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96TH EDITION OF THE KENYA MUSIC AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL (KMCF) ENDS ON A HIGH NOTE

The 96th edition of the Kenya Music and Cultural Festival (KMCF) ended on a high note with the gala in which the creme de la creme of the festival entertained an audience eager to sample the best music and dance, elocution and drama teams from the festival.

Mr. Herman Shambi, Secretary Administration, State Department of Culture, the Arts and Heritage was the chief guest during the gala and closing ceremony of the 9 day festival that started on 1st December 2023 under the theme, ‘Our culture: towards national cohesion, healing and peace’.

The Chairperson of the KMCF, Prof. Emily Akuno, appreciated the generosity and hospitality extend to the festival by the Government of Makueni County. She noted that Makueni had set very high standards for other counties that will seek to host the festival.

Kakamega county emerged the top county in the festival followed by Uasin Gishu the second and Mombasa county in position three.

County First Ladies from Lamu, Nyamira and Wajir led by their host, H.E. Anita Mutula, attended the festival on 8th December 2023 and enjoyed Zilizopendwa tunes from the rest of Africa among other performances. The County First Ladies gave assurance of their support to the festival.

94 needy pupils secure county scholarships

At least 94 needy pupils from Makueni who sat their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in 2019 have secured full scholarships to their secondary schools of admission courtesy of the county government of Makueni.

Each of the 94 beneficiaries will receive Shs 70,000 per year for tuition, uniform and books while their families will cater for personal effects.

Governor Kivutha Kibwana who issued scholarship cheques to the beneficiaries on Monday at ATC-Kwakathoka termed the programme a lifeline for most vulnerable and bright children in the society.

“The Makueni County Scholarship support programme has proved to be a lifeline to many bright children who would have ended up in poorly resourced schools that cannot provide them quality education,” said Kibwana.

“Were it not for this programme, others would have ended up as casual laborers with a bleak future despite their stellar performance in national exams,” he further noted.

Kibwana said the county government is currently supporting 362 students in the scholarship programme for both continuing and the new students since its inception in 2014.

He said besides the 94 scholarships, his administration will spend Sh 18 million for bursaries to needy students in both secondary and tertiary institutions in the 2019/2020 Financial Year.

CIHEB allocates Sh. 108M to Makueni for HIV, TB prevention and treatment

The Center for International Health Education and Biosecurity (CIHEB) has allocated Sh. 108M to Makueni county health services docket for HIV prevention and treatment services, the organization’s CEO Dr. Emily Koech has announced.

The institution is implementing a 5-year workplan for disease control and prevention funded program dubbed ‘The partnership for advanced care and treatment’ in the Lower Eastern region.

Dr. Koech led his CIHEB team on Monday to pay a courtesy call to governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr and his deputy Lucy Mulili with their discussions centered on comprehensive HIV and TB treatment.

Since last year, the organization funded Makueni through the county health management team to a tune of Sh. 112M to provide services and activities highlighted below.

● Provision of HIV prevention interventions for general and key populations including HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis(PrEP) services and gender-basedHIV-exposed violence

●Provision of High-quality targeted HIV testing services (HTS) leading to the identification and linkage of HIV-infected individuals.

● Provision of HIV prevention and treatment services for pregnant and breast-feeding women and HIV-exposedlast infants.

● Provision of quality patient-centered HIV care and treatment services for PLHIV, including management of commodities.

● Strengthening of health systems to support the delivery of HIV and TB related services including laboratory systems, commodity management and monitoring and evaluation systems.gender-based

90 students from needy families secure county scholarships

At least 90 candidates from across Makueni County who sat for their KCPE in 2018 will join secondary schools of their choices under full scholarships courtesy of the Makueni County Government.

The 90, three from each of the 30 wards were awarded their first year fees cheques, amounting to a maximum of Sh 70,000 by deputy governor Adelina Mwau at Wote on Tuesday.

The 90 brings to 293 the total number of students sponsored by the County Government since 2014 when the scholarship program was unveiled by the Kibwana administration.

The scholarships covers fees, uniform and books and those who score B+ get a chance to proceed to University under full scholarship.

One of the pioneer beneficiaries of this program, Naomi Kithikii who went to Pangani Girls High School from Kiambani primary school in Makindu is now a student at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) pursuing Radiography.

