the main organizers of the award cere-mony that saw five women in different categories awarded.

In July 2014, she was nominated by the National Gender and Equality Commis-sion (NGEC) as a member of the Technical working group on aging.

“I am happy that I have been able to engage the public in community work. We engage them when there is work to be done and they have been volunteering to help and a lot of people have learnt from me. We are as such not only helping the elderly but also the youth and other mem-bers of the society as they have been emu-lating me and so I think this is a very big achievement,” she said.

The major challenge she has faced includes a lack of adequate financial, material, services, medical and human resources, permanent and reliable trans-port, food items, firewood and building material.

However, well-wishers have come in handy and assisted in building houses, taken people to the hospital, held com-passion visits among others.

“Others are limited medical and health-care support that leads to the death of el-derly people leaving huge medical bills to family members and the hospitals. Lack of infrastructure support (offices). The current building where we store dona-tions is not owned by PECF,” she adds.

They also encounter hostility from some family members who misunder-stand their good intentions and the ob-jectives.

How Wanjiku brought smile to Nyeri’s elderly

108-year-old blind Beatrice Watiri (centre) gets a new lease of life. Her dilapidated house was repaired. She also got a new bed and beddings.

PECF director Joyce Wanjiku Kairu, (left), hands over keys to a new house to Mary Wairimu. Purity Foundation built the house.

NEWS 3JULY 2015NYERI STAR

Baraka Sacco to assist Boda-Boda riders venture into horticulture

Baraka Sacco Marketing Manager Francis Kinyua, (in blue shirt) explains how the Uwezo motorbike pump operates.

Kinyua says those who do not own motorbikes can still purchase the pump and propel them using hired motorbikes. Alternatively, those with motorbikes can still pur-chase the machine and lease it out at a fee.

Motorbike operators can lease out their motorbikes for as little as Ksh300 in a day depending on the location.

“The whole pump system goes at a cash price of Ksh10,000 including its accessories but we can still give them out to our members as loans where they can be paying in instal-ments,” said the marketing manager adding that Sacco members have the advantage of acquiring the machine then pay in monthly installments of as little as Ksh1,000 every month.

The pump can push water from a well up to 50 feet deep to an over-head height of about 100 feet. It can pump water to a distance of be-tween 1.5 to 2 kilometers on a level or slightly sloppy ground.

After purchasing the pump, the farmer is expected to buy water pipes to channel the water to the de-sired destination.

“The pump mitigates water prob-lems where water shortage is experi-enced as one can pump water from the source about 2 kilomtres away to their homes or farms without using high labour,” says Kinyua.

“The machine has the ability to pump 27,000 litres of water per hour with a consumption rate of a quatre a litre of petrol compared to ordinary water pumps which pumps 10,000 to 12,000 litres with a con-sumption of about 3 litres of petrol,” he continues.

The pump has proved to reduce production cost as a farmer can use the bike for both pumping water as well as transport produce to the market and farm inputs to the farm cutting on transport cost.

He said the reception of the water pump has been good especially in Mukurwe-ini and Tetu Sub counties in Nyeri town.

Kinyua says the Sacco has been providing technical advice during

installation and during the first time of using the machine until the cus-tomer is in a position to use the ma-chine effectively.

Already, hundreds of farmers have purchased the machines while several others have placed orders since the institution stoked them in September last year.

Baraka Sacco was started in 1990 and has a membership of about 14,000 active members. It has two branches with the headquatres be-ing in Karatina town while the other branch is situated in Kiamariga.

The Sacco started by catering for tea famers before bringing on board groups, coffee farmers, business people, pensioners, learning institu-tions, salaried people and children accounts.

It plans to open branches in Othaya and Nyeri Town by next year before proceeding to open another in Narumoru according to one of the Sacco’s marketing officer Lawrence Murathimi Nguyo.

Nguyo said the Sacco plans to open branches in major towns in Nyeri County in the next few years

<< CONT. FROM PG 1


Retired President Mwai Kibaki and Othaya MP Mary Wambui when they attened the funeral of Kibaki’s broher, the late Benard Ndiritu Kibaki.

FUNERAL


Poultry has been named as the second most fa-voured livestock farm-ing from dairy in Ny-

eri County.Poultry farming earned

farmers in Nyeri Ksh238.9 million in 2014 according to the county agriculture offi-cers.

According to a report from the department of Agricul-ture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, the industry has thrived due to the small size of farms and high human population density.

The report further stated that poultry production has been realizing good benefits in both meat and egg produc-tion.

However, there is only one hatchery in the county prompting residents to source day old chicks from agents in Nyeri Central and Nairobi while others buy and hatch graded eggs.

“The key constraint in this enterprise is that the hatch-eries are unable to cope with the day old chicks’ demand. Nyeri also lacks established feed millers forcing farmers to source their feeds from es-tablished millers from other counties and local distribu-tors. Most feeds are manu-factured outside the county mainly Nairobi, Nakuru, Thika and Kisumu,” stated the report.

The biggest percentage of adult indigenous birds are sold for meat. A kilo of poultry meat cost Shs. 300.

The problem of the unor-ganized market has also been mentioned with individual farmers struggling to find the market for their own produce.

The Government has been conducting regular farmers’ training through training of groups involved in poultry farming, field days and farm-ing demonstrations to boost the sector.

The seasonal outbreak of Newcastle and Gumboro dis-eases are also at minimal after the Government managed to mitigate their spread through the introduction of vaccina-tion.

The pig enterprise was rated third in economic impor-tance with farmers scattered over the county keeping 3-4 sows.

“The market outlet is through farmers’ choice and local pig butcheries. However, most farmers reject the en-terprise due to the high cost of production hence feed the pigs on kitchen waste which lowers the quality of meat,” the report noted.

Farmers also tend to use farm by-products and by-products of maize and wheat milling such as bran, pollard mix and maize germ.

During the year 2014, about 4238 pigs worth Shs 33,497,000 were slaughtered.

Most pigs are fattened or sold as weaners and only a small percentage are kept for breeding. 75 percent of pigs produced were consumed lo-cally while others were sold to Farmers Choice, Nairobi, especially by contracted farm-ers.

Pig farming opportunities were promoted and flagged in all areas and training in pig husbandry done regularly leading to an improvement of marketing of pig products with local consumption ris-ing.

The report emphasized the need for more promotion of local consumption to increase demand for pork as well as encouraging local butchers to engage in the pork business.

The pig industry faces chal-lenges of the unreliable mar-ket for finished pig, the high cost of feed and inadequate technical husbandry knowl-edge.

Other enterprises include rabbit production which is said to have gained a lot of popularity with many farm-ers showing interest. Many have formed groups and en-gaged in the enterprise.

“Rabbit farming has gained popularity with adult farmers where various rabbit groups have been formed. The groups are engaged in the populariza-tion of rabbit meat eating par-ties with Nyeri South being the leading breeding area in the larger Nyeri County,” it noted.

However, the sector is lim-ited by the lack of good breed-ing stock and the high cost of breeds from the few sources available. It is estimated that 56,505 kilogrammes of rabbit meat worth Shs. 22,602,000 were produced in 2014.

The county relies mainly on breeding stock from estab-

lished farmers. This supply is not adequate and orders can-not be met.

“Marketing of rabbits is not organized while promo-tion is mainly on household consumption. Many brokers visit our farmers thus creat-ing demand. As a result, Nyeri County rabbit association was launched in December 2010 to help in marketing and sourcing of breeding stock,” it stated.

Beekeeping was said to be mostly practiced in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands-ASAL parts of the county with few groups and individuals in the county keeping an average of 20-50 hives.

The Production of various bee products have been in-creasing over the years but honey by far remains the most important product and its demand remains high.

During 2014, hive products worth Shs. 13, 000,000 were produced.

The fear of bee sting stigma was mentioned as one of the contributing factors to low ad-aptation.

Main bee products are honey and bee wax.

The local community is said to harvest honey at night and is not willing to share the information leading to diffi-culties in accessing accurate honey production data.

Emerging livestock kept in the county by a few farmers were identified as quails and guinea fowls which are kept for home consumption and for ornamental purposes.

Last year, there was a lot of interest on quails and the pi-oneers made a lot of money. But the enterprise later came tumbling down due to declin-ing market prospects.

However, local residents are said to have been reluctant to venture in some livestock rearing such as camels. There is no a single camel kept in the county while donkey keeping is not taken seriously.

Only a few farmers keep donkeys as draught animals due to beliefs that donkey droppings cause tetanus.

The most common chal-lenges affecting the livestock sector in the county

POULTRY FARM: More farmers in Nyeri have decided to diversify into poultry farming.

More farmers embrace into poultry farming

NEWS4 JULY 2015NYERI STAR


The national Government will devolve the irrigation depart-ment from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Chairman of

Agriculture Committee in the Coun-cil of Governors, Nderitu Gachagua has announced.

Gachagua who is also the Nyeri County Governor said devolution of the department means that more funds will also be devolved to en-able county governments run the department. He expressed optimism that the move will see food security in counties and the country at large improve.

“Following the devolution of the Irrigation function, I am sure food security will greatly improve as coun-ties will now work towards increasing farming activities hence increasing food production,” he said.

Gachagua was addressing residents of Mathira West Sub-county when he visited Ndunduini Primary School to commission Iruri irrigation project.

The governor donated 600 water pipes to the community owned proj-ect during the event.

More than 12,000 households are set to benefit from the project which is expected to cover 15 square kilo-metres.

Gachagua said the county Govern-ment will set aside Shs.11 million so as to boost the project and also con-struct a storage water tank at a cost of Ksh3 million.

Addressing residents during the last Madaraka Day celebrations, Gachagua said his Government was giving special priority to provision of adequate safe and clean water for both domestic consumption and ir-

rigation. He added that the Government

have supplied 118kms of various sizes of water pipes to community water projects throughout the county.

“We have also de-silted and re-habilitated 20 water pans and con-structed 5 water tanks for commu-nity water projects. Similarly we have recently inaugurated 5 water service provider boards to strengthen the governance of our water sector,” noted the governor.

Other initiatives undertaken by the county Government to boost irrigation include plans to tap water from Hohwe dam along Nyeri- Kara-tina road.

Members of Nyeri county assem-bly have already passed a motion to have the water used by the local com-munity for irrigation.

The motion was passed in the as-sembly without any opposition after it was moved by the chairman of the Agriculture committee, John Kibira Ngunyi in March this year. Kibira is also the Kirimukunyu Ward repre-sentative.

Kibira said for a long time several people have lost their lives in the dam and urged the house to explore other ways of utilizing the water from the dam for economic gains.

“I urge the county Government to move with speed and initiate an irrigation scheme by using the dam to help the residents in surrounding area to do horticultural crops,” the chairman told the house during the debate.

He said once the project is imple-mented, it will improve food produc-tion and improve the livelihoods of more than 3,000 households.

“The area has a potential to be-

come a food basket for Mathira and the entire Nyeri County if the water from the killer dam is tapped for ir-rigation, this will go a long way in uplifting their living standard,” he added.

He called on the county Govern-ment to pump more money into ir-rigation projects, by tapping water resources from other dam idle posing danger to the lives of the people, say-ing the move will boost food security.

The project will be undertaken through a close collaboration be-tween the National Irrigation Board which is under the ministry of Agri-culture and the the county Govern-ment.

The dam was rehabilitated by the national Government seven years ago at a cost of Ksh30 million and has been lying idle without any meaningful economic gain to the surrounding community.


The County Government of Ny-eri has assured Nyeri County residents that street lights re-cently installed in the town

during the preparation for the beatifi-cation event of Sr. Irene Stefani will not be switched off.

The assurance was made by Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta during the unveiling of a plaque dedi-cated to the Sister.

Residents had expressed fears that the lights would be switched off after the beatification ceremony of the cath-olic nun.

Uhuru unveiled the plaque after attending the beatification ceremony at Dedan Kimathi University grounds said his Government was ready and willing to work with county Govern-ments to spur growth.

He singled out when his Govern-ment was approached by the County Government of Nyeri to assist in in-staling of the lights.

“When your governor approached us and told us that there was a prob-lem, we intervened and ensured that street lights were installed in the town and assisted in other areas where our help was needed and we shall continue working together,” said the head of state.

The President who was accompanied by his deputy William Ruto, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta among other guests said it was now the responsibility of the county Government to ensure that it foots the electricity bills and guarantee that the lights are not disconnected.

The installation of the lights was fully funded by the national Govern-ment at a tune of Ksh130 million and expectations are high that they will

play a key role in facilitating a 24-hour economy in the county.

Uhuru said his administration was committed to ensuring that every part of the country is connected with elec-tricity.

“When we took over the leadership of the country, only 8,000 schools were connected with electricity. Bu today, as we speak, 18,000 schools are con-nected with power. We want to ensure we keep our promise by ensuring that even the remaining 2000 schools will be connected regardless of their loca-tion,” he said.

He added that the move will enable those neighbouring the schools to ex-tend the power into their homes.

He noted that the Government has lowered the cost of connecting elec-tricity so as to ensure it is affordable and reaches all Kenyans. This he said will enable the youth start businesses such as welding and other jua kali businesses in their localities using the electricity.

He assured the residents that the Government was still committed in implementing the laptop project which his administration pledged dur-ing last election campaigns.

Kenyatta also said that the Gov-ernment has started a programme to ensure that every county in the coun-try has two referral hospitals offering cancer and dialysis treatment among others to enable residents seek special-ized treatment within their counties instead of travelling to Nairobi for such services.

