Day: June 3, 2023

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Chiefs And Police In Kericho Tolerating Illicit Brew Warned

Chiefs, Assistant Chiefs, and security agents who will condone the brewing, sale and consumption of illicit brews in Kericho County will be sacked with immediate effect, Kericho County Commissioner Michael Lesimam has said.

The CC who was addressing this year’s 60th Madaraka day celebrations held at Litein High School in Kericho was concerned that there was no way brewing of illicit liquor was going on within the radius of half a kilometer from a chief’s camp or a police station without the knowledge of the government officers.

Lesimam said the vice will no longer be condoned and those responsible in ensuring that brewing and consumption was put to an end, will not only lose their jobs but also dealt with in accordance with the law.

‘I am very serious about eradication of the vice in Kericho and for the first time in history during my tenure, officers responsible will go home,’ said Lesimam.

The County Commissioner also assured the Multinational Tea Estate companies that the government had enhanced security within the farms to avert lawlessness as witnessed recently when irate protestors torched tea plucking machines belonging to Ekaterra Tea Company.

The CC said that the Tea Estates lost an estimated sh.150 million when protestors destroyed the tea company’s property including mechanized tea harvesting machines and other property.

He said there is proven evidence that the locals were incited into violence and lawlessness witnessed during the attack and that those responsible in the heinous act including perpetrators will be brought to book.

‘Let’s respect our local investors and live peacefully with them since they contribute significantly to the growth of the economy through export of tea and also through social corporate responsibility where they are participating in building of schools for the local community and also sponsoring bright students from humble backgrounds,’ said the County Commissioner.

Kericho Governor Dr Erick Mutai speaking at same ceremony urged the residents of Kericho to desist from invading the Multinational Tea farms to illegally pluck the tea or destroy property in the farms since the act was criminal adding that those found culpable will be arrested and prosecuted.

Mutai said though they are awaiting the final resolutions of a taskforce formed to look into the contentious tea issue, the residents of Kericho have no right to trespass private investor’ property.

The governor directed the Kericho County Commissioner to act on suspected people behind the growing incidents of strikes in schools where students of Litein High school, Cheborgei High school and Cheptenye High School, went on rampage and destroyed property in schools.

On development in the County, the Governor said that is government had prioritized on education of needy students from poor backgrounds by offering scholarships, provision of water especially in Bureti and other Sub-Counties and also the building of new roads.

The governor also revealed that the Oncology Treatment Facility was on course and was expected to be commissioned before the year ends in order to serve cancer patients from the region.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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County To Boost Service Delivery Through Internet Connectivity, Improved Infrastructure

Uasin Gishu County Administration has identified key steps to ensure efficient service delivery to the residents like internet connectivity and improved infrastructure.

Speaking in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Chelilim reiterated the county’s commitment to expanding internet connectivity by providing Wi-Fi hotspots in all sub-counties, ward offices, and health centres.

He pointed out that the initiative is one of the county’s efforts to ensure technological advancement and facilitate the efficient provision of public services.

‘Over 600 Wi-Fi hotspots will be established throughout the county, supporting public service provisions and facilitating the mapping of public land parcels,’ he said.

The Governor also emphasized the county’s significant progress in enhancing the road network which has seen 200 kilometres of roads being marrumed, 800 kilometres of roads created, opening of 60 kilometres of new roads, and construction of more than 10 bridges.

He said that there are currently 140 road projects underway, focusing on maintenance, improvement, and drainage, with an estimated investment exceeding Sh 600 million.

Chelilim further emphasised the county’s unwavering commitment to ensuring enhanced healthcare service delivery by ensuring the availability of essential drugs and completing health facilities in key areas such as Kesses, Ziwa, and Turbo, which have been allocated funds in the budget.

The Governor reiterated the county’s dedication to providing accessible and quality healthcare services for all residents.

In regard to water services, Chelilim said the significance of water management as he highlighted strategic partnerships with various investors like Israel and others and the county’s water department to ensure sustainable access to clean water for all households.

