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๐‘ด๐’‚๐’Œ๐’–๐’†๐’๐’Š ๐‘ผ๐’๐’—๐’†๐’Š๐’๐’” ๐‘ญ๐’Š๐’—๐’†-๐’€๐’†๐’‚๐’“ ๐‘บ๐’•๐’“๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’ˆ๐’š ๐‘ป๐’ ๐‘ฐ๐’Ž๐’‘๐’“๐’๐’—๐’† ๐‘พ๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’“ ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐‘บ๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’‚๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐‘จ๐’„๐’„๐’†๐’”๐’”

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Thursday launched the Makueni County Water and Sanitation Strategy and Investment Plan 2025โ€“2030, a five-year roadmap to guide investments in water infrastructure, sanitation services and climate resilience across the county

The strategy seeks to address persistent challenges, including inadequate funding, climate change and water governance gaps, while strengthening coordination among the county government, national government, development partners and communities.

It prioritizes expanding access to clean and reliable water, improving sanitation and hygiene in schools and health facilities, strengthening water institutions, and promoting sustainable water resource management.

The plan also emphasizes gender equality, recognizing the disproportionate burden of water insecurity on women and girls, while highlighting the importance of irrigation in enhancing food security and livelihoods in the largely arid and semi-arid county.

Developed collaboratively by national and county government technical teams, with support from the World Bank and stakeholder input, the strategy provides a roadmap for targeted investments towards equitable, inclusive and sustainable water and sanitation services across Makueni County.

๐ข๐ƒ๐„ ๐Š๐ž๐ง๐ฒ๐š ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง-๐’๐ž๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐€๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž.

๐–๐Ž๐“๐„, ๐‘บ๐’†๐’‘๐’•๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 23๐’“๐’…, 2026 ~ iDE Kenya, an international development organisation working with communities, farmers and local partners to advance practical solutions for improved livelihoods and economic opportunities, is strengthening nutrition-sensitive and climate-smart agriculture in Makueni County through the Transforming Lives Through Nutrition (TLTN) Project.

On Wednesday, iDE Kenya concluded a two-day planning forum that brought together Ward Agricultural Officers (WAOs) and Sub-County Agricultural Officers (SCAOs) to review progress, strengthen coordination and chart the next phase of the project.

The TLTN Project seeks to improve access to nutritious diets while equipping farmers and local agricultural actors with knowledge, skills and market opportunities to promote sustainable food production and resilient livelihoods.

During the forum, it was revealed that the project has so far recruited 34 Farmer Business Advisors (FBAs), who have reached 3,217 farmers through training, linked 1,567 farmers to agricultural inputs and services, and conducted 63 cooking demonstrations reaching 1,206 participants.

The review further established that 4,780 agricultural inputs have been distributed, reaching 2,237 farmers, while nine entrepreneurs successfully completed the Support Her Enterprise (SHE) training.

The forum provided an opportunity to consolidate these gains and strengthen the next phase of implementation, with greater focus on nutritious food production, value addition, enterprise development and stronger market linkages across Makueni.

๐ข๐ƒ๐„ ๐Š๐ž๐ง๐ฒ๐š ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง-๐’๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐…๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข.

๐‘พ๐‘ถ๐‘ป๐‘ฌ, ๐‘บ๐’†๐’‘๐’•๐’†๐’Ž๐’ƒ๐’†๐’“ 25๐’•๐’‰, 2026 ~ Makueni is set to strengthen access to nutritious foods and improve household livelihoods as iDE Kenya, an organisation that develops practical, market-driven solutions to improve the lives of smallholder farmers, advances the third year of its Transforming Lives Through Nutrition (TLTN) project.

On Thursday, iDE Kenya convened 37 Farm Business Advisors (FBAs), alongside Sub-County and Ward Agricultural Officers, the Agri-Nutrition Officer and consortium partner Helen Keller International (HKI), for an inception and planning meeting.

The training focused on nutrition-sensitive agriculture, dietary diversity, food production and utilisation, social and behaviour change communication, access to inputs and services, post-harvest handling, market linkages and aggregation.

The initiative seeks to bring practical knowledge, services and markets closer to farming households, while strengthening collaboration among government, partners and local entrepreneurs.

Through the FBA network, iDE Kenya and the County Agriculture Directorate aims to build sustainable community-level systems that continue delivering nutrition and agricultural solutions beyond the project period.

๐–๐จ๐ญ๐ž ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ข๐ฉ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐’๐ž๐œ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ ๐”๐’$๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ,๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ๐  ๐†๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ญ under the ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ญh for Climate Action (YCAF) Program.