“We want all Kenyans to access qual-ity medical services right in their coun-ties and at a reasonable cost instead of travelling to Nairobi for specialized treatment,” added Kenyatta.

The president termed the convening of the beatification ceremony of the sister in the country as historic and a

great honour to the people of Nyeri County and the country at large and urged residents to stay in peace and emulate Sister Irene’s good deeds.

“We have today witnessed a historic event take place in Nyeri County. The beatification of Sister Irene Stefani is the first in history to be held in Africa and we feel honoured to have the event held in our country,” he declared.

He thanked the Catholic Church for bringing the event, which attracted visitors from all over the world, in the country.

The beatification of Sister Irene Stefani was a plus to the diversity of

tourism products in the County and it is expected that the area will be a destination of choice for pilgrimage tourism.

Catholics from all over the world are expected to be seeking for the interces-sion of blessed Sister Irene following her beatification.

Speaking during the event, Gover-nor Gachagua thanked Uhuru Kenyat-ta’s Government for assisting in the in-stallation of the street lighting and said the county Government had budgeted all its finances and had no more cash left for the setting of the street lights.

He said his administration had en-

tered into an agreement with Kenya Power and Lighting Company – KPLC to ensure that the street lights are maintained.

He said the lights will go a long way in boosting security in the area.

He told the president that the county Government had started value-ad-ding agricultural products produced in Nyeri which include packaging of tea leaves at Iria-ini tea factory and processing of coffee at Othaya Coffee Farmers Cooperative Society process-ing plant and requested the national Government to assist in looking for market for the products.

following the devolution of the irrigation function, i am sure food security will greatly improve as counties will now work towards increasing farming activities hence increasing food production

- governor gachagua

Gachagua lobbies for devolution of irrigation

Street lights to remain

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua.

Preident Uhuru Kenyatta during the launch of street lighting project and showcasing of tourism in Nyeri.


Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT) benefited from Ksh350 million worth of equipment meant to support four engineering programmes in the university.

The four programmes are Mechatronic, Mechanical, Civil, Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

The project was financed through a loan from the Afri-can Development Bank (AfDB) under the facilitation of the ministry of Education, Science and Technology.

Speaking during the insti-tution’s third graduation cere-mony held at the university’s graduation square recently, DeKUT’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ndirangu Kioni said the state of the art equipment was a boost

to the university’s capacity to deliver quality academic pro-grammes.

“Addition of this to previous investments in facilities means that the university is very well equipped for engineering pro-grammes, and it is in very good standing in this Eastern African Region. We are grateful to the government for facilitating this and for successful project im-plementation and to AfDB for

overseeing their support,” said the vice chancellor.

He urged talented and bril-liant young Kenyans to take advantage of the investment and join the university and make good use of the well equipped engineering work-shops and labs to prepare themselves to make an impact in national development.

Prof. Kioni said the univer-sity has also been contracted to train human resource in engineering and applied sci-ences area for universities and educational institutions under an AfDB financed programme. He said the same will cover three Masters programmes which include Geothermal en-ergy Technology.

The programme will pro-vide an opportunity for devel-opment of research capacity and closer relationship with industry with whom the pro-gramme will be implemented, noted the Professor.

He said in that regard, the university won a grant from the United States Agency for Inter-national Development (USAID), for the Geopower Africa so as to conduct research on geother-mal energy in the Rift Valley, a programme that will be im-plemented in partnership with four other universities from Tanzania, Ethiopia and the United States of America.

“The university plans to de-

velop excellence in the research and training on renewable en-ergy. Plans are at an advanced stage to establish a specialized institute for this purpose and this is being done in collabora-tion with a network of local and international partners,” said the Professor.

The learning institution, through Institute of GIS and Re-mote Sensing, also won a grant from USAID to develop a Land Information System which will be piloted for Nyeri County be-fore being rolled out to other counties.

He highlighted another achievement by the university as its selection by the United Nations (UN) to become the Regional Centre of Excellence on Education for Sustainable Development for Central Kenya region.

Prof. Kioni said this also pro-vides yet another opportunity for partnering with the commu-nities in the region in a range of development initiatives with a view of empowering them with knowledge on how to use the re-sources sustainably and to con-serve for posterity.

He announced that univer-sity’s engineering programmes are under review by Engineers Board of Kenya for accredita-tion so that the graduates make the necessary preparations to be registered as Engineers.

“This investment comes at a critical time when Universi-ty’s engineering programmes are under review by Engineers Board of Kenya,” he said.

“I am pleased to report that the board visited the University mid this month in the final leg of the evaluation process. They had been satisfied with our

curriculum and our staff and during the visit they expressed satisfaction with our facilities and the demonstration of our examination processes for the four programmes under consid-eration,” he said.

The professor announced that there are expectations that the board will make an announcement soon once they hold the next board meeting.

The news came as a relief to students who in October last year went on a rampage and destroyed property worth mil-lions claiming that engineering students from DeKUT are not recognized by the Engineering Board of Kenya when they grad-uate.

The institution was char-tered in December 2012 and the number of graduands increased to 1271 from 782 last year.

For the first time, the univer-

sity saw students graduate in Bachelor degree programmes in Food Science and Technol-ogy, Geospatial Information Systems, Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Management, Purchasing and Supplies Man-agement, and in Doctor of Phi-losophy in Food Science.

Also graduating was the first group of students who benefited from the accelerated admission programme introduced by the Education ministry four years ago with the aim of eliminat-ing the waiting period between sitting of Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations and admission to university.

This made the university the first to graduate such students in the country.

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NEWS 5JULY 2015NYERI STAR

Kimathi University Vice Chancellor Prof. Ndirangu Kioni (with yellow gown) and the institution’s Chancellor Shellemiah Keya (second from Kioni) during the third graduation event of DeKUT.

Dedan Kimathi University getsnew engineering laboratory

NEWS6 JULY 2015NYERI STAR

MwANGI SUCCEEDS FARMING ONIONS IN LOwER NYERI

BY PETER MURUMBA

For years now, traders in Nyeri have relied on Meru for unin-terrupted supply of bulb onions, making the retail prices of this vital kitchen ingredient high and unpredictable.

The only area that grows the onion in the region is Kieni area, a drier part of Nyeri where production is still minimal due to a harsh climate and lack of adequate water for irrigation. Most of the farmers in Kieni transport a bulk of their produce to Nyahururu and other areas, which are easier and cheaper to access com-pared to Nyeri.

Farmers in the colder parts of Nyeri argue that the climate and soils in the region are not favorable for the crop. But not Simon Mwangi, a young farmer in the region who has set out to prove that the onion can grow in areas formally thought to be unfavor-able.

Mwangi, who specializes in horticultural farming, has proved the doubting Thomas’s wrong. From his trial farm last year, Mwangi realized encouraging results and decided to venture fully into bulb onion farming.

“I did some research which included visiting the Wambugu Farm Training Institute (located on the outskirts of Nyeri town) where I was guided on how to grow the crop. But I still had some doubts, that’s why I only planted on a 5 by 5 metre trial plot,” says Mwangi.

By October last year, the little trial farm was flourishing and Mwangi made the final decision to plant more onions. But he had no land, it took him three months to get some to lease a few kilo-meters from home.

“I had to wait for the farmer to harvest some maize he had planted before he could lease the half-acre piece of land to me, which would have taken up to mid-February. Luckily, the rains failed and the farmer agreed to hand over the farm by December. I, therefore, embarked on preparing the seedlings which I trans-planted in December,” says the young farmer.

According to agricultural expert Peter Chege, Mwangi’s timing is perfect as bulb onions flourish in optimum temperatures of between15 to30.C, whereas temperature of 20 to 25’C is favour-able for seedling growth.

With proper care and management, a hectare can produce up to 17 tonnes of bulb onions. With a kilo retailing at an average of Ksh50, the farmer is guaranteed up to Ksh400,000 from the quarter acre.

An acre of land is estimated to hold about 20,000 seeds of onion and Mwangi puts the production cost of the half acre at an average of Ksh50, 000.

To plant onions, it’s advisable to start them on a seedbed or nursery measuring 1 metre wide and any desired length, and then apply well prepared manure at a rate of 15kg per square metre.

“It’s also important to mix and apply DAP fertilizer at a rate of 20 grammes per metro square, then make Kshallow furrows 15 cm apart, mix the seeds with dry ash, sand or soil at a ratio of 1:3 to help spread them, then plant the seeds and cover lightly with soil and apply mulches and irrigate,” says Mwangi.

The seeds germinate in around 10 days. The mulching should be removed after germination to allow enough sunlight for the seedlings, which will be ready for transplanting in between 4-6weeks depending on weather and treatments at the seed bed.

The agricultural officer says that it is best to transplant seedlings when they attain a pencil thick base and a height of approximately 15cm, at which time they will have 3 to 5 well-formed leaves.

In extreme weather, a farmer must construct a shade to cover the seedbed. During the dry season, farmers are advised to mod-erately water the crop at least once every week, preferably early in the morning.

Watering them in the heat of the day results to wastage of wa-ter through evaporation while watering them in the evening leads to moisture accumulation on leaves leading to infections.

Fresh manure is not recommended, as it makes the onion thick and leafy at the expense of bulb formation, besides being a source of pests and insects.

Onions are not prone to as many pests and diseases as other crops. Still, there are a few rare ones such as thrips, which is more severe in the dry season, whiteflies and Aphids. Weed-ing is among the best ways of controlling pests and diseases in onions, while crop rotation is also encouraged.

A crop of onions is ready for harvest between 90 to 150 days after sowing. Before then, onions must be left to dry as harvesting them when very moist reduces their shelf life which is around six weeks.

Wananchi Sacco in drive to raise share capital by Ksh100m

BY MT KENYA STAR REPORTER

Governor Nderitu Gachangua has said tea cess fees will now be managed by the local man-agement committees of the

tea buying centres.“Two weeks ago, the county govern-

ment convened a meeting at Wambugu Agricultural Training Institute with 1000 farmers from tea collection cent-res. We agreed to have all the cess funds be channeled to tea factories in Nyeri, instead of being directed to Nairobi, and be distributed and managed by the management committees in tea collec-tion centres,” said the governor.

He said the government was com-mitted to ensuring farmers get value for their produce adding that discus-sions are in progress with tea, coffee, dairy, horticultural farmers and other agriculture stakeholders to strengthen the farmers’ participation towards im-proved earning of their produce.

The governor spoke during the Ma-daraka Day celebrations on June 1. He said another special priority for his government is to provide people with adequate safe and clean water for both irrigation and domestic use adding that they have supplied 118 kilometres of various sizes of water pipes to com-munity water projects throughout the county.

Nyeri County Government is pilot-ing a cashless revenue collection system within Nyeri Town which will later be rolled out to other areas across the county so as to seal all loopholes asso-ciated with cash transactions.

Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua also said the use of Information Com-

munication Technology (ICT) will im-prove service delivery saying his gov-ernment has introduced ICT in revenue collection system and in public service.

Gachagua said the county has an ongoing programme with the Interna-tional Finance Cooperation – IFC and World Bank to automate business sys-tems towards improving business and competiveness in the county.

This he said will improve public ser-vice delivery capacity and increase re-sources to the county.

He said the county government has unsustainably wage bill which is hin-dering speedy growth of the county and urged all county government em-ployees to redouble their efforts in serv-ing residents.

He advised them to align their atti-tudes towards a result oriented service delivery so as to achieve development objective.

“The county government inherited a bloated public service prior to devo-lution. The transfer of human resource from national government to county government was not matched by the available resources. Consequently, we have to be extra innovative in explor-ing ways and means of improving our revenue generation base for quality service delivery to our people,” said the governor.

He said in order to achieve the goals outlined in the County Integrated De-velopment Programme (CIDP), the county service public board has to en-sure the county has the right standards and caliber officers to compliment hu-man resource capacity.

“We must have the right people in the right fields, the right attitude and

morale to help us achieve our devel-opment goals. This is the kind of per-sonnel I wish to have across the entire county right from my executive down to the grassroots,” he said.

On Agriculture, the governor said there is need to improve production and transform agriculture into a com-mercial venture.

This, he said, will be achieved through increasing value addition for products and subsidizing the cost of im-pute for farming so as to help the farmer reduce the cost of production in order to realize good returns.

“We are working closely with our farmers in order to realize this objec-tive. As part of our commitment to this course, late last year, we donated Ksh26 million to Wakulima dairy in Mukur-we-ini to help them in their milk value addition initiative. We plan to offer sim-ilar support to other dairy groups in the county,” he announced.

He said the county government has also facilitated the procurement of 23,000 bags of CAN and 24,206 bags of NPK fertilizer from the National Cereal and Produce Board for farmers’ applica-tion in their farms during the ongoing rains.

The county government, he said, will strengthen its extension programme and will soon be rolling out an e-exten-sion service to cover all farmers in the county.

On tourism, the governor said the county government has signed a mem-orandum of understanding with Ken-yatta International Convention Centre (KICC) so as to market Nyeri as a meet-ing and a conference destination.

Tea cess fees to be paid directly to local factories

WE ARE WoRK-iNG CLoSELY WiTH oUR FARM-ERS iN oRdER To REALizE THiS oBJECTivE. AS pART oF oUR CoMMiTMENT To THiS CoURSE, LATE LAST YEAR, WE doNATEd KSH26 MiLLioN To WAKULiMA dAiRY iN MUKURWE-iNi To HELp THEM iN THEiR MiLK vALUE AddiTioN iNiTiATivE. WE pLAN To oFFER SiMiLAR SUp-poRT To oTHER dAiRY GRoUpS iN THE CoUNTY

BULB ONIONS


Wananchi Sacco has started a shares drive to raise new capital that will

finance diversification and ex-pansion of the current opera-tions.

