Author: djadmin

Farmers in Kiambu are calling upon the National government to intervene as they are set to lose Sh 100 million from the World Bank meant to fund the buying of an Ultra Heated Treated (UHT) milk processing machine.

This comes after the World Bank threatened to withdraw its pledged of Sh 100 million to partially fund the purchase the milk processing machine that is estimated to cost a total of Sh 145 million

The remaining Sh 45 million was to be raised by the farmers and the Kiambu County Government.

The Kiambu dairy farmers have since collectively contributed Sh 15 million towards the project.

The county government however is yet to provide the remaining Sh 30 million necessary to complete the project.

The project has now stalled and farmers fear that further delay may prompt the World Bank to withdraw its Sh100 million grant.

According to Bedan Kamau, the manager for Limuru Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society, the World Bank had given the facility management a deadline of December last year to have complied with the terms of the agreement

‘The machine costs Sh 145 million and the WB had already committed to granting us Sh100 million and the farmers have also put aside Sh 15 million, it is only the county government that is yet to honour its pledge of Sh 30 million thereby jeopardising the project,’ said Kamau

He added that the local leaders had sought an extension of the deadline to give the county government more time to honour its pledge.

‘We went to the Governor’s office and we agreed that he would take up the matter which had been agreed upon in 2019 during governor James Nyoro’s reign, and he assuredly told my team that all will be well but the delay we are noticing is worrisome, ‘ he said.

The farmers from Limuru, Kikuyu, Lari and Kabete sub-counties are pleading with President William Ruto to intervene since the World Bank funding was through the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive project which is under the National Government

‘We are calling upon President Ruto to help ensure the success of this project since it will save us from the middle man who buy our milk at a very low price since the dairy cooperation has no capacity to take all our milk,’ Enoch Waciuri ,a dairy farmer in Limuru, said.

Kiragu Chege, the MP of Limuru noted that the delay is worrisome as he confirmed that the World Bank will withdraw its support and kill the project thereby exposing farmers to poverty.

‘Dairy farming is the backbone of our people’s economy and the installation of the UHT machine can add value to our farmers’ milk and increase productivity,’ he said.

The project would have boosted the fortunes of the Limuru dairy farmers cooperative which is wholly owned by smallholder farmers who make up about 80% of all milk producers in the country.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Kenya is among countries in the world who have approved a political declaration in the next five years to advance global efforts towards ending the Tuberculosis (TB) pandemic.

The launch of the Coalition of Leaders to End TB is seen as a crucial step toward mobilizing global action and investments needed to accelerate TB control efforts and meet the targets outlined in the Global Plan to End TB by 2030.

World leaders at the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis last week approved a Political Declaration with ambitious new targets for the next five years to advance the global efforts towards ending the TB epidemic.

The targets include reaching 90 percent of people with TB prevention and care services, using a WHO-recommended rapid test as the first method of diagnosing TB; providing social benefit packages to all people with TB; licensing at least one new TB vaccine; and closing funding gaps for TB implementation and research by 2027.

In a press release today, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that in today’s world, there is enough knowledge and tools that the ancestors never had and did not know, leading them to them suffer and die from tuberculosis.

‘For millennia, our ancestors have suffered and died from tuberculosis, without knowing what it was, what caused it, or how to stop it. Today we have knowledge and tools they could only have dreamed of,’ he said.

He noted that the political declaration countries approved during the meeting and the targets they have set, are a commitment to use those tools, and develop new ones, to write the final chapter in the story of TB.

Taking stock of progress towards targets set in 2018 for a five-year period, WHO reported that while global efforts to combat TB have saved over 75 million lives since the year 2000, they fell short of reaching the targets, mainly due to severe disruptions to TB services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts.

In Kenya, the Health Cabinet Secretary, Ms. Susan Nakhumicha Wafula, who represented President Dr. William Ruto and joined world leaders at the launch of the Coalition of Leaders to End Tuberculosis expressed support for the coalition emphasizing the importance of equitable access to TB prevention and care, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2030 and achieving Universal Health Coverage.

TB remains a pressing global health challenge, with Kenya ranking among the 30 countries responsible for 80 percent of the world’s TB burden.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya stands as one of the top five nations grappling with the profound impact of this infectious disease and during the meeting the Cabinet Secretary emphasized the disproportionate effect of TB on marginalized and vulnerable populations, often deprived of access to quality healthcare services, which further exacerbates existing inequalities.

