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County allocates Ksh. 1 million to promote silkworm rearing

The government has allocated Sh 1 million to promote sericulture across the country.

Agriculture Chief Officer Mary Muteti said the move is part of county government’s strategy to support poverty reduction programs.

Ms Muteti who was addressing participants at a silkworm farming forum said the promotion of sericulture will aid income generation among the locals.

She said the government is also looking into ways of increasing value addition and marketing of silk finished products.

Over 20 groups participated in the event organised in partnership with Tosheka company.

Deputy governor Adelina Mwau who attended the event said silkworm rearing is a major economic enhancing activity with huge benefits to the households of the participating farmers.

She said the direct selling of silkworm products will help create employment opportunities for the locals.

“It is a viable and profitable venture especially to the women and the youth,” Mwau said.

Counties urged to move into action towards addressing climate change

Counties have been urged to move into action towards addressing the adverse effects of climate change as time is ripe to shift to implementation of the existing climatic policies.

African Centre for Technology Studies Head of Climate Change Programme Dr Joanes Atela said that we have many crucial policies on climate change but of more paramount is to put them into action.

“There is an abundance of climate policies. This is crucial, but perhaps more important now is to shift focus to the implementation of the policies. We need to explore innovative approaches, and document such, that would contribute to effectively addressing the effects of climate challenge,” Atela stated.

Atela further noted that to effectively address climate change, focus now should be on fostering concerted efforts saying that everyone has a part to play in tackling the climate change menace.

Atela Said: “Effectively addressing climate change requires all hands on deck. Each of you holds the key to a crucial piece of the puzzle.”

Dr. Atela spoke on Wednesday during the mapping and upscaling of climate change action in Kenya conference held at Wote in Makueni County.

The two-day workshop which attracted delegates from the 47 counties seeks to map and catalyze the extent of climate action in Kenya counties, and foster peer learning on how to catalyze and scale climate action in the country.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau who officially opened the conference stated that the county had made some major milestones towards combating climate change.

She observed that the county has constructed sand dams in major rivers, banned sand harvesting in rivers and promoted water harvesting through several initiatives, among them the merry go round program for buying group members water tanks among other interventions within Makueni.

Counties partner with Nutrition International

Makueni is among 11 counties that on Friday held a high-level cross-county learning forum on domestic resource mobilization for nutrition and health at Safaripark.

The event was convened and moderated by Nutrition International.

Among other resolutions, the Governors and Deputy governors present jointly committed to a declaration towards ending malnutrition in their respective counties.

Below are the resolutions arrived at during the convergence;

I. Elevation of nutrition as a top priority in counties.

II. Integrating malnutrition in county budgets, policies and legislative actions.

III. Working with executives and county assemblies to increase the resource mobilization base.

IV. Improving governance and prudent management of nutrition interventions, including, supporting policy and regulations that ring-fence resources for nutrition

V. Strengthening partnership with Nutrition International and fulfilling our commitment to the performance-based match-funding (DRM) program.

VI. Strengthening coordination between external partners working with county governments to ensure the effective use of the resources.

VII. Closely collaborating with the National Government to facilitate the uptake of policies, legislation and plans to support the achievement of national, regional and international commitments and obligations.

COUNTIES GATHER TO LEARN TELE-SURGERY FROM MAKUENI

Top health officials from Murang’a, Nakuru, and Mombasa counties on Wednesday gathered at the Council of Governors’ offices in Nairobi to learn from Makueni’s successful use of technology in the practice of surgery within the county hospitals.

As a pioneer in integrating Proximie technology, Makueni County has made strides in enhancing surgical procedures through the use of real-time video feeds.

This innovation has not only improved surgical outcomes, but has also facilitated the learning and mentorship of clinicians and medical interns within the county.

The meeting focused on counties coming together to create synergies, explore sustainable implementation strategies, and support the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) goals for the benefit of local communities. Digital health, as envisioned in the Digital Health Act 2023, will be optimally achieved once modern technology is embraced by all players.

Additionally, there was an emphasis on documenting these processes to share the impact across counties and with the Maarifa center within Council of Governors.