The shares drive was recently approved by members during the annual general meeting and requires that all members

raise their minimum share cap-ital from 5,000, to 10,000.

Wananchi Sacco Chairman Mr. Geoffrey Wambugu Ka-gondu said the fresh capital is based on the Sacco’s diversifica-tion and expansion plans as per its 2015-2019 strategic plan.

The new share capital will also help the Sacco meet its pru-dential and regulatory require-ments, enable the Sacco reduce reliance on external borrowing

which constantly erodes mem-ber’s dividends and surplus, be invested in automating the Sac-co’s operations, and will give a chance to members to own more shares hence more divi-dend earnings.

“These benefits amongst many others will indeed as-sist our organization as far as business development is con-cerned,” said Mr. Kagondu.

“In view of the current busi-

ness trends we carrying out a shares drive to raise a mini-mum of 1 million shares worth Ksh100 million this year. We therefore request that all stake-holders support this noble initiative to ensure that we en-deavor to make our Sacco to be the most trusted, dependable and self sustaining Sacco in Kenya,” he added.

Wananchi Sacco Chairman Mr. Geoffrey Wambugu Kagondu receives an award for the Best Financial Institution from President Uhuru Kenyatta during last year’ Nyeri Ask Show.

ADVERTISEMENT 7NYERI STARJULY 2015

CHAMPIONS OF MICROINSURANCE

SUPPORTED BY:

AN INITIATIVE TO DEEPEN ACCESS AND UPAKE OF MICROINSURANCE IN RURAL KENYA

Mr. Mwangi was attacked by bees on his farm. Ms. Muthoni was attacked by one of her goats. She dislocated her right hip.

He hospital bill was Ksh25,000. She had bought an insurance cover.

The insurance paid the whole bill.

Buying insurance means you secure your life and assets against losses arising from risks that we face every day like theft, death, accident, natural disaster, fire among others. It means you will no longer get into a cycle of poverty. You avoid starting all over again in case you lose your assets like motorbike, cows, goats, stock for your shop or when you are hospitalized. It means when you get hospitalised, you do not have to sell your cow, goat, car or motorbike or even go to the shylock to raise money for the hospital bill; because the insurance will pay for you. There are various affordable, low cost micro-insurance products available in the market. Some cost as little as Ksh1 (one shilling} per day. Get the correct information from the insurance company nearest to you. Insurance companies are regulated by law under the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA). They, therefore must give you the correct information of the product you are buying. You in turn must respect the requirements to get compensated when a claim arises.

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Supported by:

The hospital bill came to Ksh25,000. He did not have an insurance cover.

His wife sold their only cow to pay the hospital bill.

NEWS8 NYERI STARJULY 2015


Though art has never been fully appreciated in Ny-eri County, Patrick Warui Mbau, a fine artist, still be-

lieves there is high unexploited po-tential as far as the venture is con-cerned and vows to stay put.

Mbau, 36, realized he had the tal-ent early in life and started drawing portraits when he was in standard two at Nyamachaki primary in Ny-eri town.

He started by sketching portraits of movie stars and national figures such as retired President Daniel Arap Moi among others.

Other than drawing portraits of prominent people, he also drew those of his teachers and remem-bers when he was once punished for drawing a teacher’s portrait at the back of an examination paper.

“I remember finishing an exami-nation paper early and got bored. To ward off the boredom, I started

sketching the portrait of the teacher who was seated right in front of the class and when she realized what I was doing, she punished me thor-oughly,” recalls the artist who adds that the teacher also took away the sketch.

When he was not either in class or attending to other chores back home, he kept himself busy draw-ing sketches which became more of a hobby little did he know he could make money from the talent later in life.

Today, he is among the most sought for fine artists and graphic designers in Nyeri County with some of his paintings being exhib-ited abroad in countries like the United Kingdom. He has also won several awards in various exhibi-tions that he has attended and par-ticipated.

“I painted my first two paintings while in secondary school with one being of a Samburu Warrior in tra-ditional attire and the second was of yaks. Yaks are cow like animals found in Himalaya region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau, and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. It was all about the defense mechanisms applied by the ani-mal whenever attacked by wolves, which painting I still keep and cherishes,” he explains.

Mbau on mission to market fine art

Mbau the artist.

Some of Mbau’s paintings.

Former mechanics opts to farm oranges


Kieni sub-county in Nyeri County is famous for the production of on-ions, potatoes and beans

among other horticultural crops. But Samuel Thiriku Mwangi has made a name for himself as one of the few producers of oranges in Ewaso Nyiro sub-location, Mwiyogo location.

Thiriku has put a quarter acre of his 2.8 acre land under oranges. During peak season, which is between March and Au-gust, he harvests about eight tons of oranges and three tons during the low production season. This brings his total harvest yearly to about 11 tones.

He sells a kilo of the seedless fruits at Ksh30 which is his farm gate price.

“I make more than Ksh330,000 from oranges alone every year which translates to a monthly earning of about 27,500 and that is why I do not regret quitting my former job as a me-chanic and turning to farming,” he says.

Thiriku, 44, trained as a me-chanic for two years after com-pleting form four but quit the job after working for a year as his interest was in farming.

He got himself a job as a casual labourer in a farm belonging to a prominent area farmer where he took a keen interest in learning more about horticulture farm-ing.

“I got the orange farming idea from the old man who had em-ployed me in his farm. I worked in his orange plantation as a ca-sual labourer and that is where I

developed an interest in orange farming,” says Thiriku.

“I grew up seeing this man growing oranges and getting good returns and thought it was an investment worth trying,” he continues.

Currently, he has over one hundred grafted citrus orange trees, a venture he has been into for the last eight years.

His trees started producing fruits one year after planting and the farmer have been harvesting them for the eight years.

Thiriku started his farming venture by planting onions using the money he had saved from his casual job as a farm labourer.

He earned Ksh24,000 from his first onions crop back in 1994 which gave him the impetus to move forward in the farming en-

terprise.Initially, when he was planting

the oranges, he was targeting to sell the produce to the local com-munity but little did he know that his crop would have at-tracted buyers from big markets within the county such as Kara-tina, Mukurwe-ini, Othaya, and Nyeri town markets as well as those in neighbouring counties such as Murang’a, Nyandarua and Laikipia among others.

He manages to draw water from Mwiyogo River about one kilometer away which he pumps into his farm using a hydrum machine. He initiated the irri-gation project using what he earns from his farming projects. This water pumping project cost him Ksh200,000 back in 2008. He uses the water for irrigation which ensures that he grows food and cash crops throughout the year.

“I also constructed a reservoir that can hold one million litres of water and bought a tank where I store harvested rain water which is used both for domestic use and irrigation,” he says.

He pumps water from the res-ervoir into the tank so as to build pressure before channeling it into his farm. He pumps the wa-ter using a pump which he also bought from his farming busi-ness at a cost of Ksh30, 000.

Today, he does not rely on rain alone but also practices irri-gation which has greatly helped

in maximizing his earnings. He is now able to water his orange bushes twice every year during the dry spells.

Kieni is a dry area which expe-riences rain shortage but has very good soils with high water reten-tion capacity. Farmers say this makes it possible for them to ir-rigate their food crops only once in a week during dry periods.

Other than starting an irri-gation project, he also bought a pickup which he uses to trans-port farm inputs like manure to his farm and taking farm pro-duce to the market.

The father of three also uses the proceeds to educate his chil-dren one in secondary school and the other two in primary school.

He says the demand for oranges in the area is high than supply as many farmers have not ventured in their farming and calls upon them to try out fruit farming.

“They do not need to start with a hundred trees like me but they can start by planting as lit-tle as ten trees per year and by the tenth year, one will have at-tained the 100 trees. A single tree cost only Ksh100,” he advises.

He says unlike other cash crops grown in the area such as onions and potatoes, no brokers are involved during the selling of the fruits enabling a farmer to reap maximum profits from their sweat. There are also no

transport expenses involved as buyers come for them right at the farm and pay cash.

Another advantage is that oranges are perennial and not annual crops. Annual plants last for one growing season and then die and have to be replaced while perennial are permanent and produce in every season. Orange trees can also resist drought until it rains.

To improve his farming skills, Thiriku has gone for several farmers’ training seminars and workshops where he was trained on farm production and man-agement. Among the institu-tions that he has visited for such training include Wambugu Agri-cultural Training Centre and Ol Joro Orok Agricultural Training Centre where he was sponsored by Farm Concern International courtesy of the ministry of Agri-culture.

The enterprise is also cost ef-fective as it requires little spray-ing. He sprays only 40 litres after every 21 days, the tree branches can be used as firewood after pruning while the leaves are used for mulching.

His future plans are to turn the farm into an orchard and grow various types of fruits. Currently, he is trying his hand in growing of tree tomatoes, bananas, and passion fruits.

He also intends to grow mac-adamia which is currently fetch-ing good money in the market.

i make more than Ksh330,000 from or-anges alone every year which translates to a monthly earning of about 27,500 and that is why i do not regret quit-ting my former job as a mechanic and turning to farmingSamuel Thuita Mwangi harvests oranges at his farm.

BY CATHERINE MURIGI

Nyeri County Govern-ment has come out to give an explanation on the cause of con-

gestion at Nyeri Referral Hospi-tal that has seen patients share beds.

In a press statement signed by the County Executive Member for Health Dr. Charles Githinji, the Government said the hos-pital is the only functioning Level 5 hospital in the whole of central province and the larger Mt. Kenya region and thus has been receiving referrals from ten other counties.

Other than receiving refer-rals from all the five counties in former Central Province which included Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Nyandarua and some hospitals within Nyeri County, the hospital also receives pa-tients referred from counties like Laikipia, Embu, Meru, Isi-olo, Samburu and Nairobi.

The county executive mem-ber said, “This is in addition to down referrals from Kenyatta National Hospital for cancer pa-tients.”

He stated that though the hospital has 17 wards with a capacity of 378 beds and a ma-ternity ward, the only ward that has been experiencing conges-tion is ward seven, an orthopae-dic ward which has a capacity of 20 beds.

“It has patients who have

suffered fractures mainly from road traffic accidents and nor-mally requires a long stay in hospital. The congestion is fur-ther complicated by the fact that a number of them have already been discharged and have refused to go home citing inability to settle the hospital bill,” said Dr. Githinji.

Githinji was reacting to me-dia reports that congestion was being experienced in the hos-pital with up to three patient’s sharing a bed while others were sleeping on the floor.

He said the county Govern-ment was planning to set up 40 bed modern orthopaedic ward, fully equipped with specialized orthopaedic beds in the coming six months and an adjoining or-thopaedic theatre to handle sur-geries. This he said will address the problem being experienced in the ward.

However, the county minister said the county was taking im-mediate measures to address the problem by transferring some patients sharing beds to other available spaces in the neigh-bouring Mt. Kenya hospital.

Speaking when he toured Karatina District Hospital re-cently, Nyeri governor Nderitu Gachagua decried the little funding the hospital was receiv-ing from the national Govern-ment expressing fears that the future of the level five hospital may be uncertain if the trend continues.

He said counties that host such hospitals should be al-located more funds to ensure they offer efficient services to patients.

He said though the hos-pital requires an annual budget of Shs.500 million, only Shs.118 million was al-located last year which is too little.

“The hospital is financed through revenue collected locally which has affected other development projects. MPs from Central Kenya ought to lobby for more funds to counties like Nyeri because it is their constituents who seek health services from the hospital,” noted the gover-nor.

According to the governor, the county is currently spend-ing Ksh320 million per year in the supply of drugs, surgical, dressings and laboratory sub-stances to ensure health care facilities are well equipped and stocked.

“We continue to give special priorities to promotive and pre-ventive health care. Towards this end, we have trained 2,510 Community Health Workers (CHW) to strengthen our “Afya Mashinani” programme. As part of strengthening the capac-ity of our grass root health care facilities, we have recently in-stalled a general purpose X-Ray Unit at Naromoru, supplied a mobile X-Ray Unit at Warazo

and fully equipped and stocked 7 additional dispensaries to en-sure that all our 75 dispensaries are well equipped and stocked to render quality health care to all in the County,” stated the governor.

Early this year, the governor commissioned a Renal and Di-alysis Unit at the Referral Hos-pital.

The unit comprises 10 dialy-sis machines, a water treatment plant capable of supporting 15 dialysis machines, a dedicated Renal Laboratory and 3 dialysis chairs.

“This is the only renal health facility in Central Kenya of its kind and offers highly subsi-dized services at Ksh5,500 per dialysis session and Shs.3,000 for those with NHIF cards, com-pared to Ksh10,000 payable to private hospitals in Nairobi and its environs,” he noted.

NEWS 9NYERI STARJULY 2015

Mt. Kenya counties cause congestion at Nyeri Level 5

County Executive Committee Member for Health Dr. Charles Githinji.

KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini addressing golfers at Nyeri Golf Club in Nyeri Town.

KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY

KRA improves tax collection as Njiraini urges use of iTax

BY CATHERINE MURIGI

Kenya Revenue Author-ity (KRA) improved the Kenya’s country’s paying taxes index by

40 places, from position146 to 102 last year according to KRA Commissioner General, John Njiraini.

