Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr officially opened the Makueni County Budget and Economic Forum (CBEF) induction workshop for the newly appointed CBEF Members organized by the Department of Finance and Socio-Economic planning in collaboration with the Commission on Revenue Allocation(CRA).
The training was meant to equip the new members of their role in county planning and development as they start the five-year journey as the People’s think tanks during the budgeting process.
The 2-day induction workshop came to an end leaving the 3rd Makueni County Budget and Economic Forum with a rich understanding on various areas of performance. As part of the conclusion and way forward, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) agreed to sign an MoU with the County Government of Makueni. Further, there is need for the Forum members to develop their work plan, code of conduct, terms of reference (ToR) and also form sub-committees for more effective and efficient service delivery. The forum members have a role of mobilizing the people they represent and also furnish them with information and feedback always.
Makueni county has inked a joint work plan worth KSh.1 Billion with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to stimulate the growth of the local economy for the 2022/23 financial year.
The partnership was signed by Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and USAID Mission Director in Kenya David Gosney on Wednesday in Wote.
Some of the key activities identified for collaborative implementation are:
Provision of nutrition commodities to support treatment of moderate acute malnutrition for the under-fives and pregnant and lactating women , strengthening of Community Health Strategy using Community Health Volunteers (Heath and Nutrition); strengthening child protection committees and operationalization of Makueni Development and Rescue Centre, strengthening integrated GBV prevention and management ( Social Protection); and increase Public Participation on budgeting process as well as conduct civic education in the county ( public participation).
Others are promoting the development of cottage industries, supporting manufacturing-related innovations, promoting and registration of cooperative societies, strengthening institutional capacities in the cooperative movement (Trade and Cooperatives Development); launching tourism circuits in Makueni, documentation and digitization of indigenous knowledge (Tourism and cultural development); and Crop, Livestock Pests and Disease Control and agricultural Extension Programme ( Agriculture).
H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr on Thursday paid a courtesy call to the Makueni Agri-hub at Kwa Kathoka for an insight about the operations of the oil seed pressing plant.
The plant, owned by Italian firm Eni Kenya, processes vegetable oil from cotton, castor, and croton seeds for bio-refining to make biofuel.
According to a report on the project status “Seeds for Energy”, the firm is currently involving 25,000 farmers, with an early agricultural production projection of 30,000 tons per year by 2023 and an expected 200,000 tons per year by 2026 when the firm will be fully operational.
Three months ago, the firm shipped out its first vegetable oil cargo to Gela bio-refinery-one of the top innovative bio-refineries in Europe.
The Governor was thrilled by the fact that thousands of farmers in Makueni have turned to farming the firm’s raw materials, creating indirect employment opportunities for them, and directly where many people have secured jobs in the industry.
More important, Governor Mutula was elated by the company’s circular economy model in producing Agri-feedstock raw materials making livestock feeds production less cost.
H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior has commended the progress made in Thwake Dam construction, which stands at 74 percent to date.
During a tour of the project site in the company of County Commissioner Beverly Opwora on Tuesday, Governor Mutula Jnr expressed confidence that Phase One of the project will be ready for commissioning next year as envisioned by the national Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
H.E Mutula Jnr termed the project as one of the answers to the perpetual water and food stress bedeviling Makueni County. He said the Ministry of Water and Irrigation has given him its commitment for supply of water to Kalawa Ward and Wote town.
The governor also challenged the national government to start planning for the next phases of the project, which include a 20MW hydropower plant, water supply and sanitation as well as the irrigation component.
To ensure skills transfer, the governor put up a request to the contractor for capacity building of the county government’s water personnel in mega water dams construction to scale up their prowess.
Wote and Mtito-Andei towns will soon have fully developed Decentralized Waste Treatment Facilities geared towards improving the general sanitation of the county.
This was announced by Water executive Bob Kisyula on Wednesday during a meeting with Water Sector Trust Fund officials where an agreement to fund the projects and other water projects was reached.
The deal, signed by Governor Kivutha Kibwana and the Water Sector Trust Fund Chairman Patrick Kokonya will fund capacity building and development support to the County, to improve the provision of adequate and sustainable access to sufficient quality and quantity of water and basic sanitation.
According to Kisyula, the county has already identified desilting and rehabilitation of Mulima and Kinze dams in Mbooni sub-county for funding from the Water Sector Trust Fund.
Sanitation program for most of the county’s urban centers is also on the funding priority list.
The Fund’s CEO Ismail Shaiye who witnessed the signing of the partnership announced that a team of engineers will be dispatched to the already earmarked dams for baseline survey in a fortnight.
Kibwana termed the deal a timely one saying that the county is racing against time to fully achieve the water agenda for the people of Makueni, now at 53 percent.
Over 160 community-led development initiatives in Makueni have received Sh 33 million funding by World Bank through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NARIGP).
The overarching goal of the project is to increase agricultural productivity and profitability of targeted communities in selected counties, and in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, to provide immediate and effective response.
The small-scale farmers, drawn from 20 wards across the county, have ventured into tomato, mango, indigenous chicken and green grams value chains and were competitively identified through vetting of proposals which had to meet set eligibility criteria.
According to the Agriculture CEC Lawrence Nzunga, priority was placed on micro-projects that have the potential to increase agricultural productivity and incomes, value addition, and links to markets; and sustain natural resources base and returns to targeted communities.
Makueni County Governor Kivutha Kibwana, while presenting the cheques to the successful groups at ATC Kwakathoka on Friday, urged farmers to focus on community-led agriculture as the surest way of enhancing food security at household level.
“I urge farmers in all the wards to venture into community-led agriculture that will help us achieve food security and save us from poverty and “Mwolyo” menace,” said Kibwana.
Kibwana asked the farmers to use the funds prudently towards implementing the proposed projects and ensure that they are successful enough to attract more funding.
A County Technical Advisory Committee is already in place to provide the monitoring and evaluation component while Community-Driven Development Committees will assist the communities to plan, implement and manage the interventions.
By the end of the project in 2021, 570 project proposals will have been funded to benefit 17,100 small holder farmers across the county.
Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation Simon Chelugui has said his ministry will push the contractor undertaking construction of Thwake dam to fast track its implementation and recover lost time.
According to the CS, 11 months into the signing of the contract with China Gezhouba Group, the contractor, only 7.2 percent of civil works against an expected 19 percent has been achieved so far.
Chelugui said the ministry will ensure fast tracking of the project implementation so that it is completed within the 56 months contract period.
The CS spoke on Wednesday when he, accompanied by governors Kivutha Kibwana, Alfred Mutua and Charity Ngilu toured the dam site to asses the implementation progress and address any emerging issues.
The three governors protested delaying of the distribution of domestic water component, insisting that it should be done simultaneously or immediately the Dam is done as the region is highly water stressed.
At least a volume of 60 Million litres of treated water from the dam will be reserved for domestic use in both Kitui and Makueni (Wote, Kathonzweni and Kibwezi).
The governors also insisted on the adherence to the local-local Sub-contracting as agreed where contractors from the three counties would be given priority, with a list of pre-qualified ones shared with the contractor and the ministry.
