Skip to content Skip to left sidebar Skip to footer

News

COUNTY EMERGENCY TEAM REHABILITATES WATUKA ROAD FOR BETTER CONNECTIVITY

Residents of Wote- Nthangu plying Watuka road will soon enjoy improved access to the exterior parts of Mbooni and back to Wote, thanks to rehabilitation efforts by the county’s emergency response team. The road, which had been rendered impassable by heavy rains, is undergoing upgrades to restore and enhance connectivity.

The project, now 68% complete, includes the construction of a drift slab, installation of cross culverts to manage flash floodwaters, and the erection of gabions supported by backfilling to stabilize the road structure.

Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, who also chairs the cabinet committee on emergency response, on Tuesday led Finance and Roads ECMs Damaris Kavoi and Peter Mumo to inspect the ongoing works. Nominated MCA Elizabeth Mutindi was also present.

Mulili lauded the team for their commendable progress and emphasized the road’s importance in linking the agricultural zone to the county headquarters.

COUNTY ASSEMBLY RALLIES SUPPORT FOR MAKUENI EMPOWERMENT FUND

The Makueni County Assembly, through the Gender and Public Accounts Committees, has voiced its support for the Makueni County Empowerment Fund Digital Lending System, alongside the reviewed guidelines, regulations, and strategic plan for the fund’s implementation.

During a sensitization forum for the two committees on the digital fund and its accompanying regulations, the MCAs lauded the initiative as a true social protection program aimed at providing an economic lifeline to ultra-poor and vulnerable households. The fund seeks to enable them to access affordable credit and gradually transition into higher income brackets, ultimately empowering beneficiaries to qualify for production capital from conventional financial institutions and money markets.

Through the newly developed digital lending platform, the county aims to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability in fund management while ensuring easy access for citizens across all wards. The MCAs will play a key role in providing oversight during the implementation of the fund.

County Executive Committee Member for Gender, Eng. Sebastian Kyoni, who led the session, reaffirmed Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr.’s commitment to using innovation as a tool for inclusive growth, noting that the Fund will “unlock the potential of our people and help them move from survival to prosperity.”

COUNTY ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE FACT-FINDING TOUR.

Today, the Makueni County Assembly Committee on Agriculture conducted a fact-finding tour of the Kathonzweni Dairy Plant to assess its operational status. This visit followed up on concerns raised by Hon. Maneno, the MCA for the host ward, regarding the viability of the milk processing plant.

Several critical issues were discussed during the tour. Chief Officer for Livestock and Fisheries, Japheth Kiminza informed the committee that the Government had already settled power bills owed to the plant, ensured supply of clean water, planned to deploy technicians,and is in the process of building and equiping a laboratory in preparation for opening the plant to production.The Dairy Plant, when operating at optimum capacity, can process 10,000 litres of milk per day and produce other dairy products like yoghurt and mala for the local market.

This visit underscores the commitment of the County Government and relevant stakeholders to ensure the smooth operation and sustainability of the Kathonzweni Dairy Plant.

Those present included; Chief officer Livestock and Fisheries Japheth Kiminza,The assembly Agriculture committee led by Hon. Jacintah Mwikali (Vice Chair), Hon. Maneno (the Host Mca) , Hon. Serah Mbilo, Hon.Jonathan Kimongo,Hon. Josephine Ndambuki, Hon. Jeniffer Mwanthi, Hon. Mercy Mutuku and the Kathonzweni dairy plant Cooperative committee members among other people.

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.