News
Ukambani governors hold first SEKEB Summit meeting
The three Ukambani governors; Kivutha Kibwana, Alfred Mutua and Charity Ngilu on Tuesday held the first ordinary summit meeting of the South-Eastern Kenya Economic Bloc (SEKEB) in Machakos.
Top on the agenda of the meeting was development of modalities to enhance Inter-county trade, identification of priority programs/projects of the bloc, marketing of the bloc as a key investment zone, infrastructure development to expand interconnectivity of the region for ease of doing business and movement of people.
The three leaders agreed to establish a technical committee comprising of trade CECs as well as create a cabinet portfolio from each county to drive the agenda of the bloc.
Governor Kibwana said the bloc is eyeing KES 4 billion grant from the Global Climate Fund which if approved will fund several mega dams in the region, besides funding climate smart agricultural projects.
Governor Mutua said the three of them have agreed to create the proper political environment that drives genuine development and rolling back of the poverty ravaging the region.
Ngilu on her part was upbeat that the region is rich in resources which if well tapped can create 60,000 jobs per year.
Makueni Healthcare workers receive PPEs from Safaricom, KCB
Makueni’s frontline healthcare workers on Friday received Personal Protective Equipment worth Sh 1.5 million from telecommunication giant Safaricom to boost their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The PPEs include 1,270 surgical gowns, 177 N-95 masks, 170 KN95 masks and 205 pieces of protective goggles.
Governor Kivutha Kibwana who received the donation on behalf of the county emergency response committee at his office said safaricom has been a key partner to several counties in the fight against the covid-19 pandemic.
Kibwana also received a cash donation of Sh 1 million from the Kenya Commercial Bank group to boost the county’s preparedness in fighting corona virus.
Besides the donation, Safaricom announced a Sh 2.2 million partnership with the county government to rebuild houses of 99 families affected by floods in the areas of Kilungu, Kaiti, Kitundu and Sultan Hamud.
Shina Foundation to the rescue of vulnerable groups
County first lady Nazi Kivutha, through her Shina Foundation, has reached out to vulnerable groups along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway with a donation of cash and other items as a cushion against covid-19 distress.
The donation targets 207 beneficiaries organized in nine groups, and who are former commercial sex workers, drug addicts/peddlers based in Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali, Makindu, Sultan Hamud, Salama, Malili, Kambu and Machinery towns.
Each of the nine groups received Sh 20,000 cash as seed capital for income generating activities while each individual will receive 5 litres of hand washing soap and a hand washing jerrican.
Nazi also donated 3,605 masks where each household member of the 207 beneficiaries will receive a pack of five face masks.
“We chose groups along the highway because of their vulnerability. Shina Foundation and our partners, among them Centre for Health Solutions and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, felt many young people were at extremely high risk of Covid-19 infection owing to their care-free life associated with substances abuse and commercial sex work,” said Nazi when she presented the donation to the County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee at the county administration offices Monday.
Governor Kivutha Kibwana who received the donation, lauded Shina foundation terming the outfit a major player in the county development especially in resource mobilization for family planning, health development and mentorship.
Makueni, World Vision Partnership to Quench Kalawa Ward
Kalawa ward is arguably one of the driest parts of Makueni county, perpetually battling water scarcities.
On a normal day, residents have to trek a considerable distance to fetch water from points that the county government has continued to develop across the expansive ward.
A partnership between the county government and World Vision is however projected to change the above scenario and make the ward one of the water secure wards in the county.
The two institutions are co-funding a project dubbed Athi-Kalawa Sanitation Project meant to distribute water to 80 % of the ward area.
The project involves pumping water from Athi River to Wii hills, construction of a treatment plant, construction of a 500 cubic meters reservoir and three distribution lines (Kalawa, Miangeni and Syotuvali) for communal water circulation.
World Vision national director Lilian Dodzo who paid a courtesy call to governor Kivutha Kibwana on Tuesday, to discuss the project progress, said the project purposes to cut the distance to the nearest water point from households to a maximum of 500 meters.
According to County Executive Committee member for Water and Sanitation Rosemary Maundu, the project is 30 percent done and phase 1 must be complete before end of the year 2020.
Kibwana Commits his Executive Committee Members to Performance Contracts
Governor Kivutha Kibwana has for the third year running committed members of his county executive to performance contracts for the 2020/2021 Financial Year.