Shannon Shibata Germanos, Head of Proximie Global Health, emphasized that Proximie accelerates surgical training by allowing clinicians to observe procedures, learn new techniques, and exchange feedback from anywhere in the world and on any device.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. highlighted the successes achieved with the cutting-edge technology, stressing that a team-based approach, focused on evidence-based best practices, patient safety, and communication, has been crucial in strengthening surgical outcomes in Makueni.

Governor Kilonzo expressed his hope that modern technology would be adopted nationwide, championed by all 47 governors.

The effectiveness of this technology has already been recognized by Kenyatta National Hospital and the University of Nairobi, both of which have adopted practices learned from Makueni.

COG’s Director Khatra Ali acknowledged the potential of Proximie technology for county-based training, noting that it could help retain medics who might otherwise take study leave, creating gaps in staffing that counties struggle to fill due to budget constraints.

COPPER, MANGANESE, IRON ORE DISCOVERED IN MAKUENI

A National Aerial Geological Survey has discovered deposits of Copper, Iron ore, Manganese and Graphite in Makueni County.

Cabinet Secretary for Mining Salim Mvurya announced this discovery at Kyunyu village, Kathonzweni, when he toured one of the sites said to harbour copper deposits on Wednesday 13th, September, 2023, in the company of Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and sector technocrats from both levels of government.

This discovery opens a wide range of opportunities for job creation for locals while putting Kenya on a firm pedestal for economic growth, and a diversification from dependence on agriculture as the key economic driver.

The CS has ordered geological experts from the ministry to conduct a ground truthing exercise to verify the mineralization patterns and commercial viability of the deposits for exploitation.

Mvurya and Governor Mutula also closed illegal mining activities by unscrupulous and unlicensed miners who had already moved in at the Kathonzweni copper-rich area.

Governor Mutula cautioned residents against selling their land saying they stood to reap huge financial benefits through compensation when mining begins.

The team also toured Kathekani in Mtito Andei said to contain graphite deposits, and where artisan mining activities are being undertaken.

Makueni County Cooperative Society Bill 2017

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Controller of Budget lauds Makueni for clean audit report

Controller of Budget Agnes Odhiambo on Tuesday lauded Makueni for earning unqualified audit report for 2018/2019 financial year.

Odhiambo was awestruck that Makueni was among the two counties in the entire country saying it is not a mean achievement to qualify for a clean bill.

“I thought it was almost impossible to get unqualified audit report after getting disappointments from many counties. I never imagined it could happen. I must congratulate Makueni County, that is excellent,” observed Odhiambo.

Makueni and Nyandarua earned clean audit reports in the just closed financial year.

She further urged other counties to benchmark in Makueni instead of travelling abroad for the same since the county has made enviable strides in delivering services to the citizenry, especially in health and agriculture sectors.

The controller of budget is in Makueni to assess the milestones made by the county in a bid to perform her roles of oversight and advisory as stipulated in the constitution.

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana while hosting her and her team in Wote, congratulated her office.

Odhiambo and her team visited various development projects among them the Mother and Child Hospital, Kwambila and Katili earth dams and the Makueni fruit processing plant.

CONTROLLER OF BUDGET LAUDS MAKUENI COUNTY FOR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION

Controller of Budget, Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, has lauded Makueni County’s Solarization Project at the Referral Hospital, describing it as a model initiative that could be replicated in other counties to cut energy costs.

The flagship project for the 2023/2024 financial year is projected to save the hospital Ksh. 7 million annually in electricity bills. By reducing the hospital’s energy expenses and ensuring an uninterrupted power supply, the project aims to significantly enhance the quality of healthcare services.

Dr. Nyakang’o visited Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Friday to present findings from a monitoring exercise conducted by a team from the Controller of Budget’s office, which evaluated the county’s budget implementation for the 2023/24 financial year.

The team assessed several key projects, including the solarization initiative at the Makueni County Referral Hospital, the Kathuma Borehole Water Project and the Makueni Child Protection Centre. These site visits included discussions with stakeholders to review progress, identify challenges and gather feedback.

The COB delegation also reviewed the administration, management and performance of the county’s Own Source Revenue (OSR). Dr. Nyakang’o praised Makueni for surpassing its Ksh. 1 billion OSR target but encouraged the county to push further and aim for its full potential of over Ksh. 2 billion.

She described the overall monitoring exercise as highly positive, noting that while there are a few challenges, the progress of devolution in Makueni is evident and encouraging.