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Makueni gets World Bank nod on Credit Worthiness

Makueni county has been given a through pass by the World Bank on credit worthiness through a rating survey conducted by Global Credit Rating Agency, under the County Credit-Worthiness Initiative.

The County Credit Worthiness Initiative is a collaboration between the National Treasury, Commission on Revenue Allocation, Capital Markets Authority and County Governments Supported by the World Bank Group.

The initiative aims at building the capacity of county governments to access long-term development financing from the capital markets to fund capital intensive infrastructure growth, which would otherwise have take years to achieve through the equitable revenue share financing.

Makueni alongside Bungoma and Kisumu were chosen for piloting of this initiative after agreeing to institute strengthened financial management systems, fiscal structures that support responsible borrowing and institutionalized framework that can oversee sustainable county government borrowing.

The three had their Credit Ratings unveiled in public by CRA on Wednesday in Nairobi, in an event attended by respective governors; Kivutha Kibwana, Wycliffe Wangamati, Anyang’ Nyong’o and Officials from World Bank, National Treasury and CMA.

By Financial Year 2020/2021, the counties will be able to access credit financing from the capital markets through County bonds, Infrastructure bonds, Corporate bonds or securitization of receivables such as own source revenue.

Some of the Key funding sources for this financing plan include pension schemes, insurance companies, SACCOs, diaspora and Collective Investment Schemes.

  • March 11, 2020 in News

Makueni’s Tourism Sector set for Revenue Boom

The tourism sector in Makueni is set for a major overhaul with plans a foot to make the county a hub of tourist attraction, and the sector a major revenue generator for both county and the country.

With support from the National Museums of Kenya, the county government is embarking on an ambitious exercise of documentation, conservation, management, promotion and restoration of heritage sites in the county.

The management of heritage will include the construction of heritage centers and museums, the re-landscaping of open cultural and natural sites, construction of botanical gardens, organizing cultural festivals and fairs, the identification, documentation, mapping and gazettement of important heritage sites.

Some of the important heritage sites for conservation and restoration include religious sites such as Kalamba, threatened biodiversity areas such as Chyulu and Nzaui hills among others.

This revolutionary raft of measures was announced Wednesday by Governor Kivutha Kibwana and the National Museums of Kenya Director General Mzalendo Kibunjia when they signed a partnership agreement in Nairobi.

In the same breath, governor Kibwana signed a working relationship with Global Communities-Kenya, a Non-Governmental Organization, to revamp the cooperative movement in Makueni.

The parties to this agreement will co-operate to:

Develop county co-operative policy and legislation through a participatory approach; 

Build the capacity of the cooperatives officials; to offer business advisory services to the cooperatives including trainings on their needs; and

Design interventions that will enhance access to markets, finance, technical knowledge and relevant information.

The deal was also signed by USAID/ Cooperative Leadership, Engagement, Advocacy and research(CLEAR) program- Chief of Party Kristin Wilcox Feldman in Nairobi.

The County cooperative movement has grown to 230 registered cooperative societies since 2016 which cover activities such as produce marketing, savings and credit SACCOs and housing.

Co-operative Bank seeks Makueni Partnership in Support of Devolution

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya wants to support devolution locally by supporting Makueni towards realizing its general development agenda to the residents.

This was disclosed by the Bank’s Head of Government and Public Sector Banking Silvance Nono on Tuesday when he led a team of representatives from the bank for a breakfast meeting with Governor Kivutha Kibwana to discuss possible areas of partnership.

According to Nono, the bank fits into the key aspirations of Makueni county in the following areas;

Agriculture and Food Security; to provide wide range agribusiness support for major valued horticultural crops in the county;

Water and Irrigation; to support the various initiatives for water harvesting as well as revenue collection for Wote Water and Sewerage Company;

Youth and women support; to provide banking solutions geared towards economic empowerment;

Quality and Accessible Health services; to provide revenue collection solutions for the county’s health facilities;

Quality Education; through provision of cash management services for the ECDE centers and TVETs; and

Economic Empowerment; through integration of co-operatives to encourage cohesion and self-reliance through pooled savings and training on financial awareness through the Co-op Bank Consultancy arm.

