HE MWALIMU EDWARD MUTAHI KAHIGA SPEECH DURING THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF THE 3RD COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF NYERI
1. It’s my distinct honor and privilege to address the inaugural session of the 3 rd
County Assembly of Nyeri.
2. Allow me to take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt congratulations to all of
you on your election during the very hotly contested elections and the most deserved nominations. You made it to this August house, congratulations once again, hongera! It gives me immense joy and pleasure to see so many familiar faces seated here today. This is the doing of the Lord and I am forever grateful.
3. Congratulations Mr. Speaker the Hon Gichuhi Mwangi for your election to give leadership to this house. Congratulations to all those who have been given leadership positions in the house The Deputy Speaker, The Majority Leader, The Whip and committee leadership to steer the business of this assembly. You are equal to the task and the whole County looks up to you.
4. Mr. Speaker, let me also congratulate our elected members, the senator and woman representative for being elected and nominated to our bicameral parliament. Allow me Mr. speaker to thank all of them for attending this function and thus giving the occasion the decorum, it deserves.
5. We have just achieved the most remarkable feat in the history of electioneering by getting 18 out of 30 elected MCAs retaining their seats. This accounts for 60% re-election which is no mean feat. This is in stark contrast with only 2 MCAs who were re- elected in the previous assembly famously known as “matigari manjirungi”. This has very close correlation with my own re-election where the voters gave me an overwhelming 65% of the vote. This makes our mandate very clear and we must take it with humility and great responsibility that has been bestowed to us.
6. This is what I will aptly call the peace dividend. We resolved to collaborate, talk and resolve our differences amicably for the benefit of our common boss, wanjiku, who graciously put us into office. I intend to maintain an open door policy to the members of this house to maintain this tradition that has yielded immense benefits to the people of Nyeri. We have together redefined that the term oversight is not synonymous with bickering and unending distractive fighting but constructive dialogue that improves service delivery.
7. Mr. Speaker we are all agents of devolution both the executive and the
legislature. The concept of devolution as predicated in the constitution adopted in
Kenya involves the creation of two levels of government (national government
and county government) that are coordinated, but not subordinate to each other.
Both levels are created and protected by the constitution. The functions and
resources for discharging the functions assigned to each level are clearly defined
in the constitution, and none of the level is an agent of the other.
8. It is now your job to legislate and oversight responsibly building on the lessons
learnt from the last Assembly as we work together to build the future that we
envision for generations to come. We are overwhelmingly a Kenya Kwanza
majority with a clear Hustler Nation Mandate. I will be proposing legislation to
this assembly to align our county priorities with our party manifesto to build our
economy using the Bottom Up model that we already started experimenting in
my last administration. My transformational agenda that will guide legislation
during this second term administration will be hinged on The Good Governance
Pillar, The Social Transformation pillar and The Economic Pillar.
9. The high calling obliges us to remember the promises we made to Mama Mboga,
Boda Boda riders and other drivers of the economy. The clarion call of the Mama
Mboga moment has occasioned the election of most of us in this house, I
included. This clarion call should remind us while serving, a need to reflect and
always remember that the Mama Mboga moment has dawned, and we should
collectively endeavor to live up to the expectations, dreams, and aspirations of
Wanjiku.
10. As I championed the County to a Kaba Mwalimu bid, I noted the hope and
expectations our people have of us. Similarly, our people’s hope and
expectations reverberated across the nation as Mama Mboga demanded better
governance and an economic model that would meet the ambitions of the
ordinary mwananchi. It is the same tune that rallied the whole country to a
Bottom-Up moment that saw H.E William Samoei Ruto and H.E Rigathi
Gachagua, our son, ascend to the highest offices in our country. Wanjiku has
immense expectations in the institution of representative democracy.
11. Socrates the Greek philosopher said that an unexamined life is not worth living.
We must of essence relook at our policy priorities and see what we can do better
for our people. As we speak our county and indeed the whole country has been
severely tested by drought. This makes me sad that in the 21 st Century we are
still talking of hunger and giving cash transfers to mitigate hunger. These are
short term measures that we must do to save lives but they are an indictment to
our long term planning and priorities.