These collaborations aim to promote sustainable water management and preserve reliable sources of water for communities within the county.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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ODPC To Open Regional Offices

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) will open regional offices to enhance campaigns and education among Kenyans and institutions, on handling and protecting client personal data.

Data Protection Commissioner Immaculate Kassait said the regional offices will be opened in Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru in July this year, while Huduma Centres will be used to deliver ODPC services at the grassroots.

The revelation was made in a presentation delivered on her behalf by Mr. Edmond Wandera, a Principal Complaints and Investigations Officer at ODPC, during a County Awareness Outreach Programme for the organisation at a Bomet hotel Friday

Under the County Awareness Outreach Programme, ODPC will hold one-day public sensitisation workshops countrywide, with 15 counties expected to be covered by Tuesday next week.

Counties already covered include Machakos, Mombasa, Tana River, Garissa, Kericho, Bomet, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Meru, Tharaka Nithi and Trans Nzoia.

The awareness forums are intended to educate Kenyans and institutions on the need and how to protect customer personal data they collected in their service delivery processes.

Kassait stressed that personal data protection was a constitutional requirement under Section 31 of Kenya’s constitution, which guarantees one the right to privacy, besides being a human rights issue.

The Commissioner said the digital era had increased collection of personal data and hence the need for collectors and processors of the same to establish strategies to guard against breach of personal information in their custody, warning, under the Data Protection Act of 2019, one can be punished for misuse of or failure to secure such records.

Personal data is defined as information that describes or defines an individual and can therefore, be used to identify the person. Sensitive records include the person’s name, ethnicity, health and financial status, property, family details as well as sexual orientation.

Opening the workshop, Bomet County Commissioner Dr Ahmed Omar stressed the need for public awareness on protection of personal data saying information on individuals, ‘was scattered all over.’

Omar cited government departments, health facilities, hotels, learning and religious institutions as among data collectors and processors holding crucial personal data and hence the need to intensify education on protection of the same.

The County Commissioner said increased digitization of government services, where 5,000 of them are expected to be digitized, meant more of personal data will be available through the internet, which he said required public officers be educated on data protection while concerned agencies should develop structures to ensure cyber security.

Omar urged all public institutions to register with ODPC as required of all data collectors and processors under the Data Protection Act, 2019.

Bomet County Executive Committee Member for Administration, Public Service and Special Programs, Dr. Joseph Kirui, said there was need for more engagement between the County Government and ODPC, to enhance sensitization among area public officers on data protection.

Kirui described the training as timely saying the digital era had led to proliferation of information, some of which was misleading and whose spread could be checked through enforcement of and public sensitization on data protection.

Area Deputy Governor Shadrack Rotich said both National and County Governments generated a lot of personal information through issuance of several documents and in the course of service delivery, yet most of the staff involved had little or no knowledge on its protection.

‘We generate a lot of information about people in the issuance of identity cards, birth certificates, passport, Kenya Revenue Authority Personal Identification Number, Personal Numbers for government employees and driving licenses: so much data about an individual,’ said Rotich.

He proposed the substitution of the national identity card and passport as the documents required interchangeably for personal identification in accessing some services, saying they were private security documents, yet copies were left in many service delivery offices.

The Deputy Governor proposed the fast-tracking of processing of Huduma Namba and its adoption as a substitute for national identity card and passport for personal identification in accessing services that demanded either of the two documents.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Illegal Exporters Of Scrap Metals Put On Notice

The Scrap Metal Council has issued a stern warning to scrap metal dealers who export scrap metal illegally through the Lunga Lunga, Malaba and Namanga border points.

The Council Chairman Mr. Francis Mugo said during a consultative meeting with Coast Scrap Metals Dealers Association to find a lasting solution to the vandalism menace that the council has written to the Inspector General of Police to furnish the council with names of dealers engaging in vandalism.

‘There are people who have been exporting scrap metal against the law through Lunga Lunga, Busia and Namanga borders,” said Mugo, adding that they will be arrested, arraigned in court and their license revoked.

Mugo urged the dealers not to contravene the laws governing the scrap metal sector in the country. He further revealed that they will initiate changes to the Scrap Metal Act, 2015 to bring collectors, dealers and agents into the council regulatory framework.