The Bank is supporting the county in the scholarships program and has so far sponsored 30 bright students from needy backgrounds in the County.

A technical team drawn from the parties will meet next week to finalise on the specific joint framework of working together.

Partnership sees more NCDs patients seek medical attention

Over 6000 hypertension and diabetes patients across the county have been screened, with 2000 of them already enrolled to digital-health enabled mode of care in a bid to provide an integrated end-to -end solution for Non-Communicable Diseases burden in Makueni.
 
This is as a result of a 2-year public private partnership that was signed 7 months ago by the County government of Makueni, Novartis Social Business, Medtronic Labs and Management Sciences for Health geared towards combating NCDs in the county.
 
Several community health workers and volunteers, as part of capacity building and strengthening of the health system, have been trained on Ministry of Health’s NCD clinical training as well as using the Empower Health System, a digital platform for managing and monitoring patients.
 
During a review meeting on the implementation status of the MoU, chaired by Makueni county Governor Kivutha Kibwana and attended by representatives from the parties on Tuesday in Wote, the County health department reported nine out of ten initially planned health facilities are operational with Empower Health system.
 
The facilities include Makindu, Matiliku, Mukuyuni, Kibwezi, Kisau, Mbooni, Tawa, Sultan-Hamud and Mtito-Andei Sub-County hospitals.
 
According to the County Health Director Medical Services Dr. Stephen Ndolo, plans are underway to connect the Makueni County Referral and Kambu Sub-County Hospitals to the digital care platform.
 
The parties are working to scaling up the program to reach out to more people and reduce on the hospital deaths caused by NCDs.

Kasikeu Residents Receive Title deeds

At least 3,178 households from Kasikeu ward, Kilome constituency, are now the new holders of title deeds after a 28-year agonizing wait.

The residents were handed over the land ownership documents by governor Kivutha Kibwana and County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed at Kasikeu township Wednesday.

The Kasikeu adjudication section was established in 1992, covering Kiou, Wathini, Mutiswa and Mumela sections.

The issuance of the title deeds, governor Kibwana and Maalim said, was catalyzed by the One-Government-Approach of administration in Makueni county where the national and county governments work harmoniously where necessary.

The county government has facilitated the exercise by paying the processing fees and the issuance exercise.

Traders tipped to make Millions from Devolution Conference

Traders in Makueni are readying themselves for the business whirlwind expected from the 7th national devolution conference to be staged in Wote, Makueni, in April.

The traders, drawn from several sectors of the economy such as Hotel industry, Transport, hawkers, garment traders among others were on Wednesday coached on how to reap maximum business opportunities from the event.

The induction conference for the traders held at Wote, and graced by Governor Kivutha Kibwana was sponsored by the county government in partnership with the Council of Governors (CoG).

At least 8,000 delegates are expected to attend the devolution conference, posing a huge business opportunity for local traders and even from neighboring counties.

Governor Kibwana said his administration is working with KeRRA and other stakeholders to make the event a success.

From Squatters to Land Owners

At least 1,012 households from Wayani, within Nguu Settlement Scheme can now rest easy after receiving tittle deeds to their parcels of land.

The issuance of the title deeds brings to an end a 25-year land ownership battle between people initially considered squatters and members of Nguu Ranch Cooperative Society who claimed the settlement scheme was their ancestral land.

Efforts to settle the land ownership dispute has run through the years since 1995 when a survey was conducted but hit a snag, at times giving way to bloodletting, evictions and grabbing by hawk-eyed cartels with backing from the lands offices.

In 2018, the Makueni county government, in consultation with Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning and the National Land Commission established a joint taskforce to spearhead efforts towards ending the dispute and pave way for issuance of title deeds.

The county government funded the whole exercise at a cost of Sh 29 million.

On Wednesday, the Wayani residents, occupying a 7,341-acre piece of land were all smiles as they lined up at Matutu shopping centre to collect their title deeds.

The ceremony was graced by governor Kivutha Kibwana, NLC vice chair Gertrude Nduku Nguku and county commissioner Maalim Mohammed.