12. Mr. Speaker, Human Resource remains a key combining force in service
delivery. As we enter the 3 rd Phase of Devolution, the County Government of
Nyeri has a total of 3,857 employees which comprises 2617 permanent and
Pensionable and 449 are Contractual. The County also has nine seven hundred
and ninety one (791) Early Childhood Development Caregivers (ECDE). The
County also engages casual staff through various Departments depending on the
Departmental requirements.
13. Mr. Speaker, in The Good Governance pillar, we have offered training
opportunities for 800 youth interns through the Governor’s Internship Program
and absorbed 50 attachees in various County Departments and over 3,000 have
benefited through industrial attachment. We have ensured that our employees
are paid on time, formulated and legislated over 40 policies and laws. We have
further established governance structures to provide quality, efficient and
effective services.
14. We have established oversight bodies such as the Internal Audit Committee,
County and Sub-County Alcoholic Drinks Control Committees, Nyeri Municipal
Board, and Governor’s Delivery Unit. We have recruited and trained 300
enforcement officers; engaged the public through public participation and civic
education forums, in the budget and Economic meeting forums that comprised
professionals and focus groups.
15. Mr. Speaker, allow me to highlight the commitments that I made under the good
governance pillar. With the honourable members support we will create and
sustain a highly motivated and Responsive Public Service. We shall continue
with youth Empowerment by increasing the number of interns from current 200 to
300 annually. This will create more opportunities for trainees for Industrial
Attachment. We will implement e-Government Quality Management System,
Information Security Management System and ISO standardization in all County
Departments for efficient and effective service delivery.
16. Mr. Speaker, Honorable members , in order to operationalize the executive arm
of our county government; I will in due course put in place an organizational
structure which will assist in defining the roles of each member of staff in the staff
establishment. I will be forwarding the list of proposed members of the executive
committee as well as Chief Officers of the departments for vetting and approval.
We request that you expedite this task and allow us to get down to the business
of governance.
17. In the executive arm of the government, we are improving our physical structures
in our sub-county offices to improve people’s access to government services. For
both Karatina town hall and Othaya sub -county offices we have invested Ksh. 4.
Million and an additional Ksh. 12.7 million is required to complete.
18. Mr. Speaker, agriculture is the backbone of our economy. However, it is largely
subsistence and rain dependent with a multiplicity of challenges including high
cost of inputs and less than adequate extension services. We shall support the
modernization and commercialization of agriculture with a focus to make farming
an attractive business than just a way of life and career for young people by
promoting agribusiness.
19. We want to laud the national government initiative on the directive of reducing
the cost of fertilizer from KES 6,500 to KES 3,000. My government is in
collaboration with the national government to remove the bottlenecks that
plagued such interventions in the past. We have made sure that fertilizer is going
to the farmers and not brokers. We commit to further double the fertilizer and
organic manure intake to increase production per hectare and expand crop
varieties to include all crops with a resultant increase in production and
encourage drought-resistant crops in semi-arid areas.
20. Mr. Speaker, in agricultural transformation we have improved the value chains by
procuring 23 coolers and one milk pasteurizer, provision of artificial insemination
services (AI)the dairy breed has improved, 234 ponds have been rehabilitated
and installed 114 pond Liners, and re-stocked 944 ponds with mono sex
fingerlings. A total of Ksh. 64.5 million has been disbursed to support six
cooperatives (Wakulima Dairy, Kieni Dairy Product Ltd, Sabeke Co-operative,
Nyeri South Banana, Mukeni Poultry, and Mwikuria Grains Cooperative
Societies). This capital investment has improved the value chains of the
cooperatives to access the markets. We require an additional investment of Ksh.
24 million to complete the ongoing projects.
21. Mr. Speaker: water is a major basic need of life and is crucial for sustainable
livelihood, prosperity and realization of vision 2030 and the millennium
development goals. Nyeri County is well endowed with water resources but not
optimally harnessed.
22. Mr. Speaker, by the end of last five years, we have connected 65% of the county
citizens with clean treated water for domestic use which is estimated at 160,000
households, extended 252 Km of water pipeline, constructed two Water
Treatment facilities for NAROWASCO and TEAWASCO, drilled and rehabilitated
29 boreholes, constructed 14 intakes, 39 masonry tanks, and issued 209 plastic
tanks to the 30 wards and with stakeholders engagement, major irrigation
projects have been funded and water pans for households and institutions have
been provided. However much needs to be done in irrigation coverage to ensure
the county is food secure.