Njiraini said that was the ‘single most important im-provement’ in the country’s doing business indicators. He was speaking at Nyeri Golf Club in Nyeri Town after a Golf tournament sponsored by Space and Style and KRA.

The global index is de-veloped by the World Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on doing business.

Space and Style Ltd is a Ken-yan company that has been in operation since 2002. It sup-plies building products among them Decra Roofing Tiles.

Njiraini said the achieve-ment was due to the reforms being undertaken and partly because of the launch of the electronic tax collection.

“We expect that this year, there is going to be an even greater improvement in the country’s ranking when they release the result for the pre-vious year in November. The goal of KRA is to help push Kenya to become a serious competitor for global invest-ment and be able to outper-form our greatest challengers in this region like Mauritius, Rwanda and South Africa who are ahead of us,” he said.

He noted that following the launch of iTax, using it effec-tively and improving it, the goal would be reached very soon. He said KRA will con-tinue improving iTax and en-couraged taxpayers to embrace the product and also let KRA know what their experiences are so that they can use them to improve the services.

KRA had sponsored the tournament with a view to promote the new electronic tax management platform, iTax. He asked residents to register and get details about the product so that they can continue using it in filing their returns.

“It is a game changer in terms of the way we manage tax services and avoid the problems of confusion, frustra-tions that tax payers have had, long queues and unfriendly faces among others.

Am sure particularly as we approach the final day of filing your income tax which is the 30th of June, there is usually a lot of anxiety because of the experiences that people have had before like those terrible queues that stretch for miles literally and a lot of inconve-niences,” he said.

“We have invested a lot of time, effort and money in de-veloping this product which we have been doing since 2011 and launched it last year and are still improving it. But so far the responses we have gotten from users are very high, rat-ing consistently in the range of 80 percent from good to ex-cellent which I think is a good achievement considering the short period of time since we launched it,” he continued.

The new tax administration system is meant to offer effi-cient and effective taxpayer service delivery and the au-thority has been advising all to file their returns through the online platform.

The taxman no longer ac-cepts any manual tax returns as of the 1st March, 2014, prompting all taxpayers to use iTax for filling their returns.

iTax replaced the old Inte-grated Tax Management Sys-tem (ITMS) and the Taxpayer Software (TSW) used for VAT returns.

The hospital is the only functioning Level 5 hospital in the whole of central province and the larger Mt. Kenya region and thus has been receiving referrals from ten other counties.

AGRIBUSINESS10 NYERI STARJULY 2015

Trays replace nurseries in seeds germination

BY CATHERINE MURIGI

The use of seed germination trays has been gaining momentum in Kenya since their introduction in the country a couple of years ago.

The tray’s creation and introduction has made it the most revolutionary invention for germinating seeds.

Their increased use, due to their many ad-vantages, is likely to bring the traditional nurs-ery seedbed into disuse.

Experts claim the trays are much better than ordinary nursery seedbeds which have been widely known and used by many farmers worldwide and there are indications that the use of the trays may overtake the field beds.

“The trays first found their way into the country around 2012. Big commercial farming companies have been using them since. How-ever, small scale farmers started accessing them in mid-2013 to the end of 2013 and the re-sponse is encouraging as many are embracing their use,” says a senior agronomist with Aneck Enterprises, Fred Munene.

Though various major companies including Aneck Enterprises have introduced the trays in the market, the agronomist says they are yet to reach local agro vet shops making it difficult for local farmers to easily acquire them.

The germination tray also known as the ger-mination pellet is made of plastic. The trays are long lasting and reusable, enabling a farmer to use them over and over again and come in dif-ferent sizes depending on the farmer’s ability and preference. Different sizes can hold differ-

ent number of seedlings with the biggest hold-ing 288 seedlings.

The trays have holes where the seeds are placed so as to germinate. The root stock grows to an optimum size in the seedling trays.

Other than using soil as a plant support me-dia, the trays can also use other media such as coco peat which is a bi-product of coconut tree products which included the shell, leaves and the back among others.

“One advantage of using treated coco peat for nursery preparation is that the fibre is an-ti-diseases. And since the bi-products have no nutrients that plants can feed on, they are mixed with fertilizers to ensure the plants get enough nutrients required for germination and growth,” says Munene.

Coco peat is a natural fibre made out of coco-nut husks and dried in natural sun making it a good growing medium

The properties of Coco peat makes it resis-tant to bacterial and fungal growth. As such, the fibre has no micro –organisms know to consume fertilizers like in the case of soil and so the plant does not compete for the available nutrients.

“The trays are also portable making it easy for a farmer to ensure the plants are secure un-like the traditional nursery seedbeds, perma-nently prepared along river banks some metres from the farmer’s house. A farmer can easily move the seedlings on a tray to a safer place,” he says.

This prevents theft of seedlings while in nursery or even damage by animals or people. They also guarantee high germination rate for

seeds as a farmer can easily give extra attention to many seedlings in a germination tray which can be done with less time and effort while only a small space, possibly away from the field set aside for transplanting of the seedling, is used.

Seeds growing in trays also do not need a lot of water like those in nursery seedbeds while the plant can easily be transferred with the coco peat or soil during transplanting thus continuing to use nutrients remaining in the support media until they can be in a position to extract nutrients from the soil.

This also reduces wilting by a larger extent as witnessed in many plants soon after trans-planting.

Munene, however, says, those who cannot access coco peat can still use soil.

Unlike in field seedbeds, only a small amount of water is used in the trays as the plas-tic minimizes water loss through absorption.

“They raise germinations percent, are hy-gienic and free from weeds, retain moisture and are easy to maintain and handle while a farmer can monitor and see immediately when the seed germinate,” he continues.

Manufacturing of coco peat and the trays are yet to start locally and are for the time being imported from Israel and Netherlands.

“One tray goes for Ksh200 locally while a block of coco peat is sold at a retail price of Ksh200 each. A block of coco peat weighing 5 kilos can be used to fill about 25 trays,” ex-plains Munene.

Seed germination trays on display.

GOVERNOR’S SPEECH 11NYERI STARJULY 2015

On course to delivering development targetsSummary of the speech by His Excellency Hon. Nderitu Gachagua, Governor, Nyeri County during the 52nd Madaraka Day celebrations

Agriculture

As part of our commitment to in-crease production and productivity and transform agriculture into a com-mercial this course, late last year we donated Ksh26 million to Wakulima Dairy in Mukurwe-ini to help them in their milk value addition initiative. We plan similar support for other dairy groups in the County.

We have also facilitated the pro-curement of 23,000 bags of CAN and 24,206 bags of NPK fertilizer from the National Cereals and produce Board for our farmers for application in their farms during the ongoing rains. We plan to strengthen our extension pro-gram and we shall soon be rolling out an e-extension service to cover our farmers in the whole County.

Cashless revenue collection and the fight against corruption

I urge all Nyeri residents to jeal-ously protect and guard our revenue resources from those who may be in-clined to misuse or misappropriate it. Revenue belongs to us all, to be applied for our common good. We are piloting a cashless revenue collection system within Nyeri town and will soon roll it out across the County to seal any possible loopholes associated with cash transactions.

The County Government has an unsustainably high wage bill while the level of service delivery is not matched by this high expenditure. In this re-gard, am appealing to all Government employees in this County to redouble their efforts in serving the Wananchi of this County.

Infrastructure

We have cumulatively graded 700 kilometers of road, graveled 300 kilo-

meters of roads, and constructed 17 foot bridges to ease the movement of people and goods within the County. Additionally we have bought our own road construction machinery to reduce the cost of road construction as well as strengthen our capacity for repair and maintenance of our roads.

Women and youth tenders

We are encouraging our women and youth to come forward and tender for road construction works as well as for general procurement of goods and ser-vices by the County Government to reduce the level of unemployment and improve the income base of our people. We are even keen to introduce those who win tenders to commercial banks for credit to specifically tender awarded projects by the County Government.

Housing

The County Government has bought 3 interlocking block making machines and trained 70 technicians in an effort to bring down the cost of building and increase the capacity of decent housing for our people.

County Land Management Board

We have recently established a County Land Management Board to expedite the administration of land matters in the County.

Electricity

Nyeri is reported to be one of the Counties with the highest domestic power connections in the Country, with a total coverage of 35% of house-holds connected with electricity in the County. We want to further build on this and make power for both domes-tic and industrial use easily available to all in the County. As we appeal to all our people to take advantage of the

reduced rates for connection of power as recently announced by the Presi-dent, we aim to upscale our efforts in the supply of power in the County. So far, we have cumulatively done 32km of street lightining, 31 Mulika Mwizi power masts, while 6 are under con-struction, and installed 6 community rural transformers; all geared towards enhanced power supply to improve se-curity and make our County a 24 hour economy.

Health

All those who visit our health facil-ities will bear me testimony that we have made remarkable achievements in our health care delivery systems. We are currently spending Ksh320million per year in the supply of drugs, surgi-cal, dressings and laboratory reagents to ensure our health care facilities are well equipped and stocked to render quality health care services.

We have trained 2,510 Community Health Workers (CHW) to strengthen our “Afya Mashinani” programme. We have recently installed a general purpose X-Ray Unit at Naromoru, sup-plied a mobile X-Ray Unit at Warazo and fully equipped and stocked 7 ad-ditional dispensaries to ensure that all our 75 dispensaries are well equipped and stocked to render quality health care to all in the County.

On 17th March 2015, I commis-sioned a Comprehensive Renal and Dialysis Unit at our County Referral Hospital. This Unit comprises 10 dial-ysis machines, a water treatment plant capable of supporting 15 dialysis ma-chines, a dedicated Renal Laboratory and 3 dialysis chairs. This is the only renal healthy facility in Central Kenya of its kind and offers highly subsidized services at Ksh5,500 per dialysis ses-sion and Ksh3,000 for those with NHIF cards, compared to Ksh10,000 payable

to private hospitals in Nairobi and its environs. This is a clear indication to our steadfast commitment to contin-ued advancement of our healthcare delivery capacity.

Water

We have supplied 118kms of vari-ous sizes of water pipes to community water projects throughout the County. We have also desilted and rehabilitated 20 water pans and constructed 5 water tanks for community water projects. Similarly we have recently inaugu-rated 5 water service provider boards to strengthen the governance of our water sector. In respect to sanitation and environment, we have developed a programme for the beautification of our towns and greening of our County to be rolled out throughout the County.

Cheap credit

The County Government has facili-tated the small businesses with access to inexpensive credit of Ksh16 million this financial year. We are in the pro-cess of facilitating an additional Ksh20 million in the coming financial year.

Tourism

We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kenyatta Interna-tional Convention Centre (KICC) to market Nyeri as a meeting and confer-ence destination. Discussions are at an advanced stage to establish marketing partnership with Kenya Tourism Board (KTB).

Education

This financial year, we developed learning materials for 300 ECDE cen-ters in the county, repaired 5 ECDE centers and built toilets for 2 centers. On village polytechnics, we supplied tools and equipment to 143 Youth

Polytechnics, started income generat-ing projects in 8 youth polytechnics and supplied 25 computers to support 25 Youth Polytechnics.

We have supplied sanitary towels to 3950 needy girls, attended to 187 disasters with 7,685 beneficiaries, and helped in pyscho-social counseling and direct financial support to the families of the victims or those directly affected by the recent terrorist attacks in Mandera and Garrissa from our County. We also have a programme for empowerment of widows in entre-preneurship and a medical cover for 900 elderly people and persons with disabilities in the County.

Beatification of Blessed Sr. Irene Stefani “Nyaatha”

Nyeri town and its environs; Kara-tina town and Gikondi. On a very spe-cial note, I wish to appreciate the ex-ceptional role of the Catholic Church, all Christians and the People of Nyeri for the incredible spirit of hospitality with which they welcomed and hosted the multitudes of people who visited our County on that grand occasion.

County Assembly

On a very special note, we convey our sincere gratitude to the County Assembly of Nyeri for not only dealing expeditiously with draft bills emanat-ing from the County Executive but, indeed, for their wholesome support to our work. We have lined up a number of draft bills such as the Education and Training Bill, the Enterprise Develop-ment Bill, the Co-operative Develop-ment Bill, the Coffee Bill, the Tea Cess Bill and others, which we shall shortly be taking to the Assembly. All this pro-posed legislation is geared to improv-ing the state of welfare and develop-ment of our people.

Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua in one of the engagements with the public.

NYERI | JULY 2015

0 7 9 2 3 8 2 3 4 9 2 1 0 >

for the good of MUrang’a peopleMT. KENYA STAR

MURANG’A | JULY, 2015 ISSUE 012 PRICE: KSh40

CONTINUED ON PG 2

wATER DISPUTE

Murang’a rivers to dry over Nairobi water supply deal

ON OTHER PAGES

Women worst affected by climate change

PAGE 06PAGE 11 BACK PAGE

Murata Sacco opensnew branch at Kenol

CONT. ON PG 3 >>

STORY ON PAGE 2 >>

President Uhuru Kenyatta, First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto with politician and businessman Kenneth Matiba at the State House, Nairobi. The President has taken keen interest in Matiba’s recovery process.

Tea farmers caught up in war with KTDA

Teachers get medical help to stop addiction

PAGE 04 PAGE 04

NEW BRANCH AT KENOL

Kihiu Mwiri title deeds to be issued in September

Murang’a Farmers

Coop Union under probe


Murata Sacco has opened a new branch at Kenol town as it seeks to increase its branch network within Murang’a county before a planned expansion

into Nairobi.The CEO of Murata Sacco James Kimani Mbui

said the new branch at Kenol is meant to bring ser-vices closer to the Sacco’s customers.