Wote Municipality is among eight municipalities in Kenya to secure a US$50,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to support youth-led climate action solutions

The initiative targets registered youth groups and youth led/ youth serving organizations giving them an opportunity to design and implement practical solutions addressing climate related challenges within the municipality.

Youth groups will apply for microgrants through the County Government of Makueni website – Wote municipality portal, with successful proposals receiving between US$1,000 and US$5,000. The successful groups will work with the municipality to design and implement their projects under municipal supervision, monitoring and evaluation.

The climate priority thematic areas are: 1. Climate education and awareness

2. Green infrastructure, reforestation and environmental protection

3. โ Sustainable waste management; promotion and advancement of circular economy

4. โ Sustainable transport and mobility: NMTโ€™s

Groups opting for sustainable waste management will undertake market clean-ups, waste collection and disposal, and receive personal protective equipment. Those focusing on sustainable transportation will support the enhancement of parking spaces, including designated areas for persons with disabilities.

Groups focusing on green infrastructure and environmental protection will implement initiatives across greening, landscaping and beautification of urban spaces and road corridors.

Those focusing on education and awareness will build capacity of youths and other stakeholders on climate actions and resilience building

According to Wote Municipal Manager Evelyn Mutua who spoke during the program launch and sensitization forum at Green Park Wote, applications open on September 17, 2026, and close on October 29, 2026. She encouraged eligible youth groups to apply and wished successful applicants well in implementing their selected projects and ensuring they adhere to the program closure on 14th April 2027. She made emphasis on keen consideration for the next round of funding to groups adhering to implementation requirements.

Lands CECM Dr. Paul Musila urged organized youth groups within the municipality to seize the opportunity, saying it would provide a platform for youth development and empowerment.

๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž: ๐†๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ซ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š ๐Š๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ณ๐จ ๐‰๐ซ ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐‘๐ž๐ก๐š๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐Š๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž ๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ.

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr has commissioned the rehabilitated Kitise Water Project at Katangini in Kitise-Kithuki Ward, marking a major step towards improving access to clean and reliable water in the area.

The project comprises more than 12 kilometres of rising main, over 25 kilometres of distribution lines, a water treatment plant at Katangini, and 250-cubic-metre masonry storage tanks at Yikitise Primary School. It also includes booster stations at Katangini and Mbata Markets.

The project has provided connections to 27 institutions, 168 individual households and 16 water kiosks, benefiting more than 11,000 people across the area.

Speaking during the commissioning, Governor Kilonzo said the project would not only improve access to clean water but also help reduce the need for residents to venture into crocodile-infested areas in search of water, thereby easing the risk of rampant crocodile attacks.

The Governor was joined by Makueni County Assembly Speaker Douglas Mbilu, Clerk Kevin Mutuku and several Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).

๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐จ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐”๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐œ๐ค ๐–๐ข๐๐ž๐ซ ๐Œ๐š๐ง๐ ๐จ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ.

๐–๐Ž๐“๐„: ๐‘†๐‘’๐‘๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘š๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ÿ 22๐‘›๐‘‘, 2026 – As Makueniโ€™s mango season approaches, the County Government is positioning farmer cooperatives to turn collective strength into better markets, stronger bargaining power and improved returns for farmers.

The County Cooperative Development Directorate on Tuesday brought together 56 leaders from 28 cooperatives for a sensitisation forum focused on strengthening cooperatives as reliable vehicles for aggregation and marketing of farmersโ€™ produce.

During the forum, cooperative leaders were equipped with skills on governance, leadership, management and compliance, alongside quality mango production, aggregation and marketing opportunities.

Further, they also reviewed preliminary mango market survey findings, pre-qualification requirements for supplying mangoes to Makueni County Fruit Development and Marketing Authority, and quality standards required by the processor.

The forum, attended by Chief Officers Kinns Mwania and Joseph Ndolo, also exposed cooperative leaders to financing opportunities through MCEF, AFC and Cooperative Bank, further strengthening the countyโ€™s drive to connect Makueni farmers with markets beyond the county.

๐Ž๐ฑ๐Ÿ๐š๐ฆ ๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข ๐‚๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐”๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ ๐ƒ๐š๐ง๐ข๐๐š ๐’๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ข๐œ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐…๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ค

๐–๐จ๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ—๐ญ๐ก , ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ – Oxfam Kenya is exploring potential collaboration with the Government of Makueni County under the upcoming Danida Strategic Partnerships framework for 2027โ€“2032, focusing on climate resilience, inclusive economic development and stronger local institutions.

The proposed collaboration seeks to strengthen fruit cooperatives by improving aggregation, coordination and market access, including the development of strong county-level and national apex structures.

Other priorities include enhancing cooperative operations through annual strategic planning, strengthening business models and exploring innovations to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of Kalamba.

