News

GOVERNOR MUTULA WITNESSES SWEARING-IN OF KEY MEMBERS OF MAKUENI CLIMATE CHANGE STEERING COMMITTEE

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on Wednesday presided over the swearing into office of four members of the Makueni County Climate Change Steering Committee. The committee is now fully constituted and ready to drive the climate change agenda.

The committee is responsible for policy direction in climate change actions as stipulated in the Makueni Climate Change Act, 2022.

Governor Mutula asked the committee to leverage on the county’s wide network of partnerships to secure funding for climate change resilience building investments so as to improve the quality of life for wananchi.

Pursuing Green Bonds to raise resources for climate resilient development is one of the tasks awaiting the committee. Makueni has been greenlighted by Financial Sector Deepening Kenya to pursue the Green Bond.

GOVERNOR MUTULA WELCOMES CHINESE DELEGATION TO BOOST GREEN ENERGY AND INVESTMENT IN MAKUENI.

August 22, 2024

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Thursday hosted a high-level delegation from China, visiting to learn about the county’s initiatives in promoting green energy and explore potential areas for collaboration and investment.

The delegation engaged in in-depth discussions with Governor Mutula and his team, focusing on innovative solutions for climate change, advancing social equity, enhancing financial literacy, and promoting economic empowerment, particularly for the youth and women.

The delegation toured the solarization project at the Makueni County Referral Hospital (MCRH), a flagship initiative in the county’s renewable energy efforts.

Governor Mutula urged the Chinese investors to consider Makueni as a strategic location for investment, with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector, which holds significant potential for growth.

The Governor was accompanied by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili and several County Executive Committee Members, including Eng. Sebastian Kyoni, Dr. Sonia Nzilani, Damaris Kavoi, Eng. John Kieti, Joyce Mutua and Dr. Paul Musila.

GOVERNOR MUTULA, USAID DRAFT TRANSITION PLAN AFTER FUNDING WITHDRAWAL

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Thursday hosted Jeffrey Lehrer, the Acting Deputy Mission Director of USAID-Kenya and East Africa, to review the status of USAID-funded projects and develop a transition plan. This follows withdrawal of funding for such projects by the United States Government.

The meeting aimed to strategize the handover process, ensuring the county government can complete pending key projects, such as the Kamunyolo water project, which is expected to improve water supply in Wote Town—increasing reticulation time from 45 minutes to 7 hours per day.

Governor Mutula emphasized the need to expedite the transition process and pledged to allocate resources to finalize the stalled projects.

GOVERNOR MUTULA UNVEILS WATER PROJECTS FOR IMPROVED ACCESS IN KATHONZWENI WARD

During a working tour of Kathonzweni Ward on Friday, Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. commissioned several projects to improve access to clean water for domestic use and irrigation. These projects include a solar power system at the Kwa Mbila earth dam, Itumbule and Milute boreholes.

The governor also unveiled a backhoe that will facilitate surface run-off water harvesting through construction of water pans. Residents will benefit from this initiative at a cost of only Shs 2,500 per hour, which covers fuel expenses.

In the Financial Year 2024/25, the Department of Water and Sanitation plans to connect atleast 1,000 households per ward to clean and safe water by implementing the last mile water infrastructure programme.

This initiative will increase the proportion of rural households accessing piped water from 30% to 50% and urban households from 7,939 HHs in 2022 to 10,920 HHs in 2025.

Governor Mutula Unveils the Farmer Profiling Exercise in Makueni

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr together with his Deputy Lucy Mulili on Wednesday officially launched the Agricultural Value Chain profiling exercise, Makueni chapter at ATC- Kwakathoka.

The Agricultural Value Chain profiling is an exercise that is being spearheaded by the National Government in collaboration with the County Governments through the National Agricultural Value Chain Development Project (NAVCDP) and is seeking to undertake a comprehensive registration of all farmers across the country.

The exercise also seeks to map and register all value chain actors that support farmers such as agro-inputs dealers, aggregators, processors, extension service providers, marketing centers and transporters, among others. This will help the government link farmers to key service providers through digitalized platforms such as e-extension and other e-services.

Makueni has already recruited 504 agri prenures and will embark on the data collection on Friday, and will take 25 days.

Governor Mutula urged the agri preneurs to be keen so as to capture every farmer so that they don’t miss out on important government services.

On her part, Mulili said that the exercise is important for the county government and that the data will be helpful in informed decision making and planning.

Agriculture Executive Joyce Mutua asked the young people to take advantage of the profiling activity and borrow some of the best agriculture practices which they can implement to better their lives.

The launch was also graced by Devolution and Transport Executives Japheth Mang’oka and Eng. Sebastian Kyoni respectively, Muvau-Kikumini Member of County Assembly Elizabeth Mutinda, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperative Development Chief Officer Dr. Victoria Kyalo and NAVCDP County Coordinator Paul Musyimi.