Mr Mbui told the Sacco’s business partners dur-ing a meeting at Kenol that they should invest more in financial institutions that are locally owned be-cause they understand their financial needs better and this will also help to grow the local economy.

“We are a financial friend. We are a communi-ty-based financial institution and that is why we want to be a closer as possible to our customers,” he said.

“The benefit of investing in a Sacco like Murata is that you will get dividends at the end of the year He said the Sacco has improved its customer ser-vice, with the guiding principle being; “My Cus-tomer. My Guest.”

NEWS2 JULY 2015MURANG’A STAR

BY MT KENYA STAR TEAM

Three rivers in Murang’a that serve a huge population will dry soon if a project by the Central Government to pipe

water from Murang’a to Nairobi is im-plemented under the current design.

The rivers that may dry are Irati, Maragua and Gikigie because of a Ksh6.8 billion project to supply water to Nairobi.

Part of water from these rivers is be-ing proposed to be fed into a pipeline that will eventually deliver to Ndakaini Dam, then Nairobi, but a new report by the County Government of Mu-rang’a says the project must stop be-cause the design is faulty.

The report found that the project will lead to the drying of the three riv-ers, affecting access of water to more than 30 percent of Murang’a County residents, causing stoppage of irriga-tion projects and mini-hydro electric-ity projects.

The report was commissioned by The Murang’a Leaders Forum conven-ing at Golden Palm Hotel, Makuyu on January 21st 2015. It is entitled; “The Report of the Technical Committee on Northern Collector Tunnel Project”, re-leased in April 2015.

“The project will result to signifi-cant reduction in downstream flows in the three rivers and unacceptable negative impacts downstream of the intakes. It will have long-term impacts 336,877 people in Murang’a who use rivers Irati, Maragua and Gikigie,” the report notes.

The report says the project activi-ties are in violation of established law, risks loss of public funds, and that the project developers have handled it in a casual manner.

The project is expected to divert more than 97 percent of the river flow during 90 percent of the year meaning abstraction as currently designed will result to 60 percent or approximately 216 days every year with zero

The project in question is the con-struction of Murang’a-Nairobi water pipeline, technically known as the Northern Collector Tunnel (NCT), aimed at supplying Nairobi residents an additional 140,000 cubic metres of water per day.

It is designed to transport 140,000 cubic meters of water per day during 90 percent of the year from Maragua, Irati and Gikigie rivers into Ndakaini Dam and eventually to Nairobi.

Current water supply shortfall in Nairobi of about 200,000 cubic metres per day has forced distributors such as the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company to ration water in several city estates.

The project is being implemented by Athi Water Service Board (AWSB) with support from the World Bank, Af-rica Development Bank and KfW Ger-many at a cost of Ksh6.8 billion.

The project will transfer raw water through approximately 11.8km from

intakes at the Maragua, Gikigie and Irati Rivers to an outlet at the Githika River near Makomboki trading centre with a pipe of three meters diameter. The project is part Government’s Wa-ter Master Plan of 2012-2035 to be im-plemented by the Board in five phases.

The Muranga’s County government has demanded that the project must be stooped and that it must be in-volved its redesign to ensure that the long term interests of the residents are taken into consideration.

The project has faced opposition from some Murang’a leaders including Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, County Assembly Speaker Leonard Nduati Kariuki and Murang’a Senator Kembi Gitura.

During a public forum held in Janu-ary this year, Governor Wa Iria said the Northern Water Collector Tunnel has to be accessible to all people of Mu-rang’a County and a proper framework has to be laid out especially on benefit sharing to promote sustainable reve-nue collection and accessibility.

Senator, Kembi Gitura accused AWSB of failing to conduct public awareness on the project and address fears that the tunnel might affect flow of rivers from which it is meant to draw water in the county. He said proj-ect begins, there must be conclusive environmental evidence that it will not affect normal flow of the three riv-ers, Gatie, Maragua and Gikigie from which it is meant to draw their water.

Women Representative, Murang’a County, Sabina Chege wanted to know why AWSB was tapping water up-stream of the Aberdare Forest. To this, Athi Water replied that it was in order to minimize pumping costs and have a direct line to Thika Dam-Ndakaini Dam.

The Murang’a County Assembly had previously suspended the project, with MCAs calling for fresh talks and binding agreements with AWSB be-fore implementation. During a previ-ous stormy session, MCAs termed the project “secretive” arguing that both the County government and the As-sembly lacked adequate information on how it will be executed.

The Murang’a Leaders Forum con-vening in Golden Palm Hotel, Ma-kuyu on January 21st 2015 noted that the project exerts considerable pres-sures on water resources and proba-bly disadvantages Murang’a County. The forum resolved to appoint an Independent Technical Committee to examine pertinent issues arising.

This resulted in the report in ques-tion which found that AWSB lied to the public that only flood water will be tapped rendering the consulta-tions process misleading.

Other findings which will affect the start of the project include the fact that Athi Water Services Board awarded contract for construction work in

September 2014, yet the National Environmental Management Author-ity (NEMA) license was granted in February 2015.

“Conditions set out in the license have not been achieved to the best of Information available to Commit-

tee. Application for water abstraction permit is still under process as at April 2015. This action goes against the provision under Section 42(1) of Envi-ronmental Management and Coordi-nation Act and Water Act 27(1),” notes the report.

The report found out that only 8600 cubic meters of water per day out of

267,800 cubic meters per day normal flow will remain in the river to cater for 162,543 cubic meters per day of water demand in the Maragua catch-ment.

“This will result in serious shortages and possible users’ conflicts in Mu-rang’a.” The report adds that existing and planned irrigation schemes will be unfeasible.

“The annual loss to Murang’a County in foregone irrigation is estimated at Ksh2.3 billion. Intakes to Murang’a Town, Kandara Water Supply will not have sufficient water. Affected areas and centres include Maragwa Town, Murang’a Town, Kangema, Kahuro, Kangare, Gacharage, Ichichi, Kaharati , Kenol/Makuyu,” the report adds.

The project will further lead to loss of up to 14 MW electricity project in-stalled in Wanjii and Mesco HEP sta-tions, in addition will render on-going projects for example Ikumbi minihy-dro unfeasible.

The report recommends that the water supply master plan has com-pletely overlooked water needs for Muranga County and other permitted users. It notes that the continuing northwards encroachment of rivers in Murang’a for water supply to Nairobi is not sustainable.

“Both present and future abstrac-tions will critically alter the environ-ment and rivers’ flow to the detriment of welfare of Murang’a County. Pro-posed sources in Muranga may last only for the next 15 years up to 2030 while the population in Nairobi and Muranga continue to grow. Strategic intervention is required to avert other-wise inevitable future crisis.”

Murang’a rivers to dry over Nairobi water supply deal

PROJECT TUNNEL II

PROJECT TUNNEL I

Existing and proposed Mini-Hydros that will be affected by the project

The project has faced opposition from some Murang’a leaders including Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, County Assembly Speaker Leonard Nduati Kariuki and Murang’a Senator Kembi Gitura.

NAME OF APPLICANT SOURCE OF WATER

KENGEN (Maragua Mesco) Maragua river

KENGEN (Maragua Furrow B) Maragua Furrow B (River)

KENGEN (Maragua Furrow A) Maragua Furrow A (River)

KENGEN (Wanji Power Station - Maragua Intake) Maragua river

Francis ndung’u Nyanjui Maragua

Asa Karanja Solomon Maragua

Murang’a School for the Deaf Maragua

Murang’a School for the Deaf Maragua river

Ikumbi Tea factory Comoany Limited Maragua river

AFFECTED IRRIGATION SCHEMSKamiraha IkundiKamakia KamuiruMilichu MiriraKiamboka GikinduGakaki KanyenyainiKiangage KiangumiGaitega Kaharati

Murata Sacco opensnew branch at Kenol

NEWSJULY 2015MURANG’A STAR 3

The Sacco announced that it has started investments in information communi-cation technology and that soon, it will introduce ATM services, Mobile Banking, and cheque books. The Sacco will also in-troduce Internet banking early next year.

The Sacco’s next branch will be opened in Nairobi to take care of the huge number of customers that are based there, officials announced.

The Sacco has also diversified to insur-ance. Mr Mbui urged members to take in-surance seriously as it enables them to se-cure their lives and property against risks like illness, accidents, and theft among others.

The Sacco announced that its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will continue to focus on agriculture and education.

“Under our CSR, we are for example working with the County Government of Murang’a to empower dairy farmers. We are soon meeting interested bulk buyers of fish and rabbits who are interested in investing in Murang’a,” said Mbui.

He added that the Sacco will continue participating in supporting education ini-tiatives, by sponsoring prize giving events to reward best performing students, men-toring students and offering internships to graduate students.

The Sacco will soon embark on a brand audit that will lead to its rebranding. It announced the formation of a new subsid-iary, Ventures Vision Limited, a land buy-ing and selling company that is meant to assist members acquire land easily.

Some of the Board Members of MURATA SACCO.

Members of staff of MURATA SACCO.

<< CONT. FROM PG 1

THE SACCo HAS ALSo divERSiFiEd To iNSURANCE. MR MBUi URGEd MEMBERS To TAKE iNSURANCE SERioUSLY AS iT ENABLES THEM To SECURE THEiR LivES ANd pRopERTY AGAiNST RiSKS LiKE iLLNESS, ACCidENTS, ANd THEFT AMoNG oTHERS.

BY ROSE WAMBUI

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has embarked on a pro-gramme to assist alcoholic and drugs addicted teachers to get

medical help in a bid to improve their service delivery.

TSC is in the process of collecting data on the number of teachers suffering from alcoholism in the county.

Those found with severe alcoholism will be referred to the Wellness Depart-ment under the commission which of-fers subsidized rehabilitation services in collaboration with partners.

According to Murang’a County TSC Director Ibrahim Adan, TSC will also partner with Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) to assist teachers with severe cases of alcoholism and depres-sion who will be found to be having over committed salaries and cannot afford rehabilitation.

“KNUT officials have pledged to sup-port us by conducting fundraising to

raise funds for rehabilitation of alcoholic teachers who are unable to pay for them-selves,” Adan said.

The county director said counselors will first meet the victims together with their spouses who will be guided through supporting their partners through the treatment.

Adan noted that the exercise will help reduce cases of suicides being reported among teachers and improve their aca-demic productivity.

He said most of the victims are chronic absentees which affect academic results in the county.

Adan said that TSC has taken Mu-rang’a County as a case study in its bid to assist teachers to access health services.

He said the commission has even succeeded in re-uniting several homes which had broken up due to extreme alcoholism.

“TSC has to balance between the chil-dren’s right to learn and the teachers’ social well-being because they are also human,” said Adan.

He added that the commission is seek-ing sponsors to support affected teachers through the rehabilitation process and that victims will be given a 3 months leave to complete the program.

He further added that most teachers fall into alcoholism after over commit-ting their salaries and urged them to take loans only when investing in businesses.

“The moment teachers overdraw their salaries, they become frustrated and re-sort to taking liquor,” he said.

Adan also noted that most of the teachers suffering from alcoholism also suffer from HIV but added that the com-mission will establish the exact number

to ensure they work in favorable condi-tions.

The director pointed out that TSC is also working together with Kenya Net-work of HIV Positive Teachers (KENEP-OTE) to issue affected teachers with books and videos on ways of managing the disease.

Adan’s search for partners, however, bore fruit when Summit Health Ltd agreed to partner with the TSC to orga-nize a 5 days free medical camp for teach-ers in Murang’a county in May this year.

Teachers were screened for signs of alcoholism with doctors recommending treatment for those found with the dis-order.

About 5,000 teachers also accessed medical checkups for other lifestyle diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, HIV, and obesity.

“I have been frantically looking for partners to assist alcoholic teachers and now my prayers have been answered,” said the joyous Adan during the free medical camp held at Murang’a Technol-ogy primary school.

TSC Associate Counselor Magdalene Mwele said the commission has discov-ered that the rate of alcoholism among teachers is on the rise

She said a survey conducted by the commission showed that 67 percent of teachers abuse alcohol in the country which affects their productivity and con-sequently, the academic performance of learners.

Mwele said TSC has therefore estab-lished a policy that will make it possible for alcoholic teachers to access medical help without losing their jobs.

“The commission has come up with a Wellness division that concentrates on the welfare of teachers to make them more productive.

She urged affected teachers come out and seek help from the commission rather than wait for disciplinary mea-sures to be taken against them due ne-glect of duty and absenteeism.

Mwele said it is alarming that 73 per-cent of teachers in the central region suf-fer from alcoholism saying the region is leading countrywide followed by the Rift Valley region with 70 percent while the Coast region takes the third position with 69 percent.

She appealed to the government to es-tablish rehabilitation centers in all level 5 hospitals in the country to provide sub-sidized rehabilitation services saying the high prices hampers the commission’s efforts to facilitate needy teachers.

Mwele pointed out that TSC has been sending an average of six teachers to re-habilitation every month but that more teachers are shying away from seeking help for fear of stigma.



Tea farmers from Murang’a County want tea factories to increase and standardize prices for their produce.

The farmers have said the annual bonus prices hurt them as they cannot access credit services from financial institutions.

The tea farmers from Kanyenya-ini Tea Factory in Kangema have termed it unfair for the factories to ask them to agree to be paid according to the prices in the international markets which are always fluctuating saying consistency is needed to be able to lead nor-mal lives.