23. Mr. Speaker, to ensure that the county is food secure I have committed to
mechanize agriculture by completion of 20-large-scale dams, support small-
holder agricultural drip irrigation, and work with the private sector to enhance
commercial agricultural production on at least 100,000 hectares. We will provide
and distribute certified seeds to farmers for high production. I have committed to
rehabilitate 30 dams and 100 water pans to increase water supply for irrigation,
power generation, and increase acreage under irrigation to 20,000 Ha from the
current 5000 Ha. This will benefit over 80,000 families through irrigation to
increase food production to feed the people in the county.
24. The cyclical and unpredictable climatic changes have on continual basis affected
agriculture and livestock farming in Nyeri County. Nyeri County hosts the two
most critical water towers The Aberdares and The Mt Kenya ecosystem. We
shall commit resources and work with national government and development
partners to secure those water towers. We owe that to our country and our future
generations.
25. To mitigate the effects of climate, change our focus will be to partner with Kenya
Forest Services to adopt and reforest the large sections of the Aberdares Forest
that suffered great destruction causing our rivers to dry up and affecting our
farming activities downstream. Through afforestation, we will create new jobs in
the carbon trade by harnessing forest cover from the current 40% by planting 50
million trees, establishing community Forest Associations for all the 12 County
forests, and establishing green park spaces in major towns.
26. We have consistently maintained the top spot in the country as having the best
run Water Companies that are commercially viable. We have five Water Service
Providers that we support to maintain the highest water governance as regulated
by The Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB). We shall continue to make
strategic investments using these vehicles to increase and expand the water
connectivity from 65% to 90% for rural and from 70% to 98% in urban areas. We
shall bring legislation to this house to regulate, guide and harmonize the
investments in the community Water Projects and our WSPs to ensure order and
sustainability. We will develop a Sewer Master plan that will map the connection
of all urban towns in the 8 sub-counties in Chaka, Naromoru, Mweiga, Kiamariga,
Kiawara, Giakanja, Riamukurwe, and Gatitu.
27. Mr. Speaker, in water department we require Ksh. 58 million to complete the
ongoing projects. This includes boreholes in Magutu, Gatarakwa, Thegu River
and irrigation projects like Kariithi Ruguru ward Zamwua project, Ngonde water
project , Huhoini water project, Maragima and Gakurwua water intake, Kanuna
Wangi and Endarasha water projects.
28. Mr. Speaker the role of infrastructural development cannot be overemphasized.
Reliable roads not only improve inter and intra connectivity but also reduce
agricultural post- harvest loses. In the next five years, I have pledged to provide a
world-class, cost-effective, physical, infrastructural facilities and services. This
will be achieved through upgrading all major town roads to bitumen standard,
2000 kilometers to all-weather road standards across the County, and maintain
an estimated 3000KMs.
29. Mr. Speaker, we have made good progress in infrastructural development. We
have graded and opened 3710 km of rural roads to gravel standards, constructed
25 bridges; 18 box culverts, and seven footbridges; installed 2,898 street lights
and 207 floodlights equivalent to 145 Kms.
30. Further, we will install 300KM of street lighting in all urban and peri-urban
centers to facilitate a twenty-four-hour economy. We will build bridges across all
the major rivers in the county and construct high standard culverts on all roads to
make them more durable and safer for use by our residents.
31. The plan for non-motorized transport is to link access roads and main roads by
marking signage and creating walkways for pedestrians and cyclists. This is
environmentally friendly and pro poor. We shall embark on a beautification
program of our town parks and green spaces and road sides. We shall also
promote the overall use of green energy in public offices businesses, homes,
public institutions, and utilities to cut on escalating growth in power bills.
32. Mr. Speaker, in the infrastructure development, on roads we require Ksh. 29.3 on
ongoing works, Ksh. 7.9 million constructions of bridges in Chania and Hamukira
culvert bridge in Chinga. Additional funding for street lights in Kamakwa/Mukaro,
Aguthi Gaaki, Rware and Narumoro Kiamathaga wards at a cost of 6.3 million. A
flagship biogas installation in Aguthi Gaaki requires 5 million to complete ongoing
works
33. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 introduced major focus areas for the Health
Sector, primarily captured under the Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 which describes
health as an economic and social right. In the wake of the Corona Virus
pandemic the health sector has become the most pivotal service and the main
focus of government at both local and national levels.
