The Kirinyaga county assembly has rejected the appointment of five members seconded to the Public Service Board. A section of the assembly members accused Governor Joseph Ndathi of compromising the interviewing panel to appoint the board’s members. Mutithi ward representative Jamumo Jinaro said the panel is incompetent. “We want other names because this is a raw deal,” he said.
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Assembly rejects five
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Job creation key to economy
Vision 2030 CEO Mugo Kibati has said a sustainable industrial sector and job creation are key for economic growth. He said despite Vision 2030 being on course, more capacity building needs to be done. Kibati said the country needs to increase energy production and reduce the cost of energy to boost industrialization. He was speaking in Mombasa on Saturday at retreat to review special economic zones policy and bill by the National Assembly committee on Finance, Trade and Industry. Kibati said Kenya's employment deficit hurtsthe country’s capacity to grow. He said the country produces an...
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Radio Africa and, counties in deal
The Radio Africa Group will partner with county governments to expose their potential Speaking at the Bungoma governor’s office, when he visited, Radio Africa Group business development manager Cornelius Muli said the group will use its outlets to help counties achieve their goals. “As the fastest growing media company in Kenya, we endeavor to help counties exploit maximum potential," he said. Muli said the partnership will not compromise with the editorial policies of the group saying the media will continue working as a watch dog. Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka praised the Star newspaper...
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Investors seal Elgeyo power
Investors have approved a Sh 26 Billion expenditure on the Arror Hydro power project in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The government will also finance part of the project to be implemented by the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA). However CEO of KVDA David Kimosop says they are still in the final stages of negotiations on how the project will be implemented. Donors to finance the project include the Indian government while investors from Portugal have also shown interest in the project. "We are working on the finer details but financiers have aprroved the plan,"said CEO of KVDA David...
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Boost for pyrethrum
The government has assured pyrethrum farmers across the country of its commitment to reviving the sector that is dogged by huge debts. Despite tens of challenges mainly financial, the ministry of agriculture said that plans to turn round the sector were in high gear. Cabinet Secretary for agriculture Felix Koskei admitted that the sector faced many challenges which needed to be addressed immediately. The CS said that they were working to address the issue of seedlings to the farmers so as to make them available and cheap. He added that plans were underway to seek a better market for the...
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Two MCAs defend Ngilu
Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka was yesterday criticised for describing Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu as "abusive and obsessed with witchhunt". Kitui County Assembly members allied to Jubilee Alex Nganga (nominated) and Peter Mutemi (Kiomo/Kyethani ward) said Kalonzo was unfair and unjustified to publicly launch an attack on Ngilu who is prohibited by law from engaging in any political altercation. The MCAs were referring to criticism of Ngilu by Kalonzo during a thanks-giving prayer service at the Wikithuki Irrigation Project site in Tseikuru district, in Kitui county last...
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CRA wants roles devolved
THE Commission on Revenue Allocation has said the 47 counties have the capacity to carry out the devolved functions. CRA commissioner Amina Ahmed said similar roles have always been carried out at the district level by the same technical staff, who are now under the county governments. Amina urged the the national government to release all the functions and fill in any gaps to enable the transition take off smoothly. Speaking at the Elgeyo Marakwet county assembly on Saturday, she called on the county governments to look beyond the resources from the national government and look for ways of...
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Locals ask for a police post
RESIDENTS at Mwaluphanga area in Kwale county have decried increasing insecurity due to lack of a police post. The residents want the Kwale county government to put up a police post in the area. Chief John Voya said the incidents have become too frequent. He said locals live in fear of being attacked. The chief was addressing a public meeting in Mkongani on Saturday which was attended by governor Salim Mvurya among other leaders. “We want the government to bring security near to locals by putting up a police post in Mwaluphanga,” he said. He said once there is a police post in the area locals...
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Embu petrol guard killed
An Embu watchman was on Thursday night hacked to death by robbers who scared away residents with a toy gun stuffed with explosive chemicals. John Muchangi, 51, was killed by the five-member gang at Munyi petrol station at Kibugu shopping centre in Embu North district at 10pm. The station attendant got away from the killer gang.
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Laikipia aids the poor
LAIKIPIA government will partner with the disadvantaged in the society to boost their living standards. Governor Joshua Irungu said he will ensure orphaned children are accorded their full rights. He was to parents and students of New Dawn Orphans Secondary School, Laikipia West. The school is sponsored by the World Christian Outreach ministry based in California, USA, under the Presidency of Stan Herpic. “I urge the guardians to continue supporting the disadvantaged kids to mould their future,” Irungu said. He said bright children from poor families should be supported to pursue tertiary and...