The farmers also want the tea factories to allow them to sell part of their produce to pri-vate tea factories which buy at higher prices and also minimize wastage as they buy more than the two leaves and a bud required by Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA).

They demanded to be allowed by the fac-tory to seek extra markets saying they are entitled to reaping as much money from their produce as they can.

They have also submitted a list of recom-mendations that they want included in a new Green Leaf Supply Agreement to be signed by farmers and the factory.

The recommendations are expected to spark another round of fierce confrontations between the farmers and Kanyenya-ini tea fac-tory management.

The farmers have had a rocky relationship with KTDA since last year after they refused to sign the Green Leaf Supply Agreement that they said was draconian.

On December last year, KTDA ceased col-lecting tea from 102 farmers from Mutunguru tea buying centre causing them massive losses.

The farmers had to turn to a private factory from the neighboring Kiambu County that promised to buy their tea at Ksh16 per kg as compared to the Ksh14 paid by KTDA.

But their relief was short-lived as the na-tional directorate issued a letter revoking the agreement signed between farmers and Ng-orongo Tea Factory.

The letter that was signed by the head of the directorate said the factory was collect-ing tea from more than 100 kilometres away which was uneconomical for farmers and en-couraged tea hawking which is illegal.

They now sell their produce to brokers who in turn sell to private tea factories.

The directorate later invalidated the agree-ments that farmers had been coerced to sign

by the managements of tea factories and directed all tea factories in the county to sit down with farmers and draw new documents incorporating farmers’ inputs.

The directorate gave the two parties up to June 30 to come up with a new document that both are agreeable to.

Charles Gakure, a tea farmer accused Kan-yenya-ini Tea Factory of failing to invite farm-ers for consultations during the redrafting of the document and breaching the directorate’s directive.

He said farmers had organized themselves and drafted their recommendations which they have submitted to the directorate.

In the recommendations, farmers also want KTDA to hire more clerks and truck loaders saying frail farmers are forced to load their produce onto lorries.

They also want the new agreement to clearly identify farmers as shareholders of tea factories.

Kenya Union of Small Scale Tea Owners (KUSSTO) National Coordinator Mwangi Mahinda on his part said the organization will organize county wide protests if their rec-ommendations are not included in the new Green Leaf Supply Agreement.

Mwangi said KTDA has turned tea farmers into slaves who and denied them the right to fight for their rights.

“KTDA uses farmers’ money to intimidate them and ensure they do not ask pertinent questions on how their resources are used,” Mwangi said.

KUSSTO has engaged KTDA in fights for years over poor pay to farmers with some of its members claiming they are victimized over being outspoken.

Nahaniel Muturi, Kanyenya-ini KUSSTO branch chairman said he was among the 102 farmers who were banned from selling tea to KTDA on December.

Muturi, however, said KTDA later sent farmers letters allowing them to resume sell-ing their tea to Kanyenya-ini factory which many disregarded and continued selling to brokers.

He, however, said that Kanyenya-ini tea factory did not allow him back even though he is a shareholder.

“I want to know why they discontinued col-lecting my tea yet I have shares in the factory like other farmers,” Muturi said.

He said he was victimized because he was too vocal and asked questions that were seen to be inciting other farmers.

Tea farmers caught up in war with KTDA

Free milk for students as dairy farmers eye billions

Teachers get medical help to stop addiction

Tea farmers from Mutunguru tea buying center in Kangema loading their tea onto a lorry belonging to Ngorongo tea factory after Kanyenya-ini tea factory refused to buy their tea for two months .

Murang’a County TSC Director Ibrahim Adan.

CONT. NEXT PAGE >>

BY MT KENYA STAR REPORTER Dairy farmers in Murang’a are ex-pected to reap billions in milk sales following a new program

that will see primary and nursery school children in Murang’a County enjoy free

milk in a school feeding programme to be started before the end of this year.

The milk will be processed by a new milk processing plant being built un-der the Murang’a County Creameries in Maragua at a cost of Ksh100 million.

The factory is being constructed by the county government but on comple-tion, will be handed over to the Murang’a County Creameries, a new umbrella body for 26 dairy cooperative societies in the county, with more expected to join in.

The completion of the processing and packaging factory will enable the county government to pasteurize and package part of the milk collected from local farmers through the creameries.

According to Governor Mwangi wa Iria, the county will be the first to pack-age processed milk as a way of adding value to local milk to enable farmers to get more returns.

The plant, Wa Iria said, will be opera-tional before the end of the year and will have started processing milk that will be

used to initiate a school feeding program.Each child will get 250 ml of free milk

Workers take a brerak during the launch of Central Aberdares Dairy Cooler at Ngonda in Kigumo Sub-County.

A doctor checks the sugar levels of a teacher at Murang’a Technology Primary School

per week in a bid by the county government to improve their health and provide more market for the local milk.

This means the farmers will benefit from the consumption of an estimated 250,000 litres of processed milk to primary schools every month based on the estimated pri-mary school enrollment of 250,000 stu-dents in Murang’a County or about 2.25 million litres of processed milk per year to primary schools only, based on the nine months the students will be in school every year.

The extra money made from sales of the processed milk will make it possible for farmers to get annual bonuses in addition getting monthly payments of Ksh35 per litre, said Wa Iria.

“As a county government we want dairy farmers to also benefit from annual lump sum pays from the dairy sector as it hap-pens with tea,” added Wa Iria.The objectives of Murang’a County

Creameries are listed as; to become the authority in milk and it’s by products in the County as it spreads out, to further en-trench itself as a leading creamery brand in the market with products ranging from milk, yoghurt and ghee, and to be the leading County Milk brand, exemplifying healthy and nutritious refreshment.

Murang’a County Creameries will be required to seek for other markets for the processed milk with the help of the county government to rake in more money for farmers.

The co-operative has for now entered into a contract with Brookside which has pledged to buy all milk produced in the

county.Farmers are also able to sell milk

throughout the day through the 35 coolers that have been installed in all wards.

30 out of the 35 coolers are operations with the others being hampered by con-nectivity to electricity.

The coolers are part of an ambitious Ksh500 million program by the county government to improve the dairy sector and eradicate middlemen who bought milk for as little as Ksh18.

The county currently produces 45,000 liters of milk per day with the county gov-ernment aiming to increase the produc-tion to 100,000 liters before the end of the year.

Wa Iria said formation of a strong county dairy co-operative gave farmers the power to negotiate for better prices from buyers.

The county government is also in the process of establishing an animal feeds plant that will make high nutritional feeds at subsidized prices through Murang’a County Creameries.

Farmers who are members of Murang’a County Creameries that will be able to ac-cess the feeds on credit and the money de-ducted from their monthly pay.

According to Wa Iria, the contract signed with Brookside all milk produced by farm-ers is bought and farmers paid by the sec-ond day of every month.

“The deal we made with Brookside will make it easy for the co-operative to subtract money from farmers to pay for the feeds while easing dairy farming for farmers,” Wa Iria said.

Wa Iria pointed out that improvement of the dairy sector will impact positively on majority of Murang’a residents as most

Free milk for students as dairy farmers eye billions

NEWSJULY 2015MURANG’A STAR 5

A setion of members of the Kihiu Mwiri Real Estate Company demostrating outside Murang’a county commissioner’s offices in Murang’a town.


Calm is expected to return to Kihiu Mwiri Real Estate Company fol-lowing government intervention to resolve the matter after almost

two decades of leadership wrangles that has resulted to the death of six directors.

Members now expect to be issued with title deeds on September 4 this year accord-ing to the Acting Land Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

The company has been experiencing sharp divisions among its 6,000 sharehold-ers on the mode of dividing its 1,085 acres of land located in the lower Gatanga region of Kakuzi.

Kihiu Mwiri company was formed in the 1970’s after members took a loan from the Agricultural Finance Corporation to sup-plement their contributions of Ksh120,000 to purchase the land from a white settler.

The divisions further caused the for-mation of two factions which have been fighting for leadership of the company and which have been blamed for the deaths of six directors while seven more members have gone missing.

One of the factions is led by Peter Kari-uki while the other one was led by Kimani Kuria who was shot dead early May this year at his home at Greystone.

Kimani who was elected as a director during a general meeting which was held in 2011 was fighting to assume chairman-

ship which was opposed by the rival camp. Other directors who have been murdered

in cold blood are Wilfred Gichana, Newton Chege Muhoro, Ngugi Kamau, Charles Ng-ugi and Benson Ngumi.

Kimani’s death prompted the County Commissioner to ask the registrar of com-panies to order immediate closure of the company while the Lands Ministry was asked to speed up issuance of title deeds to stop deaths.

The wrangles have delayed issuance of titles as one faction advocates for the divi-sion of 50 by 100 feet parcels of land while others want 100 by 100 feet parcels.

Deputy President William Ruto who re-cently visited the area ordered the national government to intervene and end the con-flicts to curb further deaths.

The deputy president ordered Acting Land Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to immediately visit the area and meet with the two rival factions.

CS visited Murang’a recently and after consultations with the members, it was agreed that title deeds will be issued in the next three months.

Before CS Matiang’s visit, the group al-lied to the late Kimani accused Kariuki of inflating the company’s membership to 16,000 and selling land parcels to non-members against the firm’s laws.

They further accuse Kariuki of being behind the killings as a way of silencing members who are vocal against him.

Kihiu Mwiri title deeds to be issued in September

They expressed fears that the talks would not be free and fair if Kariuki would be part of the six members committee that will be set up to spearhead dialogue.

Shareholders who sought anonymity told Hache that Kariuki ordered a fresh survey of the farm yet they have already constructed permanent structures and buried their dead on their land parcels.

“We were initially required to pay Ksh 7,000 which was later raised to Ksh25,000 for the title deeds which we have paid yet we have not yet Kariuki has continued to interfere with the process of issuance of title deeds,” one of the demonstrators lamented.

The shareholders however appealed to the government to speed up the investiga-tions into the deaths of members to ensure those behind them are apprehended.

On her part, Hache urged the share-holders to maintain calm as the govern-ment rushes to get a solution.

The County Commissioner also ap-pointed Kahuro Deputy County Com-missioner Patrick Muli to conduct further investigations into the company to get a solution.

Hache reiterated the government’s com-mitment to end the wrangles that have rocked Kihiu Mwiri and stop further loss of lives.

She also said that security officers have been deployed to the farm to maintain calm.

CS Matiang’i held a daylong meeting with representatives of both factions of the shareholders, Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wairia and county commissioner Kula Hache.

He said all parties resolved the issuance of title deeds will resolve the disputes and end rampant deaths of members.

Matiang’i said a five-member team, in-cluding the director of survey, will work with the county government to regularise the subdivision of the 1,085 acres and en-sure title deeds are issued.

“The team will start its work next week and will finish in three months. The title deeds will then be issued to shareholders on September 4,” he said.

Matiang’i said the ministry will moni-tor the progress of the team to make sure it is done with the work within the set timeline.

He ordered the warring factions to cease their conflicts and wait for the team to conduct the survey and conclude the case.

“The government will not tolerate the criminality surrounding the company, where some members decide to kill others because they differ in opinion,” Matiang’i said.

Matiang’i said investigations have been launched into the deaths of members and perpetrators will be prosecuted.

The government will not tolerate the criminality surrounding the company, where some members decide to kill others because they differ in opinion.

- Matiang’i

CONT. NEXT PAGE >>

45,000Total number of milk in litres the county produces per day.


BY JAMES MURIUKI

Adverse effects of climate change have dealt a blow to the agri-

cultural sector with food production declining and leaving millions of peo-ple food insecure in most parts of the country.

This has prompted Kenya Climate Justice Women Champions (KC-JWC) to start training women on ways of cop-ing with effects of climate change.

The NGO’s national coordinator Cecilia Kibe has said food scarcity has posed more challenges to women as they strive to feed their families.

Kibe said women in rural areas are more vul-nerable to variation of weather patterns as most are the breadwinners in their families and need to be educated on mitigation and adaptation measures against the impacts of cli-

mate change.She said the program

seeks to empower women at the grassroots to be able to deal with climate change issues and improve their lives.

According to her, women are primarily re-sponsible for activities which fall under sectors that are most threatened by the climate change such as water, energy and food production.

“Majority of women bear the brunt of climate change because they are largely depended on for food and provision of other necessities like firewood and water,” Kibe said.

She said this while vis-iting farms in Kigumo sub county where she assessed the destruction of food crops caused by runoff wa-ter and sensitized women groups on climate change.

Kibe added that the NGO is focusing on agri-culture, water and energy collection and devising ways of assisting women to

deal with their day to day challenges.

She noted that heavy soil erosion experienced during rainy seasons leads to poor food production yet most families are un-able to harvest the runoff water for use during dry seasons.

“We are teaching women on ways of harvest-ing water to help them en-gage in agricultural activi-ties even in dry seasons,” added Kibe.

Most families in rural areas, she said, rely on rain fed agriculture and end up realizing poor harvests due to unpredictable weather patterns.

In partnership with other stakeholders, the or-ganization will facilitate

farmers to construct wa-ter pans and green houses to help them engage in agri-business.

Women will also be is-sued with energy saving jikos to alleviate the need for firewood.

The coordinator said

many Kenyans do not have the capacity to practice commercial farming and urged women to make good use of the platform to make a living.

She however urged county assemblies to make policies that address cli-mate change as its effects are more severe in rural areas.

Jane Wairimu, a farmer in Muthithi and one of the beneficiaries said runoff water had totally eroded her top soil resulting to poor food production.