34. Mr. Speaker, honorable members I am aware that our healthcare services have
been bedeviled with various challenges relating to staffing, facilities, equipment
and drugs to an extent that it became a major campaign tool during the last
general election. Despite the fact that the success of our health sector speaks
volumes in the last five years. We have developed public health infrastructure
that comprises one level five hospital, five Level fours, 31 health Centre and 90
dispensaries that are fairly distributed within a radius of 5-7 km, and a facility
density of 3.9 per 10,000 populations. Operationalizing Naromoru Hospital is
going to be our major priority. We plan to set up another level Four hospital in
Kiawara to serve Kieni West and a specialized eye hospital in Tetu Constituency.
35. We have procured, Biochemistry Analyzers for Six Rural Health Facilities, 3 Parts
Hematology Analyzers for Five Rural Health Facilities, Clinical Chemistry
analyzer for Karatina, Mukurwe-ini, and Mt. Kenya Sub-County Hospital, Dental
units complete with oil-free compressor and accessories for Karatina and Mt.
Kenya Hospital, installation of Laundry Machine, Mt. Kenya Sub County Hospital,
procurement and Operationalization of the ECG and LEEP machines. We have
supplied and installed Bulk oxygen plant and piping at Karatina Sub- County
hospital (ongoing) and Mt Kenya Hospital, procured and supplied health
commodities to all 130 health facilities with a fill rate of over 80%. We have
operationalized the 6 Intensive care Unit beds from 3 making it 100%
operational, expansion of the renal and dialysis unit by 2 additional machines,
have 99 percent fully Immunized Children; 70% with 4th ANC Coverage.
36. The success of our Health Service Fund is critical to the revolution that happens
in this sector. Our focus must now shift to the quality of health care that can only
be guaranteed by sufficient staff and medicine in in our pharmacies. We shall
invest in an efficient robust Technology System that prioritizes the patient and
sustainability of our health system.
37. Mr. Speaker as you are aware, the UDA Government has given a firm
commitment to restructure KEMSA that bedeviled the supply of pharmaceuticals
and non-pharmaceuticals in the health sector. We ask this house and the senate
to legislate so as to protect devolution and ensure devolved services are
optimized for the benefit of the citizenry.
38. Our new focus will be to implement preventive and promotive health services to
mitigate against the spread of both communicable and non-communicable
diseases, and implement a “best practice” plan for quality improvement and
patient safety. We further plan to invest more in cancer treatment to reduce the
burden on its treatment, by investing in highly specialized equipment to offer
oncology services, ICU, and renal services in the county referral hospital.
39. Mr. Speaker, to ensure transparency in the utilization of health facilities and
reduce leakages in revenue collection, we shall establish ICT infrastructure to
primary healthcare facilities. This will ensure accountability in the
operationalization of the Health Fund. Similarly, we will establish Health
Management Information Systems (HMIS) to strengthen data collection in one-
stop-shop services, analyzing data in real time related to vaccines, drugs stock
and restocking of pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceutical products.
40. Mr. Speaker in health preventive and curative services, to improve the
infrastructure, we incurred Ksh. 57.6 million and we require an additional Ksh.
103.8 million to complete among others, the isolation ward at Mt. Kenya hospital,
medical gas piping at Karatina hospital, construction of a Kitchen at Othaya
hospital, medical equipment for various rural facilities and maintenance of
primary health care facilities in 15 wards.
41. Mr. Speaker, my transformational agenda is to ensure the county adequately
protects its citizens timely and effectively. Imparting of skills to the youth will not
only greatly reduce the level of unemployment but also the consequential crime
rate it engenders. In the last five years my government has acquired two (2)
modern fire engines, constructed two (2) new fire stations at Othaya and
Kiawara, recruited 150 youth through the Kuza Kazi Youth Empowerment
Programme in partnership with Coca Cola Company Almasi Beverages,
constructed Two (2) new modern social halls at Kariki and at Muruguru, renovated community social halls at Chinga and Mweiga community, constructed
a Multipurpose Hall and a Kitchen at Karatina Childrens Home, and a modern
rehabilitation center for drug and substance abuse at Ihururu.
42. Mr. Speaker, through the youth empowerment program, we have distributed
equipment worth Kshs. 26 million to youth groups in 15 Wards and We continue
to support vulnerable groups affected by disasters rebuilding and providing
building materials, food, clothing, interment expenses to bereaved families, and
food rations to the orphans at Karatina Children’s Home.