“This program is God send for some of us. When i sat for my KCPE, the future looked so bleak with no hope of joining secondary school. Today I’m just a step from my dream career courtesy of this program.” said Naomi who graced the Scholarships award event.

Speaking at the event, deputy governor Adelina Mwau said, “As a government, what we are doing today is like planting a seed that in four years will bear good fruit and a few years later lead to transformation of the ninety families represented here.”

Renown Wote based business mogul  Duncun Mwilu alias Ngooni offered to sponsor up to University one student recommended by the county government.

90 Needy Learners Secure County Scholarships

90 pupils from needy backgrounds who sat for their KCPE in 2022 have secured full scholarships to their secondary schools of choice thanks to the County Government of Makueni.

The 90 were selected from the 30 wards after a thorough vetting exercise by the Department of Education.

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr who led the scholarships award ceremony in Wote said the county government will closely monitor the awardees’ educational progress so that non veers off the right course of the education system.

70,000M3 Kaiti sand dam targeting 1,200 rural and town households under construction

H.E Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr inspects kaiti sand dam at kwa kitungu, outskirts of Wote town where the County is engaging over 150 people daily in the construction works.
Once complete, the sand dam which has a
Capacity of 70,000 cubic meters, 3metres high and 85 metres long is expected to serve a rural capacity of 1200 Households and also Wote town residents.

6000 FARMERS TO RECEIVE SUNFLOWER SEEDS

Over 6,000 registered farmers across Makueni County will receive sunflower seeds for planting during the October-November- December season.

On Friday Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. flagged off 14,121 kgs of sunflower seeds and will be distributed to the farmers.

The initiative is courtesy of the Edible Oil Promotion Project (EOPP), a national government program by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA).

The project aims to reduce the country’s reliance on imported edible oil and enhance local communities’ nutritional needs. Makueni County leads the nation in farmer registration for this project.

Governor Mutula said AFA has committed to supplying sunflower oil extraction machines to the county.

He encouraged more farmers to enroll in the program and take advantage of sunflower’s drought-resistant nature, turning it into a profitable venture through edible oil production.

CECM Agriculture Joyce Mutua advised farmers to buy certified seeds to ensure better yields and minimize potential losses during the upcoming rainy season.

60 Trainees Commence an Agricultural Training Program to Enhance their Employability

The first cohort of 60 trainees has reported at ATC Kwa Kathoka ready to commence a 6-month agricultural training program fully sponsored by the County Government of Makueni in partnership with Anglican Development Services Kenya (ADS- Kenya) and Micro Enterprises Support Programme Trust (MESPT).

The training initiative is geared towards creating economic opportunities and enhancing employability for youth and Women of productive age through green skills and capacity development along the horticulture, dairy and poultry value chains.

The trainees underwent orientation on Wednesday, an exercise which was presided over by Agriculture Executive Committee Member Joyce Mutua and flanked by her Education counterpart Elizabeth Muli. 

Soon, the Makueni Agriculture Training Centre at Kwa Kathoka will be an autonomous entity once the proposed bill is passed by the Assembly. The center will provide specialized and high-quality agricultural education, training, and related services, and will play a pivotal role in enhancing agricultural knowledge and skills among the community, potentially contributing to local agricultural development.

During the orientation exercise, Mutua announced that the school will be officially inaugurated next week on 14th November 2023 by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr alongside other senior officials from the National Government.

School-going children benefit from dignity packs

5,000 school going children benefit from dignity packs

Close to 5000 school going children drawn from various learning institutions in Makueni have benefitted from dignity packs in a bid to improve their personal hygiene and overall performance in schools.

The initiative, spearheaded by the County First Lady Nazi Kivutha in partnership with the department of Gender, Children, Culture and Social Services, entails distribution of dignity packs for both boys and girls and sensitization on menstrual hygiene management and general personal hygiene.

School-going children in Makueni benefit from dignity packs

The dignity pack for the boys include three inner wears, bar soap, toothbrush and paste while the girls received extra packets of sanitary towels each to last them approximately a term in school.

According to Nazi, lack of sanitary towels is one of the major causes of absenteeism from schools leading to poor performance and in other cases dropping out of schools. As such, the program will lead to improved retention of girls in schools.

The program that closed on Thursday at Malili Township primary school and ABC Ngaamba Secondary school in Malili sub-county targeted boys and girls in disadvantaged primary and secondary schools, county technical training institutes as well as special schools.