GOVERNOR MUTULA UNVEILS MAKUENI’S FIRST COUNTY REFERRAL HOSPITALS STRATEGIC PLAN

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr. on Wednesday launched the county’s first-ever Referral Hospital Strategic Plan (2025–2030), marking a major milestone in the region’s journey toward delivering quality, inclusive, and specialized healthcare.

The ambitious six-year plan is anchored on four key pillars: quality and specialized health services, robust systems and skilled personnel, smart infrastructure and technology, and patient-centered care that leaves no one behind.

Speaking during the launch, Governor Mutula emphasized that the strategy is structured around the balanced scorecard approach, aligning internal processes, financial stewardship, and institutional capacity with the ultimate goal of improving patient satisfaction.

According to him,the Referral hospital has already made strides with the recent investment in minimal access surgery following the commissioning of a laparoscopic tower. The governor added that the hospital has also introduced new specialized services such as hemato-pathology and neurosurgery, with plans to expand these into centres of excellence within the next five years.

Governor Mutula was joined at the event by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, Health Services CECM Dr. Paul Musila,his Lands counterpart CECM Japheth Mang’oka, and several Members of the County Assembly including Jackson Mbalu, Elizabeth Muthike, and Felix Mateso. Also present was the CEO of Makueni County Referral Hospital, Martha Munyao, alongside other senior county officials.

Governor Mutula Unveils Makueni Technical and Vocational College to Enhance Skills Development and Technology Transfer in Agriculture

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr together with County Director for Technical, Vocational Education and Training John Wamae on Tuesday unveiled the Makueni agriculture TVET at ATC Kwa Kathoka, to provide training services and facilities for enhancing agriculture

The first cohort of trainees has already reported and has started learning. They will be trained for a period of 6 months in both school and farm based training.Some of the approved courses are horticulture, Dairy, Poultry, Aquaculture and Apiculture.

Governor Mutula noted that his government has developed the Makueni ATC Bill, 2023, in order to establish the center as Semi-Autonomous Government Agency (SAGA), for efficient running of the institution.

The inauguration ceremony was also graced by Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili, Makueni County Assembly Majority Leader Kyalo Mumo, Agriculture Executive Joyce Mutua, Muvau-Kikumini MCA Elizabeth Kawembe, Bishop Emeritus Joseph M. Kanuku of the Anglican Church of Kenya, Makueni Diocese.

GOVERNOR MUTULA UNVEILS MAJOR WATER PROJECTS IN KIKUMBULYU NORTH.

During a working tour of Kikumbulyu North Ward on Friday, Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr and his Deputy Lucy Mulili unveiled a series of water development projects aimed at ensuring safe and adequate water supply across Makueni County for domestic, irrigation, and industrial use.

At Kiaoni area, they commissioned rehabilitation of the Makaani-Kiaoni water pipeline, which will serve 4,800 people within Kiaoni clusters. The project includes rehabilitation of Kiaoni water kiosk, elevating the tank tower, and installing a 10m³ water tank on a 1.2-meter-high plinth. The pipeline will be extended by 4.4 kilometers.

In Athi, Governor Mutula commissioned phase 2 of Athi-Tunguni water project, which will benefit over 100,000 people in Kikumbulyu North, Makindu, and Nguumo wards. The scope of the work includes composite filtration, electromechanical systems for the treatment plant, distribution networks for Makindu, Kikumbulyu North, and Nguumo, as well as construction of four water kiosks.

At Kathyaka, Governor Mutula inaugurated Kathyaka Masonry Water Tank, which will provide water to more than 6,000 residents from the Ngulu and Nyayo clusters.

GOVERNOR MUTULA UNVEILS KEY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN KISAU/KITETA WARD

During a development tour of Kisau/Kiteta Ward on Thursday, Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr unveiled a number of development projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life for residents. Key projects unveiled include:

1. Lung’u Primary School Borehole Water Project: This is expected to provide reliable access to clean water for 720 households in 6 villages within the ward.

2. Solarization and Distribution of Song’eni Water Project: set to ensure sustainable and efficient water distribution to 600 residents at lowered costs.

3. Song’eni Modern ECDE Classes

The governor also handed 12 hundred-seater tents and chairs to organized groups.These tents are intended to support income-generating activities, promoting economic empowerment and social inclusion within the community.

GOVERNOR MUTULA UNVEILS DIGITAL PROJECTS MONITORING AND TRACKING SYSTEM

Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr has unveiled one-of-a-kind digital projects monitoring and tracking system which will give residents and other stakeholders real time information about the status of development in the county.

The web-based portal dubbed Makueni Projects Monitoring and Tracking System (PMTS), launched on Tuesday, will showcase progress of projects at each stage from Cabinet Paper approval by the governor, allocated budget, procurement, contract award, completion and location of the projects.

Governor Mutula said this system will entrench transparency in development and weed out the problems of unexplained pending bills which have plagued counties, as well as conflict of interests in award of tenders.

The system has been scaled for easy access both on web and android devices. It also features an engagement platform to provide both general and project-based feedback from the public.

The portal can be accessed via https://pmts.makueni.go.ke