“Today is yet again another opportunity I have to preside over the signing of performance contracts as we continue to institutionalize the performance management process. This is the third consecutive year we are signing performance contracts. As we have indicated in the past, performance management continues to be an integral part of our service delivery and project implementation,” said governor Kibwana when he presided over the exercise at his offices on Friday
governor Kibwana challenged the departments to work hard to ensure service delivery is given to the people of Makueni to the highest possible quality and that their work is changing the lives of the people they serve for the better.
In view of the COVID-19 challenges and emerging trends, Kibwana has directed all county departments to explore modalities of automating as many of their services as is practically possible. This will ensure continuity of service delivery even during such challenges. It will also help in cutting costs associated with traveling and meetings and direct such savings to development projects for our people.
Investing in Sports for Wealth Creation
The department of Sports and ICT in Makueni has given out 1,020 balls and 120 sets of uniforms to different county teams to promote sporting activities once the ministry of sports announces re-opening of the sports calendar.
Deputy governor Adelina Mwau who flagged off the equipment on Tuesday at the County administration offices said 35 teams across the various disciplines will benefit.
She said the county is investing heavily in a community based sports programme dubbed Ligi Mashinani as a way of keeping young people busy and draw them from antisocial behaviors.
The deputy governor said the long-term goal of this initiative is sharpening sporting talents so that young people can earn and create wealth as career sportsmen and women.
15 out of 30 wards had set aside Sh12 Million in the 2019/2020 financial year to support sports development at the community level. This will also aid in purchase of more sports gear.
The county government will in the current financial year train 2,340 coaches for different disciplines to improve the quality of sports coaching and eventually sports skills.
Communication from Makueni County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee
Corona virus pandemic has continued to spread around the globe.
In terms of preparedness, the county has achieved the following:
a) Established and operationalized covid19 treatment centers at Makindu and Makueni County Referral Hospitals. Currently we have a bed capacity of over 312 beds at our treatment centers
b) Trained our health workers and equipped health facilities with PPEs to respond to covid-19
c) Trained opinion leaders, community health volunteers, community resource volunteers, area development committee members and youth groups all totaling to over 50,000 persons
d) Created awareness on coronavirus through various channels including radio, TV and community level campaigns
e) Continued with cross border surveillance where we’ve screened 189,559 at border entry point at Mtito Andei and Kibwezi
Turning to the covid19 situation in Makueni we wish to highlight the following
a) The county has as at today recorded 11 positive cases.
b) We have been able to successfully treat and discharge 1(one) confirmed positive patient and 18 of his contacts who had been quarantined in our Makindu quarantine/isolation facility
c) Currently there are 10 active cases of confirmed covid19 cases currently admitted at the covid19 treatment centre at Makueni County referral hospital. All the ten cases are people working in the hotel industry (1 from Kilome, 2 from Kibwezi East and 7 from Kibwezi West).
d) We have traced 150 people who are contacts of the 10 positive cases and the process of transferring them to the isolation facility in Makindu is ongoing
e) Regrettably, 6 people of Makueni origin have succumbed to the disease while being managed in facilities outside the county but their burials have been conducted under supervision of our public health officers. We wish to convey our message of condolence to the affected families
The County Coronavirus Emergency Response Committee has noted with concern some people are disregarding the laid down protocols and regulations and wishes to reiterate the following:
1. No eatery or hotel/restaurant will be allowed to operate without full adherence to the guidelines from the Ministry of Health. To date only 30 restaurants and eateries have met the set requirements. All those flouting the guidelines will be arrested, charged and have their licenses revoked. All vendors are reminded that no one is above the law and should at all times adhere to the strict guidelines attached to licensure
2. Bars and sale of liquor is banned as per previous county and national government pronouncements. Those found in contravention of the law will be charged and have their licenses revoked
3. Places of worship remain closed and digital content transmission is only allowed under issued guidelines
4. All forms of gatherings including political and social gatherings remain banned until otherwise guided. We remind members of the public that burials and weddings are restricted to a maximum of 15 close family members observing physical and social distancing
5. Hawking remains banned. All vendors found hawking especially to trucks along Mombasa road will be apprehended
6. No truck driver will be allowed into Makueni County unless they possess a covid19 free certificate. All those without this certificate will be turned back to their point of origin. We wish to remind all truck drivers and transport companies that drivers are required to take the covid19 test at their point of origin, 48 hours before they commence their journeys and in any case, have their certificates as at the time of commencement of journey
7. We continue to remind our people that movement into and out of Mombasa and Nairobi is restricted and therefore those sneaking into the county from these places will be dealt with as per the law.
H. E. Prof. Kivutha Kibwana
Governor
MAKUENI COUNTY
M. A. Maalim,
County Commissioner
MAKUENI COUNTY