The Government of Kenya, the CS said has however made substantial efforts to intensify Active Case Finding, a proactive approach to identifying individuals who may have fallen through the gaps of the healthcare system and this has paid off, positioning Kenya as one of the few high-burden countries to meet the 2020 WHO End TB strategy milestones, including significant reductions in TB incidence and fatalities

The CS during the meeting highlighted the significance of integrating TB efforts into Primary Health Care (PHC) to ensure comprehensive access to prevention and care while strengthening healthcare systems noting that Kenya has established a primary health care approach focused on preventive and promotive health, with plans to enhance PHC capacities in the near future.

Wafula stressed the need for increased financing for TB programs, research and development, and domestic manufacturing of TB-related products.

According to Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of the WHO Global TB Programme, averting TB-related financial hardship and preventing the development of the disease in vulnerable groups will help diminish inequities within and between countries, contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

‘Uniting around the TB response by world leaders, for a second time, provides an opportunity to accelerate action and strengthen health systems capable of not only addressing the TB epidemic, but also protecting the broader health and well-being of communities, strengthening pandemic preparedness and building on lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic,’ Kasaeva said

During the meeting, Ghebreyesus officially launched the TB vaccine accelerator council to facilitate the development, licensing and use of new TB vaccines.

The Council, supported by the WHO secretariat, will be led by a ministerial board, consisting of nine members who will serve on a rotating basis, for a term of two years.

The Council will also have subsidiary bodies to support its interaction and engagement with different sectors and stakeholders broadly, including the private sector, scientists, philanthropy, and civil society.

The Council aims to identify innovative sustainable financing, market solutions and partnerships across public, private, and philanthropic sectors. It will leverage platforms like the African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), BRICS countries (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa), G20, G7 and others to strengthen commitment and actions for novel TB vaccine development and access.

Heads of State and Government gathered at UN Headquarters in New York on 18-19 September 2023 to review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Summit also marked the half-way point to the deadline set for achieving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Members of Urithi Housing Cooperative Society have been given a life dream after it issued 86 title deeds for its flagship Panorama Gardens gated community project located in Thika as efforts to revive stalled projects take shape.

The 86 are part of 200 title deeds that are currently being processed by the society through the Ministry of Lands, Urithi chairman Samuel Maina said during the handover ceremony on Sunday.

He said the title deeds are part of the about 540 parcels on the 104-acre land located along Gatanga Road next to Bahati Ridges and Golden Pearl Estate.

The issuance follows collaboration between the members of the project, the Sacco and Family Bank after the bank threatened to auction the land in 2019 over a Sh 315 million debt. The mother title for the land was the security on the loan facility.

Maina assured members that they are working on resuscitating many of their stalled projects to enable members own plots and homes.

He said in the last two years, the society has revived and completed nearly 40 projects adding that another 36 projects are set to be completed in the next one year.

The chairman attributed their crisis to the Covid-19 financial aftershocks, adding that they have now learned to work on few projects at a time and scaled down operations.

The members termed the journey torturous and frustrating but expressed satisfaction that their dream of finally owing title deeds has been met.

Their chairman Hilary Maingi Mbute said they even thought they had lost their investments.

The housing society has been battling negative publicity since 2019 when financial problems set in and creditors, including banks, started hovering over its estimated Sh6 billion worth of assets.

Once a formidable force in the real estate sector, Urithi faced a hard period with investors withholding monthly contributions and demanding refunds or the fulfillment of their investments.

In 2020, the High Court authorised Family Bank to auction the 104 acres of land owned by the cooperative to recover Sh315.1 million owed to it by the housing cooperative.

Maina said the Society will soon reach out to all the investors of other projects adding that in Utange houses in Mombasa, Juja Plains Annex, Rongai and others members are now occupying their homes in some of these projects.

‘Those whose projects are yet to resume need to be patient as we ensure those who invested in Urithi get the benefits of the projects that they invested in,’ he added.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Uasin Gishu County Government has affirmed commitment to work together with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to embrace the Alternative Justice System (AJS) to settle disputes and reduce backlog of cases in courts.

Addressing the media at the Uasin Gishu County Headquarters, JSC Commissioner Ms. Everlyn Olwande pointed out that the AJS will give the residents a faster alternative of solving disputes.