The engagement also highlighted the importance of promoting the participation of women and young people across the fruit value chain, while increasing the visibility of Makueniโ€™s cooperative enterprises in national and international markets.

During deliberations , Governor Mutula kilonzo Jr. noted Market access as major concern for farmers in the county.He emphasised his administrationโ€™s commitment to securing reliable markets for Makueniโ€™s agricultural produce.

The proposed Oxfam Kenyaโ€“Makueni County collaboration could build on existing county initiatives by connecting stronger cooperatives, improved governance and inclusive business development with wider market opportunities.

The Oxfam team was led by Ag. Executive Director Benter Awour.

๐๐ ๐š๐ง๐๐š๐ง๐ข ๐–๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ž๐ง๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ ๐Ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ‘๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ ๐‡๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ž๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐Š๐ข๐ค๐ฎ๐ฆ๐›๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก.

Over 300 households in Kikumbulyu South are set to benefit from clean, safe water through the Ngandani Water Distribution and Livelihood Project in Siembeni.

The Ksh 10 million initiative, funded by the Government of Makueni County through the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme, will serve households in Kiluluini, Ivuisya, Kithimani, Kevanda, Masalani and Kivuti villages. It will improve access to clean water for domestic and agricultural use while cushioning residents against the effects of prolonged drought.

The project comprises three gravity distribution lines: Kithokoosyo Main Tankโ€“Masalani Extension (3.7 km), with a connection to Masalani Primary School; Kasemeiniโ€“Ivuisyaโ€“Kwa Kamota Pipeline Extension (3.3 km); and Kevanda Pipeline (2 km), with a connection to Kevanda Primary School.

The water originates from Kivungoni Springs at Kwa Kyai and is distributed through an extension from the Kithokoosyo distribution tank under the current programme.

To strengthen climate resilience, the community has been provided with 24 Gala goats to enhance goat enterprise productivity and promote household incomes.

๐Œ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š ๐–๐š๐ซ๐ง๐ฌ ๐Œ๐š๐ค๐ฎ๐ž๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐Ž๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐€๐ ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ก ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ฎ๐›๐ฅ๐ข๐œ ๐“๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ

๐–๐จ๐ญ๐ž, ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐œ๐ญ๐จ๐›๐ž๐ซ -Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. has warned public officers in Makueni County against betraying public trust, urging newly appointed chief officers to remain accountable and deliver on their mandates.

Speaking on Monday during the swearing-in of three chief officers in his administration, Mutula said public offices were held in trust for the people and must be used to improve service delivery.

He cautioned appointed officers against absenteeism, saying they represented the appointing authority and that failure to discharge their responsibilities undermined the mandate entrusted to them.

The governor challenged the newly sworn-in officers to roll up their sleeves and get down to work immediately, and embrace value-driven service delivery.

The new chief officers are Cyrus Mutisya Ngunyo, in charge of Budget, Revenue and Planning; Tryphine Kasyoka Mulei, Public Service Management; and Dr. Alex Mulinge Muia, Health Services.

The governor commended county employees who had demonstrated exemplary performance, saying recognising their efforts was part of the administration’s strategy to strengthen service delivery.

During the ceremony, 208 staff members drawn from various county departments received letters confirming promotions, appointments and conversion to permanent and pensionable terms.

The ceremony also featured the swearing-in of Kee/Mbooni Municipality Board members Peter Nzau Mutua, Evelyn Ndanu and Francisca Mbithe Kalani, in a move aimed at reinforcing local governance.

County Attorney Stanley Nthiwa presided over the swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, County Secretary Justin Kyambi, members of the County Executive Committee, the County Public Service Board and several Members of the County Assembly.

๐Œ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐š ๐‘๐š๐ข๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ ๐„๐›๐จ๐ฅ๐š ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐œ๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐ƒ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ค๐š๐š ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐“๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ.

UVETE- Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. has called for heightened vigilance against Ebola and urged the national government to strengthen measures to protect Kenyans from the disease.

Speaking at a public baraza at Uvete at the end of his development tour of Mukaa Ward, Mutula also responded to residentsโ€™ concerns over healthcare, security and market lighting.

The governor said the county government would install floodlights at Upete Market and begin the process of establishing a regular market day to boost local trade.

He directed county officials to act immediately on health concerns raised by residents and pledged to address other service-delivery challenges highlighted during the forum.

Mutula further said CCTV cameras would be installed at county water projects to deter vandalism and protect public infrastructure.

He also urged residents to prepare for emergencies linked to forecast heavy rains and take precautions to protect lives and property.

The baraza capped the governorโ€™s tour of Mukaa Ward, during which he inspected and commissioned development projects and engaged residents on local priorities.