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Sakaja speaks out on VAT law
Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja has defended the enactment into law of the VAT Bill, 2013. He said the VAT Act is meant to rationalise Kenya’s tax regime. Sakaja said in the past, Kenya has been subsidising consumption instead of subsidising production. "Kenya has been making foodstuff cheap at the shop as opposed to making it cheap from the farm. The VAT Act is meant to reverse that," he said. He was speaking at a press conference at Leisure Lodge Resort in South Coast on Saturday after a two-day workshop to revive the Kenya Young Parliamentarian Association. “There were too many exemptions,...
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Four killed in Webuye crash
Four people were killed on Saturday night on the Webuye–Malaba highway at Madisi area. The vehicle they were travelling in smashed into a lorry. All the four occupants were killed instantly. Their bodies were taken to the Webuye District Hospital mortuary. Webuye police boss Willy Samba warned drivers against speeding.
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Fertiliser plant set for Eldoret town
Russian investors will help put up a fertiliser plant in Eldoret town. Moi University will be involved in the deal to put up the factory near Moi Barracks on the Eldoret-Kitale road. The deal follows a visit by President Uhuru to Russia last month where he met with fertiliser manufacturers and discused the possibility of putting up a factory in Kenya. "There is such a plan and already discusions between the investor and Rivatex, which is owned by Moi University, are going on as concerns the project," said Uhuru's political adviser Joshua Kuttuny. About 100 acres of government land have been...
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Orago roots for consumer
EXECUTIVE Director of the Kenya Consumers’ Organization Francis Orago has asked the government to establish a consumer court to protect Kenyans from exploitation. Orago said there is need for creating a consumer court to provide a platform through which Kenyans can channel their complaints whenever they feel that their consumer rights are being infringed. Speaking in Bondo town, he said it is unfortunate that the government, which should be protecting consumers from exploitation, is hell-bent on punishing the consumers through imposing unnecessary taxation on basic commodities despite the...
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KNH launches drug-use manual
KENYATTA National Hospital has launched a formulary document that it hopes will improve drug therapy and medicine information. If properly used, the formulary will promote appropriate use of safe, effective and good quality medicines as well as streamline the drugs procurement process, resulting in proper admission of drugs. It will further enable KNH prioritize its sh600 million drugs procurement annual budget, which at times go into waste due to improper planning and prioritization. Speaking yesterday at the launch that was conducted at KNH, the Health ministry PS Fred Segor challenged the...
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Chiefs to end child labour
Chiefs in Migori have been warned against promoting child labour. Migori county commissioner Ann Ng'etich said child labour contributes to the high dropout rate in schools in the region. In a speech read on her behalf by Kuria West sub county commissioner Peter Bumali, Ng'etich said goldmines, fish landing beaches, tobacco farming and town’s entertainment joints recorded the highest number of children workers. “Chiefs as arresting officers for offenders should be vigilant and ensure no child is employed instead of being in school,” she said. Ng'etich’s speech was read during the International...
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MP supports Cord walkout
Nakuru Town West MP Samuel Arama has defended the move by Cord legislatures who walked out of Parliament on Thursday during the ICC debate. Arama condemned Jubilee majority leader for tabling the motion when the trials are set to take place. “It was not good for the Jubilee MPs to table the motion because it will be seem as if we are trying to interfere with the ICC proceedings” he said. Speaking at the weekend at Kaptembwa Grounds in Nakuru where he issued bursary cheques worth Sh2.7 million, Arama said pushing for the withdrawal will not affect the impending cases. He said the move was...
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Road crash kills six, injures 21
Six people died and 21 others were seriously injured in an accident involving two vehicles at Kapkatugor in Kericho county on Saturday morning. The 6am accident involved Modern Coast Bus Express and a probox matatu. The bus was heading to Kisumu from Mombasa while the Matatu was heading to Londiani from Konoin in Bomet county. The accident comes hardly a week after another in Narok that claimed more than 40 lives near Ntulele market. Kericho county police commander Rose Muchuma said the survivors are admitted at various hospitals in Kericho town, while the bodies of those who perished are at...
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Disabled call for education
THE disabled community in Kwale county has asked the county government to address their educational challenges. The disabled want to get quality education, saying it is their constitutional right. Nominated county representative Fatuma Kadzo, who represents the disabled in the county, said improving access to education to the disabled will foster develpment. She was speaking at Tiribe Primary School in Kwale on Saturday during a prize giving day for 2012 candidates who performed well in the national exam. Kadzo observed that disabled people in the area have been sidelined in education issues...
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Manyatta MP accuses reps of jobs bias
Manyatta MP John Muchiri has accused Embu county assembly of dividing the county along tribal lines. Muchiri said the assembly has sidelined his constituents from employment in key positions both in the county government and the county assembly. Speaking at a development meeting at Mavundori Secondary School in his constituency on Saturday, the MP said the Manyatta is the most populous yet its residents have been sidelined in key jobs. He said the assembly has continued to marginalise the constituency, thus creating disharmony among the residents. Muchiri blamed speaker Justus Kariuki Mate of...
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