Wairimu said she used to harvest 10 bags of maize from her piece of land but now only gets two bags.

“I don’t fully understand the issue of climate change but I have noticed that the harvests keep reducing with time,” said Wairimu.

Jane said a water pan constructed on her farm late last year has helped her to irrigate her farm as other farmers face an im-minent famine.

Women worst affected by climate change

BY PERTER MURUMBA

Governors in coffee growing regions have recently been ad-vocating for the industry to be devolved, however discontents

are emerging within the coffee growing affiliate society’s leadership.

Chairpersons of major cooperative societies express concerns over how the governor’s campaign was initiated, claiming consultations were not com-prehensively done, and that farmers were not fully involved.

When speaking to them, it is evident that they are not comfortable with Gov-ernors because they have fears of them further negatively politicizing the indus-try for personal gains.

“There are many issues that need to be addressed. We are not entirely op-posed to governors’ initiative, but wide consultations needs to be done. The discussions and everything about cof-fee must start from the grassroots,” says Mugama Farmers Cooperative Union Chairman Francis Njoroge.

Mugama Union is the umbrella body for farmers’ cooperative societies in Mu-rang’a County.

Giant Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society Chairman James Gathua Ndir-itu says even as the county government lobbies to have the industry devolved, there are crucial issues that the county government leadership ought to have addressed.

“The county government is collecting coffee from farmers then transports it

to Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) Sagana stores for storage. This amounts to capital flight which is deny-ing job opportunities to our people. We have a mill in Othaya with enough mill-ing capacity for all coffee in Nyeri and neighbouring counties,” the chairman said.

The milling plant employs an average of 2,000 workers during the peak sea-sons, while it retains an average of 500 employees throughout the year.

Besides, milling at farmers owned milling plant will save the growers hefty charges imposed by commercial millers who also happen to be licensed market-ing agents.

Mr Ndiritu says his society is now li-censed to deal directly with buyers, and having all coffee produced in Nyeri and

neighboring counties milled and mar-keted by Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society will reduced expenses, create jobs and translate to better earnings.

“County governments in coffee grow-ing areas should give a priority to pro-moting and expanding existing struc-tures and resources. Then endeavor to bring farmers together for the com-

mon good. It will also give the farmers through their leadership and county governments more strength in fighting for best prices unlike now where Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society is only handling coffee from the local’s farmers, while cherry from other sub-counties is sold separately,” said Mr Ndiritu.

When a milling and marketing agent is appointed to mill and market the cherry, it becomes impossible for farm-ers and even the society management committees to trace the products move-ment from the time of collection at the factories, a factor that ends up compro-mising quality as the commercial agents use the best quality coffee to blend with that from large-scale farmers and es-tates.

Farmers are also unable to know the dates their coffee was sold at the Nairobi Auction, a fact that would enable them trace the selling prices of their product.

A good example of quality compro-mise was witnessed last year after Nyeri county government collected the cherry and later had it graded together. The quantity of best quality coffee was real-ized as compared to previous years.

Through a joint milling and market-ing strategy introduced by Nyeri Gov-ernor Ndiritu Gachagua, coffee milled centrally at Sagana KPCU helped cut losses to 17 percent from over 35 per cent suffered previously, while the superior grades of AA, AB, and PB increased to more than 38 percent.

The same scenario was witnessed at Othaya Farmers mills where loses re-duced by over 30 percent.

Despite protracted wars against gov-ernors by national and international players, farmers recorded improved returns. Farmers from Kahiraini coffee factory received Ksh80 per kilograms of cherry, a major increase from the previ-ous year’s Ksh12.30 per kilo, while those from Kiuu received the lowest amount of Ksh38 per kilogram from Sh35 paid the previous year.

Most counties in coffee growing areas either own a mill, or are at advanced stage to acquiring one, a factor that will promote joint milling and marketing.

Among counties that own milling, plants include Meru, which last year leased KPCU mill for their own milling at a cost of Ksh2.5 million, with Gover-nor Peter Munya saying the move elim-inated cartels.

The major concern by leaders in cof-fee societies is over dominance of the county governments, which could fuel wrangles, as governors seek to impose leaders of their choices for political rea-sons.

Coffee society leaders want governors to cooperate in reforms

Coffee berries: Cooperative leaders want Governors to involve them in matters of coffee marketing.

Some of the farms in Murang’a where foodstuffs have been destroyed by run off water.

2,000The milling plant employs an average of 2,000 workers during the peak seasons, while it retains an average of 500 employees throughout the year.

BY DANCAN MWANGI

Bernard Muhia, a re-tired police officer has turned to orange farm-ing to sustain himself

and his family in his old age.Muhia who retired from

the Kenya police service 30 years ago invested part of his send-off package in pyramid schemes hoping to get good returns as promised but his dream was short lived as the schemes collapsed soon after, leaving him in desperation.

With the little money he had spared, Muhia bought a piece of land in Kambirwa village in Murang’a county Murang’a where he tried prac-ticing subsistence farming which failed due to the harsh climatic conditions.

Muhia also tried his hand in farming mangoes and avoca-dos but the returns were mea-ger and he resorted to cutting down the trees in frustration.

It is after that he decided to give a trial to oranges and opted to stick to them even

though they did not do well in the first few seasons.

Muhia said he was attracted to orange farming by the good prices the fruit was fetching in the market since only a few people grew oranges in the area and the demand was high.

He added that after realizing orange farmers in the locality were very few, he knew there would be a ready market for his fruits.

“I started by planting 20 trees and later increased them to 80 to boost my production but the harvests were poor due to usage of excessive industrial chemicals and the trees were not doing well,” he said.

He said he thought using chemical inputs would boost his production and fasten ma-turity of the trees.

However, after consulting agricultural experts, Muhia opted to try organic farming and the results were exciting. He got more fruits that were big in size and used less money for farm inputs.

He used the manure from the livestock in his farm and mixes it with an organic com-pound to add more nutrients.

This method has also saved him money as he is no lon-ger bought the conventional chemicals.

Muhia said he has also gained a lot of knowledge from agricultural seminars and booklets issued to him by the agricultural experts on new farming trends.

“I make sure attend as many farmers seminars as I can to improve my farming

skills and expand my knowl-edge,” he added.

Muhia has planted the Washington navel and Valen-cia varieties in his farm. He has also planted tangerines to complement his returns from

oranges.He said he does not have to

take his fruits to the market as he receives orders while they are still in the farm and even before they are ripe.

“The demand for my fruits is so high that I am mostly un-able to satisfy all my custom-ers,” he added.

Muhia who declined to dis-close the amount of money he makes from his farming said his fruits’ sales are on the rise and he is pocketing good money with each piece selling for Ksh15.

The returns, he said, are enough to sustain his family and educate his children to higher levels.

“I don’t regret switching to orange farming because am getting enough money to sup-port my family and embark on other development projects,” he said.

He, however, said lack of water for irrigation is a major challenge to his farming as his village lies in a semi-arid area.

“If only I could get irrigation water, then I would be able to expand my orange farming and boost the production for sale in the international mar-ket,” he noted.

He pleaded with agricul-tural experts to devise a way of fighting fruit flies that he said have been causing him sleepless nights as they de-stroy some of his fruits saying he has tried to fight the insect without success.

The insect, he said can cause massive loss of fruits espe-cially during the peak season adding that farmers would be overjoyed if there was a way to completely eradicate it from their farms.

Famers urged focus on irrigation

By Mt. kenya Star reporter

Farmers in Murang’a County have been urged to embrace technology to enhance food security in the re-

gion.

Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF) General Manager George Gitau has said farmers cannot con-tinue to rely on rain-fed agriculture due to the adverse climatic changes being experienced globally.

Gitau said it is vital for farmers to adopt technology and engage in val-ue-addition if they are to benefit from their farm produce.

He said farmers living in the semi-arid parts of Murang’a County that have difficulties accessing water for domestic water and irrigation should embrace drip irrigation systems that limit water usage and ensure available water is utilized to the maximum.

While urging farmers to brace for harsher weather patterns, Gitau also appealed to farmers to view agricul-ture as a business and shun subsis-tence farming that brings poverty and dependence on the government for relief.

Gitau said the organization has now embarked on a programme to educate farmers on water efficient farming and harvesting technologies through the

use of drip irrigation and construction of water pans and farms ponds.

The organization also opened a tech-nology center at Maragua which will be used to offer free demonstrations to farmers on how the drip irrigation sys-

tems work.Gitau said the technology center will

remain open until the organization is satisfied that Murang’a farmers are agro-tech savvy.

He noted that Murang’a County has not had consistent rain for two years con-secutively, resulting to devastating fam-ines that have left majority of residents desperate for help.

Gitau pointed out that the drip irriga-tion technology efficiently utilizes water and will work well in the dry parts of Ma-kuyu and Kambiti in the lower Murang’a region.

He added that KENAFF has already constructed 100 water pans that are already in operation in Maragua sub County.

According to him,Kenaff is also work-ing with the county government to in-crease the number to 2,000 by the end of 2015.

“Maragua is pre-dominantly dry and we are hoping to ensure every farmer in the area irrigates at least an acre of their land,” Gitau said.

He said the organization is also assist-ing farmers to construct farm ponds with the capacity to hold 50,000 litres of water for use during the dry season.

He said the program is a success as over 250 farmers have already installed the drip irrigation kits in their farms and en-

joying the benefits.He expressed optimism that the pro-

gram will increase harvests and empower farmers economically as they will be able to sell their extra harvests to sustain their families.

“We are working closely with the county government to increase agricul-tural productivity and improve farmers’ returns,” added Gitau.

Gitau also noted that over 1,000 farm-ers in the county have been incorporated in a bio-gas production project that is meant to discourage residents from cut-ting down trees for firewood.

NEWS 7MURANG’A STARJULY 2015

Officials of Kenya National Farmers Federation teaching farmers how to use the drip irrigation system.

Maragua is pre-dominantly dry and we are hoping to ensure every farmer in the area irrigates at least an acre of their land.

- gitau

Oranges offer ex-policeman retirement peace

Benson Muhia at his farm.

As part of its efforts to en-hance capital markets out-reach within the counties, the Capital Markets Author-

ity (CMA) organised a series of events in Murang’a County in partnership with the County Government of Murang’a and the Kenya National

Chamber of Commerce and Indus-try Murang’a Branch. The events included a Road Show and two stake-holder engagement sessions.

The events are geared at enhanc-ing financial literacy, and in particu-lar ensuring that the investing public in Murang’a County and its environs

appreciate the various opportunities for investment in the capital markets industry.

CMA organised a Road Show in Murang’a County with stop overs at: Kenol- Makutano Junction, Sa-basaba, Maragwa, Mukuyu, Karuri, Kangema, Kiriaini, and Muranga Town on June 15th, 2015, a Forum for the Women and Youth on June 16th and for the Business and Pro-fessional Community and officials from the County Government of Murang’a on June 17th,2015.

The CMA Acting Chief Executive, Mr Paul Muthaura, noted that the county outreach underpins the Au-thority’s commitment to enhancing financial education, in recognition of the important role it plays in mo-bilizing savings and investments. The Authority has had 26 forums with youth, women and business communities in four counties in the second and third quarters of the fi-nancial year 2014-15.

CMA has so far organised three roadshows, a forum for the business community, women and youth.

NEWS8 MURANG’A STARJULY 2015

OBITUARY

Prof. Samson Mwangi Kimenyi

CMA comes to Murang’aProf. Mwangi Kimenyi,

the renowned Kenyan scholar and economist was born in Murang’a

in 1956 has died early June in Maryland in the United States at Johns Hopkins Hospital in after a long illness.

Dr. Kimenyi was a former di-rector and senior research fellow at the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, and professor of economics at the University of Connecticut.

He was also the founding ex-ecutive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Research Analysis in Kenya from 1999 to 2005.

Dr Kimenyi received his un-dergraduate degree from the University of Nairobi and com-pleted graduate studies at Ohio University and George Mason University, where he earned a doctorate in economics in 1986.

He completed certificate pro-grammes at the University of Michigan and at Harvard Uni-versity.

He had authored and co-edited eight books and six policy monographs as well as publish-ing widely in refereed journals. His work mainly focused on in-stitutional policy reforms and Africa’s economic development.

Dr. Kimenyi received many awards and honours, including as co-winner of the Outstanding Research Award (2001) by the

Global Development Network and winner of the Georgescu-Roegen Prize in Economics (1991).

He was recognized by the Senate and House of the state of Mississippi for his work on pub-lic transit.

In 1994, Dr. Kimenyi was named by Policy Review, a pres-tigious US publication, among the top 10 young market econo-mists in the United States.

In November last year, he re-ceived the Innovative Scholar-ship Award at the sixth Global Peace Convention in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The scholar leaves behind a widow, Irene Wangui and three sons — Francis Kimenyi, Bedan Kimani and Robert Mburu.

While eulogizing him, Pres-ident Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement: “The late Prof Ki-menyi never forgot his origins, and he always put his expertise at Kenya’s disposal. He was a founder of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Research Analysis, and he published widely and effectively in matters of concern to Africa and its Di-aspora. Equally, he was a mentor to younger Kenyan academics, and he defended Kenya and Af-rica’s cause in forums abroad. The news of the death of Profes-sor Samson Mwangi Kimenyi is a moment of shock and sorrow, not just for his family, but for Kenya.”

How to make money from poultryTIMOTHY THIAKA

LIVESTOCK GUIDE

What is poultry and how can it be used to make money in cen-tral Kenya?

I promised to endeavor in edu-cating my farmer in making a wise decision when choosing enter-prises.