Olwande said that the members of JSC are part of a program meant to engage with the stakeholders both internally and externally to find out the challenges they are facing and challenges facing the administration of justice so as to collaborate in addressing the issues.

‘This county for a long time had only one court. Now, we have another one in Ainabkoi and Soy Sub Counties, and we are in discussion on expanding the presence of courts through the county to ensure there’s at least a court in every sub county,’ she noted.

‘We have gotten support and we expect we will soon be able to operationalise a court in Moiben and Turbo Sub Counties and the remaining sub counties. We are in discussion and the county government has promised support in terms of securing land to enable us bring justice closer to the people,’ said Olwande.

She noted that this program is in line with the Chief Justice Martha Koome’s vision of social transformation through access to justice.

A member of the JSC Mr. Isaac Ruto noted that the collaboration with the county government is to help the citizens in delivering justice to the lowest levels, in a simplified manner.

‘We want to encourage the public to understand that the judicial system is not mysterious as we always tend to believe,’ said Ruto. ‘We want to embrace the AJS where we have the elders arbitrating some of the issues like they used to do,’ he added.

He lauded the judiciary for having stood firm and true with the provisions of the constitution. ‘We need justice so that we can ensure a safe and peaceful country that has been continuously safeguarded by our judicial officers,’ he said.

Uasin Gishu Governor Mr. Jonathan Bii said the collaboration between the county and the JSC will reduce the backlog of cases which are in court. ‘As a county we are ready to facilitate and collaborate so that our people will be served in a better way,’ he said.

‘AJS has served us very well especially where we have had court cases that lingered in court for many years and right now it will be easier to help our people especially those who have waited for long to be served the justice they deserve,’ said Bii.

Source: Kenya News Agency

More than 18,000 residents of Kyumbi in Athi River Sub County will benefit from a Sh25 million dam constructed by the National Irrigation Authority (NIA).

NIA Board Chair Mr. Gilbert Maluki said the dam with a capacity of 45,000 cubic metres will provide water for both domestic and irrigation use.

‘The dam will be able to irrigate up to 50 acres. As NIA, we are committed to provision of water to enhance food security and also create income avenues for the jobless, especially the youth,’ said Maluki.

Speaking over the weekend during the launch of the project, the board chair disclosed that the project will be solar powered to reduce operation costs for farmers and ensure that they maximize profits.

Maluki also said the authority was in the process of refurbishing 2,000 colonial dams and 5,000 boreholes in preparation of the El Niño rains. He said the tendering of the refurbishing of the water projects has already been floated by the Ministry of Water and Sanitation and works will commence soon.

‘The project will be funded by the Korean government and the aim is to make the country food secure through provision of water,’ said Maluki.

The board chair also said that the authority will construct 10,000 small dams across the country to provide water for Kenyans to carry out small scale irrigation and increase food production.

He further added that NIA through the Public Private Partnership will construct 17 mega dams in the country.

Maluki said the authority has already signed a deal with an investor from the United Kingdom for the construction of the High Grand Falls multipurpose dam at the confluence of Rivers Mutonga and Tana in Tharaka Nithi and Kitui counties at a cost of 3 billion pounds.

Residents receive hass avocado tree seedling provided by National Irrigation Authority (NIA) for planting in their farms to mitigate climate change and increase food security during the groundbreaking of Kyumbi dam in Machakos

‘We will be doing the ground breaking of the dam very soon. The dam is expected to solve water problems in Tharaka Nithi, Kitui and Garissa Counties,’ said the board chair.

Also in attendance was Devolution Principal Secretary Ms. Terry Mbaika who promised that the government will ensure that Athi river is cleaned before the Thwake multipurpose dam is commissioned.

‘The President is personally committed to ensure that the contaminated stretch of the river is cleaned to provide clean water for residents,’ said Mbaika. She appealed to the county governments to adequately prepare for the anticipated El Nino rains and put in place proper measures to ensure that locals are safe.

Speaking at the same event, Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka said the government was committed to alleviating water scarcity in the lower eastern region and urged the residents to support the president and his administration.

‘The Kenya Kwanza government is committed to delivering the pledges they made during the campaigns. One of the problems in Ukambani is water but we can change this narrative,’ said Musyoka.

NIA also led a tree planting exercise in the area and distributed over 2,000 hass avocado tree seedlings to residents to plant in their farms as a strategy to fight climate change and increase food security.

Source: Kenya News Agency