Commissioner Nduku commended the out of court dispute resolution mechanism spearheaded by Kibwana’s administration to resolve this conflict, saying it will be replicated all over the country as it had proven the most effective.

Residents from the Nguu section of the settlement scheme (26,472 acres) will soon receive their title deeds, now at the titling stage.

Makueni Universal Health Care receives Funding to boost medical supplies

The Makueni Universal Health Care programme has received a Sh 100 million funding boost from the Ministry of Health to increase the supply of essential medicines and supplies.
 
The funding, which will be disbursed annually through Kenya Medical Supplies Authority, will complement the county’s essential medicine and supplies budgetary allocation to ensure that all the public health facilities are sufficiently stocked.
This was revealed on Monday during the signing of the Intergovernmental Participation Agreement on the implementation of universal health coverage in Kenya between the National Government through the Ministry of Health and the county government of Makueni.
 
The agreement was signed by Governor Kivutha Kibwana and Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki at Afya House in Nairobi.
 
According to the deal, the county will also receive two special portable medical clinics to provide medical services within the informal settlements and hard to reach areas within the county.
 
The Ministry of Health, as part of the agreement, will facilitate the placement of 107 interns through the Public Service Commission in collaboration with the Makueni County Public Service Board, to offer services at Level 2 and 3 facilities.

Makueni Leaders pay Moving Tribute to Fallen Former President Moi

A section of Makueni leaders led by governor Kivutha Kibwana, County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, assembly speaker Douglas Mbilu and former KANU minister Peter Maundu led citizens of Makueni in paying their tribute to fallen former president Daniel Moi Thursday.

Speaker after speaker eulogized Moi as a patriotic leader who unified the country through his clarion call of Peace, Love and Unity despite the ferocious clamour for constitutional reforms for most part of his presidency.

“I may not have had a good relationship with the former president due to my leadership of the pro-reform movement which roughed the former president the wrong way. I must however commend him for the inclusivity in leadership of his government.” Said Kibwana.

“Moi is credited for laying a firm foundation for education in Kenya. The proliferation of Universities in the country was driven by Moi, who as a teacher saw the need for an educated generation,” the governor said further.

Kibwana said Moi’s executive power was felt across the country because he appointed ministers and their assistants from every corner of the country. He said this was the reason the former president was able to rule for 24 years.

The Makueni governor also applauded Moi for overseeing a smooth transition of power in 2002, when he would have used the state machinery to rig in his preferred successor.

According to Kibwana, the only thing he regrets is not getting an opportunity to sit with the former president and speaking one-on-one about the issues he and his pro-reform cohorts were fighting for.

“I wish I had an opportunity to sit with him and to tell him that the ‘Fimbo ya Nyayo’ was hard on us but we had to do what we did for the good of Kenya. I also would have told him I hold no grudges against him for the suffering we and our families went through,” said the governor.

Mr. Maundu who served as an assistant minister in the office of the president and a KANU elected MP for Makueni termed the former president as a person who loved young people and propelled many into leadership.
“He was simply a mentor to the youth. Many of us were trusted with high leadership positions as assistant ministers in our early thirties. He even allowed us to represent the country internationally and he believed in the feedback we brought,” he said.

  • February 6, 2020 in News

Makueni Hawkers Redefining Wealth Creation By Ordinary Folk

In 2015, the Makueni County Government spearheaded formation of the Makueni Hawkers Sacco bringing together all hawkers based in the county.

The Sacco, with 1,500 members then, was registered in February the same year and awarded two lorries as seed capital to ease transportation of their merchandise and to enhance wealth creation.

With a monthly savings of at least Sh 120,000 a month, and a membership of 2051 as of today, the Sacco has acquired a new lorry, and aims at acquiring three more such that each sub-county chapter has its own.

The new lorry was unveiled on Wednesday by governor Kivutha Kibwana, who pledged his government’s support in the acquisition of the planned trucks.

The Sacco, which has also ventured into loaning its members, had a loan portfolio of Sh 4.6 million as of December 30th 2018 audit report.

The Sacco, according to its leadership, also intends to venture into real estate development and water hawking through purchase of a water bowser as ways of business diversification.