‘The scrap metal business is thriving; in our country, there are 18 millers who use 300MT of scrap metals. It helps improve the environment. The scrap metals are used to produce steel products used in the construction of roads and houses. It’s a vital sector,’ Muo said.

‘For scrap that cannot be milled in our country, we grant dealers license to export to other countries. When we give them export licenses the country earns foreign exchange. We will soon gazette our inspectors who will work with the police to bring sanity to the sector,’ he added.

He urged dealers without valid licenses to apply lest they be apprehended and fined Sh10million or seven years imprisonment. ‘In Mombasa County, we have 42 scrap metal dealers in our records but we know there are many who are operating without a license,’ he added

‘We recommend all scrap metal dealers to have a business license and the association to self-regulate. Let them know that it is not good for someone to destroy government infrastructure,’ he said.

The Chairman said they are working closely with all the relevant government agencies to end the vandalism of infrastructure.

The meeting with scrap metals dealers was necessitated by vandalism of infrastructure from the Ministries of Energy and Transport.

Chairman of Coast Scrap Metal Dealers Association Dickson Kibuu said the meeting aims to educate dealers on how they can do business without vandalising government infrastructure.

He said the sector suffered when it was closed in 2021 by the government as a result of vandalism of critical infrastructure by unscrupulous businessmen.

Source: Kenya News Agency

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Kisumu County Signs Sh100 Million Digital Training Deal

Kisumu County Government has secured a Sh 100 million facility to establish a collective digital intelligence centre in the area.

Through partnership with the United Cities and Local Government of Africa (UCLGA), 01 Talent Africa and LakeHub, Kisumu will host the first digital intelligence centre in the country.

The centre will offer cutting edge digital training for thousands of youths from Western Kenya and beyond to complement the national government’s digital transformation agenda.

UCLGA Secretary General Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi said the initiative was in line with the organisation’s strategic plan to accelerate digital transformation in local authorities across the continent.

Mbassi said the training to be offered by Lake Hub and 01 Talent Africa will open up opportunities for the youth who hitherto could not afford to enroll for the programmes.

The centre, he added, will churn out local digital talent for Africa equipped with cutting edge skills in Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

This, he said, was set to not only create employment opportunities but also beef up Africa’s digital space workforce to be at par with the developed world.

Speaking after signing the agreement in Kisumu, Mbassi said Africa must work towards producing 500,000 digital talents over the next ten years to address the widening digital divide.

Kisumu and the larger Nyanza and Western regions, he said had a lot of talent adding that through the centre domiciled at the Kisumu County Business Incubation hub, other sub national governments across the continent were set to benchmark and learn from the centre.

Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o said the centre will act as a vehicle to accelerate development and at the same time position Kisumu as a business hub.

Counties within the Lake Region Economic Bloc, he said stand to benefit immensely from the project to open up opportunities in the digital space.

He lauded the partnership adding that the Sh 100 million will underwrite training costs for thousands of youths in the area and at the same time address the issue of unemployment.

The Kisumu hub, dubbed Zone 01will open this July with the first cohort expected to start the training before the end of the year.

An ambitious talent identification campaign is expected to kick off later this month where online cognitive tests will be administered.

Those who pass the tests will undergo peer to peer learning and group problem solving before the first 100 beneficiaries are picked to start the training. Successful candidates will secure jobs at the 01-talent academy while others shall be placed in partner companies within Kisumu.

01 Talent Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Deror Sultan said the programme targets to unleash the youth’s potential to contribute to the innovation and digital transformation in the world.

‘By creating Zone 01 Centers of Collective Intelligence in partnership with local authorities, we offer African youth the opportunity to unleash their creative potential and lead the digital transformation of the continent,’ he said.

Across the continent, he disclosed targets to train and employ one million youths by the year 2030.

Lakehub Director of Programs Dorcas Owino said the initiative would open up training opportunities for the youth to accelerate digital transformation. ‘Through this initiative, digital training will no longer be a privilege. More youths from disadvantaged backgrounds will also benefit,’ she said.

Source: Kenya News Agency