Poultry production is under-taken in several ways, utilizing dif-ferent resources in a wide area of social, cultural and economic con-ditions.

Most common species that are domesticated in our region include; chicken (indigenous, commercial layers, dual purpose, broilers and ornamentals), ducks, turkeys, geese, guinea fowls, pi-geons, peacocks, quails, and os-trich.

When deciding what to engage in, it is wise to explore your market first, to know how you can reach your intended customers. The as-pect of advertising is also impor-tant. It is important to advertise what you have where customers live.

The other important area is to gauge the level of produc-tion verses the returns from your poultry. Also growth rate of your poultry versus feed requirement and their costs. For example if you intend to rear poultry for eggs or meat, is it wise to keep indigenous chicken that matures at 5-7 months and lays only about 60 eggs per year? Also the size of indigenous chicken is 0.5 – 1kg which is quite low. Such an enterprise might not be wise to keep. Also the so called indigenous chicken might not be indigenous in all aspects because free range rearing is no longer fea-sible.

They will consume the commer-cial feeds thus raising the produc-tion costs. In such a scenario it is wise to keep dual purpose chicken like Kenbro, Kuroilers, Rainbow stars etc. They will mature faster at about 4 months, both for meat and for eggs. These dual purpose poultry consumes less feed in their time and grows bigger (to about 4-5 kg). They lay about 150-180 eggs per year. They also adopts well to free range.

Some species, although kept in small scale fetches farmers a lot of money. Geese for instance. An adult Goose goes for Kshs. 4,000-6,000/ depending on the clien-tele. So a farmer might opt to keep these. About 100 of them com-pares very well with about 1000 layers. So farmers as we embark on poultry rearing, lets consult

and research widely. Geese are now very popular in gated homes in central Kenya.

Broiler rearing only takes 6-8 weeks per cycle. If you manage to get a contracted supply in the market e.g. Super markets, you can make huge profit as you can have several harvests per year (4-5 harvests). Sometimes it calls for spirited marketing skills even hawking in offices and middle in-come households.

Turkeys are popular in high end estates. During Easter and Christ-mas, they are delicacies there. A farmer keeping turkeys can reap huge profits during such periods. A turkey may cost Kshs.10-12,000/=. Suppose a farmer has only 50 tur-keys in his/her home ready for the market. He/she needs only to ad-vertise in the dailies or in the radio.

All poultry farmers, lets engage our livestock production officers on the best practices of poultry keeping and also on how to ar-rive on wise decisions. There is a lot in poultry keeping. My dear farmer, keep reading his page as next time, I will delve deeper into choosing the poultry enterprise and their incomes.

For expert advice please contact:-Timothy Thiaka – 0722 265 867/0763 265 867Livestock production officer.

The CMA Acting Chief Executive, Mr Paul Muthaura.

ADVERTISEMENT 9MURANG’A STARJULY 2015

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FOUCS ON THE 2015/2016 BUDGET 11JULY 2015MURANG’A STAR

MAY 11 - 17, 2015 news

5JUNE 15 - 21, 2015

FOCUS ON THE BUDGET NAIROBI CONFIDENTIAL

JUNE 15 - 21, 2015

NAIROBI CONFIDENTIAL18INVESTMENT

Structural Reforms and Sector Analysis The government stated in the 2014/15 Budget that National security and infrastructure would be top priority. This continues to be the case in the proposals for 2015/2016. We highlight some of the key sectors below:

Sector Focus areas and comments National security

KES 241.8bn Improving business environment by addressing security concerns.

The government has increased resources for the purchase of; 2,400 police and military vehicles Police and military uniforms Recruitment of 1,500 security personnel The allocations are as stated below;

KES 112.5bn – KDF KES 7.7bn – Lease financing of police & prison vehicles to 3,400 KES 15bn – Military modernization KES 10bn – police modernization KES 1.7bn – Police medical insurance KES 1.3bn – Police/APs housing KES 6.4bn – AMISOM KES 1.4bn – Anti-poaching

Agriculture

KES 79.7bn KES 13.8bn Galana Kulalu Irrigation Project KES 2.7bn – Strategic Grain Reserves KES 3.1bn – Fisheries development KES 0.6bn – KMC KES 0.3bn – Pyrethrum sector KES 3bn – Input subsidy

Infrastructure

KES 404.7bn KES 118.1bn – standard gauge railway KES 13.2bn - geothermal development company KES 14.9bn –rural electrification programme KES 1.5bn - electricity connectivity KES 4.5bn - street lighting KES 21.1bn – power transmission

Health

KES 59.2bn KES 4.3bn – Maternal health care KES 1bn – slum health care KES 9bn –KNH KES 5.5bn –Moi teaching referral hospital

Education

KES 336.3bn KES 181.2bn –TSC KES 17.58bn laptop project KES 2.3bn – recruit 5,000 teachers KES 2.2bn – Promotion of teachers KES 14.1bn – Free primary and secondary education KES 52.9bn – University education KES 7.5bn – Helb

Social protection

KES 31.5bn KES 19.1bn – Social safety nets

Tourism

KES 5.2bn KES 5.2bn – Tourism recovery

County Governments & CDF

KES 322.2bn KES 287bn – County governments KES 35.2bn - CDF






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for the good of MUrang’a people

MURANG’A | JULY, 2015

BY PATRICK MWANGI.

The coffee sector in Murang’a County is set for a major re-vamp after decades of wran-gles in the coffee co-operative

societies that eventually led to a near collapse of the multi-million industry.

This is after the County govern-ment formed an interim committee to spearhead investigations into the issues ailing the giant Murang’a Farm-ers Co-operative Union, an umbrella co-operative for 56 coffee co-operative societies.

The county government has also appointed the Deloitte Company to oversee the revival of the coffee sector from its death bed.

The County Commissioner for Co-operatives Josphine Mwangi Mwangi led 90 delegates from the eight sub-counties into electing a five members interim committee that will investigate allegations of massive mis-appropriation of funds and misman-agement of the co-operative by the former management.

Francis Ngone, Edward Waiguru, Margaret Wambui, Edward Waiguru and Josphat Gatuhiu were elected into the committee that will work together with the County Commissioner for Co-operatives Office to unearth what caused poor performance of the coffee

sector in a period of 90 days.Mwangi had on March this year

disbanded the co-operative’s board of directors after carrying out an inspec-tion into its operations and fresh del-egates’ elections held on April.

The board in turn suspended the co-operative’s general Manager Ephantus Wanjohi for three months to allow for a thorough inspection.

Mwangi said she discovered that some individuals were twisting the co-operative’s operations to suit their selfish gains.

“An impromptu inspection of the Murang’a Farmers Co-operative Union uncovered colossal misman-agement issues that called for imme-diate action,” Mwangi said.

She said she is committed to ensur-ing all unscrupulous activities in the co-operative are exposed adding that areas to be prioritized in the inspec-tion include managerial operations, compliance to the union by-laws and the co-operative’s financial accounts.

Mwangi also expressed concern on the manner in which most co-opera-tive societies are run noting that most leaders turn to fleecing the co-opera-tives at the expense of farmers.

“The report compiled by the com-mittee after their investigations will help us to constitute an inquiry which will then assist in filing a civil case

against those involved in misappro-priation of farmers’ money,” Mwangi said.

She pointed out that poor manage-ment is to blame for the poor perfor-mance of the sector and urged coffee co-operative societies’ leaders to main-tain high levels of transparency and accountability.

On his part, area governor Mwangi wa Iria has vowed to ensure the cof-fee sector is revived and a coffee boom created in the next two years.

Wa Iria has said in collaboration with the county assembly, his county government will ensure farmers get more returns from their produce and increase coffee production.

The governor said the county gov-ernment will sign a one year contract with Deloitte Company to overhaul the coffee sector and ensure coffee co-operatives are properly run.

The company will be expected to manage the entire coffee value chain from production, processing, and marketing.

Deloitte will also be mandated to look for major buyers who will sign long term contracts with the co-oper-ative and who will be ready to offer a constant price below which the prices will not fall.

Wa Iria said Deloitte will also con-duct a status survey on Murang’a

coffee farmers co-operative Union to determine what is causing the near collapse of the sector.

According to him, Deloitte will also be required to submit monthly reports on the progress of the revival program until the co-operative gets on its feet again.

The county boss also launched an interim board that will sit on Mu-rang’a Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union for 90 days as the basis for a cleanup of the sector is set up.

“We cannot continue to sit back and watch as the coffee sector contin-ues to be mismanaged. As a county government we have resolved to put measures in place to resuscitate it,” Wa Iria said.

The governor also noted that his government aims at increasing coffee production to at least 15 kgs per tree

per year when the prices are regulated.He said the county currently pro-

duces 24 million kilogrammes of cof-fee annually; an average of 1.5 kg per tree per year which he said is too low.

He also announced that the county government is working towards en-suring coffee prices increase from the current Ksh40 to at least Ksh60 before the end of his tenure.

Deloitte’s Principal consultant on strategy and innovation Alex Murage on his part said that a preliminary in-spection of the sector has uncovered gross misappropriation of money and mismanagement of coffee co-opera-tives.

Murage said 76 percent of coffee is wasted in the supply chain and that farmers end up making meager re-turns due to the poor leadership of coffee co-operatives.

BY NEXUS STATE HOUSE TEAM

New multi-billion dollar invest-ments, grants and programmes are some of the benefits Kenya has bagged in presidential vis-

its abroad in the last two years of the Ju-bilee administration.

They range from global institutions setting up their headquarters in Kenya, new jobs for Kenyans, massive invest-ments in fisheries, rail, regional peace, trade, energy, water and air flight rights.

In the United Arab Emirates, for in-stance, the President successfully pushed

for the employment of 100,000 young Kenyans and negotiations are going on to establish the sectors, skills and con-tracts that will be made available to the youth.

A Foreign Affairs ministry report, ‘Deliverables From State Visits By His Excellency the President – April 2013 to Date’, that ‘Nexus’, the Government Newsroom, shares shows where Presi-dent Uhuru Kenyatta has travelled in the East African Community, other parts of Africa, the United States, Asia, the Arab world and Europe.

More importantly, it outlines the ben-efits and deals good for Kenya that the

President has negotiated with world lead-ers and international organisations.

President Kenyatta has visited Ka-mpala and Kigali many times for the Heads of State of the Northern Corridor Summit. In the meetings, the leaders have given priority to infrastructure and expansion of the economy. The projects include the Standard Gauge Railway, ICT infrastructure, power transmission and inter-connectivity, immigration, trade, tourism and labour services.

Others are commodities exchange, refined oil petroleum pipeline, air space management, Single Customs Territory, Defence Cooperation and Peace and

Security Cooperation. A lot has been achieved from the summits, including the start of construction of the Stan-dard Gauge Railway and the signing of a power agreement in which Kenya will sell power to Rwanda beginning Septem-ber.

In Africa, the President has had very robust diplomatic and peace missions in line with the Jubilee Manifesto. South Sudan, Somalia and the Great Lakes Re-gion and Central Africa Republic have been at the centre of the peace missions. The President has been in talks with leaders of the warring countries in Addis Ababa, Juba and even London.

He has also boosted bilateral and trade ties with more African countries than ever before in the history of independent Kenya. Such countries include Equato-rial Guinea, Nigeria and Algeria, among others. During the visits, agreements on cooperation, trade, energy, peace and se-curity, among others have been signed. As a result, trade between Kenya and the rest of Africa is increasing.

During the President’s one-week visit to China in August 2013, many benefits accrued to Kenya. Agreements on the Standard Gauge Railway, economic and technical cooperation co-operation, avi-ation, security, health and agriculture were signed. Other deals clinched were in cultural cooperation, energy, forestry and ecological conservation, investment promotion and the Nairobi Grid Innova-tion Project.

In the Americas, President Kenya has been to the United States twice, for the US-Africa Summit in Washington DC and to the UN General Assembly in New York. At the Summit, the US Overseas

Private Investment Corporation com-mitted $250 million (Sh24b) to finance the construction of 310 megawatts wind power project near Lake Turkana, the documents discloses. A Trade Power Af-rica initiative, announced at the summit will build Africa’s ability to do business. The Kenya delegation also held discus-sions with Delta Airlines over direct flights from Nairobi to the US.

In the Arab world, the President has been to Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Agreements on the establish-ment of a Nairobi International Finan-cial Services Centre, avoidance of dou-ble taxation, and the construction of a 500MW power plant in Mombasa were signed.

Others are on the setting up of an auction for Kenyan flowers in Dubai, in-vestment in infrastructure, energy, min-ing and the Kenya Meat Commission, among others.

From Russia, President Kenyatta held discussions with Government and busi-ness leaders after which agreements on tourism, sports and culture, air services were to be signed. The President had flown to Russian on his way to China to watch Kenyan athletes at the World Ath-letic Championships.

In Turkey, the Turkish National Po-lice Service undertook to support in-ser-vice and basic training for their Kenyan counterparts and also undergraduate and postgraduate studies in security.

The two countries signed agreements and memoranda on air services, visa abolition, health, science, technology, tourism, education, security and youth. Others were in mining and small and medium enterprises

Murang’a Farmers Coop Union under probe

Kenya bags billions from Presidential trips abroad

Murang’a County Commissioner for Co-operatives Josphine Mwangi addressing farmers at Karugia Primary School.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) and Chinese President Xi Jinping inspect Chinese guards of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Beijing on August 19 201 3.

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mt. kenya star (july 2015)

Documents