Day: March 31, 2023

The National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) has guaranteed farmers in Baringo of adequate subsidized fertilizers for use in the ongoing planting season. The NCPB’s representative Emily Kukwai who is South Rift Regional Manager said distribution of the fertilizer was on course in the county which missed out from the pilot counties. While speaking on Thursday in Kabarnet town when she paid a courtesy call to Baringo County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture Risper Chepkonga, Kukwai noted that about 12, 700 bags of fertilizer have so far been distributed with more on the way. ‘What I can assure the residents of Baringo is that there is enough fertilizer for everyone to use this planting season,’ she reiterated. The regional manager advised unregistered farmers to visit their respective Chiefs so that they could be enlisted through the digital platform for them to be considered in the next disbursement which would be done more efficiently in that beneficiaries would be able to get the product in less than two weeks after registration. The Agriculture CEC who lauded local leaders led by Governor Benjamin Cheboi for their efforts in fast tracking the inclusion of Baringo to benefit from the subsidy programme thanked other stakeholders for coordinating in logistics of ensuring that the fertilizers reached farmers at grassroots. Chepkonga who took special recognition to two MCAs for Saimo Kipsaraman and Mogotio Wards who voluntarily offered warehouse stores for the fertilizer said such facilities would be useful to store other agricultural inputs and produce in future. She urged farmers to buy their crop seeds so that they are able to plant them immediately when they are supplied with the fertilizers. Chepkonga, who expressed concern over public complaints over slow processing during issuance of the subsidized fertilizers attributed it to technological hitches causing delays when redeeming the voucher which must go through the Ministry of Agriculture’s Kilimo System. County Director for Agriculture Vincent Abuje expressed the need for local leaders to support the establishment of permanent structures across the six sub-counties which would facilitate scaling down of such distributions to the lowest levels. Abuje was reacting to rising concerns over congestion witnessed when farmers visit NCPB depots in Eldama Ravine, Marigat and Kabarnet towns where the government stores farm inputs and produce are.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Cabinet Secretary, Lands, Housing and Urban Development Zacharia Mwangi Njeru has affirmed that plans were underway to pass a bill of national rating to help counties collect and boost their revenue to help them accomplish projects done at county level. The bill provides the framework for levying of rates by county government and seeks to review the valuation for Rating Act, identify existing legislation that require to be aligned with the proposed National Rating Legislation and to provide recommendation on rating public lands among other functions. Speaking during the Joint Retreat with the Departmental Committee on Lands with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, The National Land Commission and The National Treasury, Njeru said that the members present at the joint meeting brainstormed the idea to come up with a bill that will benefit citizens at county level. ‘We are very committed to work with the committee to address the challenges that are fronting the sector,’ Njeru said. It was acknowledged that there are many land conflicts in the country, hence Njeru assured that with the great support from Government, the ministry is working to ensure that title deeds are issued legally and rightfully to citizens to curb the challenge. The CS said that the ministry has already started the digitization of land records and title deeds in Nairobi County and will soon spread across the rest of the counties in the country. He noted that the digitization of the title deeds and other land documents is a sure way of increasing the rights of women and improving food security. The Chairman, National Land Commission Gershom Otachi applauded the proposed bill because according to him, existing legislations have undergone minimal amendments but the same are not consistent with the current constitution. ‘The laws must be updated, there is a need to have a legal framework to enhance the County Revenue Collection,’ Otachi said. The committee, in collaboration with the ministry and National Land Commission (NLC), later on issued over 1000 title deeds to Mtwapa and Maweni residents and urged them to safeguard the documents. The PS, Lands, Housing and Urban Development Nixon Korir said that the bill looks to acquit any possible land conflicts moving forward. Korir also called on citizens to be on the lookout for fraudsters claiming ownership of public land and urged them not to settle for being squatters by selling their land.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya Power (KP) company and national government administration (Ngao) officers from Siaya County have entered into a partnership aimed at curbing the rising cases of transformer vandalism in the region. According to the KP county Business Manager Eng. Joshua Oliech, the partnership with Ngao officials would also improve safety of people living in the region through mitigation of cases of electrocution where human and animal lives have been lost. Eng. Oliech disclosed that since January this year, KP has incurred losses of about Sh11million following vandalism of eleven transformers across the county, six of the cases being in Bondo alone. While speaking in Bondo during a meeting with NGAO officials led by area Deputy County commissioner Mr Julius Otieno, Eng. Oliech said the collaboration with chiefs, assistant chiefs, Assistant County Commissioner and the police would not only curb cases of transformer vandalism but also avert deaths caused by electrocution. ‘The collaboration will enable quick relaying of information to avert cases of vandalism and also enable quick response from KP to mitigate on cases of loss of both human and animal lives as well as destruction of property,’ he said. Eng. Oliech further disclosed that KP is empowering chiefs and their assistants in the county to adopt the various transformers in their areas of jurisdiction to avert cases of vandalism. ‘By empowering the chiefs and their assistants to adopt transformers, it means we are giving them extra authority to stop and interrogate anybody without KP identification documents or uniform when they find trying to access their adopted transformers so as to mitigate cases of unauthorized interference of transformers,’ said Eng. Oliech. The business manager also stated that KP has begun relocation of transformers which were initially installed at isolated areas to more secure places like public institutions or places with more inhabitants as a way of curbing vandalism besides welding the transformers on grills to make it difficult for the vandals to access. Eng. Oliech revealed that the police are currently pursuing suspects believed to be behind the numerous cases of KP transformer vandalism in the region adding that a few people have already been arrested and more arrests were expected by the Criminal Investigation Police Unit (CIPU). Area DCC Julius Otieno who hosted the delegation of KP staff from the National, regional and county office assured KP that the sub county security and intelligence team would work with them to ensure that the KP critical infrastructures are protected. Otieno disclosed that his team intended to reign in on scrap metal dealers in the region who were believed to be behind vandalism of transformers adding that his team would adopt a proactive approach of sharing information to curb the vice. He on the other hand appealed to members of the public to join hands with NGAO and Kenya Power by alerting the authority about activities of vandalism because they are the major beneficiaries of KP services.

Source: Kenya News Agency