43. Mr. Speaker, my transformation agenda will be to purchase five new firefighting
engines and emergency rescue vehicles to reduce the distances of firefighting
services across the county. To support this, we shall recruit more trained disaster
management officers and sensitize the community on Disaster prevention and
mitigation measures. Further we shall construct and rehabilitate fire stations in all
8 sub-counties, install water hydrants in all 30 wards, deploy fire engines to all 8
sub-counties, and institutionalize the Disaster Management directorate.
44. I commit to construct and renovate social halls in all 30 wards, construct staff
quarters for Karatina Children’s home. To support our citizens living with
disability we shall purchase devices for People with Disability, provide Relief
Support to vulnerable families with food and non-food items. We shall provide
medical cover for vulnerable persons and sensitize registration of NHIF to all for
ease access of treatment in the hospitals.
45. Mr. Speaker, in gender and youth empowerment we require Ksh. 9 million to
construct staff houses at Karatina children’s home, Ksh. 6 million to construct
ablution block, Ksh. 8.9 million for staff houses at Ihururu rehabilitation center
and Ksh. 1.5 million for toll free line.
46. Mr. Speaker, to create employment opportunities for the youth and cottage
industries, my government will gradually increase Enterprise Development Funds
(EDF) lending from 55 million to 500 million at an interest rate of 5% . The EDF
lending is projected to have a ripple effect that would create job opportunities for
more than 100,000 people. In addition to create business in the informal sector,
we have constructed and rehabilitated 43 markets and constructed 180 stalls
across all the wards to improve the business environment and enhance
accessibility to goods and services.
47. Mr. Speaker, my government recognizes co-operatives as the key driver of our
social economic transformation agenda. Nyeri County has 179 active co-
operative societies spread across all sectors of our economy with a membership
of over 400,000, an asset base of over 19 billion with an estimated annual
turnover of 6 billion per year. These co-operative societies help their members
pull resources together for shared prosperity. This means that 40% of our
population is registered in one cooperative or another. The cooperative
movement also plays a catalytic role in enhancing agricultural marketing to
ensure sustainable development in agriculture.
48. We will encourage the formation of marketing cooperatives to stabilize market
prices and economies of scale for products from small-scale farmers in maize,
wheat, and potatoes, avocadoes, and dairy products. This will provide incentives
for the integration of youth into agribusiness value chains, including market
guarantees and incubation training and scholarships for youth to agribusiness.
49. Mr. Speaker, the Kenol Marua dual carriage highway has given Nyeri county a
comparative as well as competitive advantage to attract industrial investors. My
government will give a three year tax holiday incentive to companies starting and
scaling up their business in Nyeri county. This will tap the benefits of the railway
and dual carriageway Kenol to Marua. The policy is intended to attract more than
100 companies regionally and internationally and create more than 2000 jobs.
50. Mr. Speaker, I endeavor to turnaround and transform Nyeri county to a Tourism
and culture destination both locally and internationally. We will carry out mapping
of tourism niche products both fauna and flora and identify tourism sites and
develop a web-based electronic catalogue to market our products. The platform
targets, eco-tourism, agro-tourism, adventure tourism, cultural heritage by
developing talents across the 8 sub-counties on photography and videography,
film creation, and performing arts and promote sports tourism.
51. Mr. Speaker, on trade, we require Ksh. 60 million to complete ongoing works in
markets, provision of sanitary facilities , installation of solar projects and toilet
blocks in various wards.
52. Mr. Speaker we are cognizant of the fact that quality education is a basic human
right. Our children have a right to receive quality education to enable them
become useful citizens in future. Building a strong foundation through quality
pre-primary education cannot therefore be negotiable. We have disbursed Elimu
Fund bursary amounting to Kshs. 440 million to 84,000 beneficiaries in the last
four years; We have also employed 800 ECDE Caregivers, formulated an ECDE
policy , VTC legislation and provided learning and teaching materials to all 437
ECDE Centers . We have also finalized the scheme of service to translate all the
ECDE caregivers to permanent and pensionable terms. We shall build on these
gains in the new administration.
53. Mr. Speaker, I have pledged to introduce a Free School Milk program to every
child at the ECDE level, twice a week to improve their nutrition. I have further
committed to construct 50 CBC model classrooms, 100 ablution blocks and
improve on existing sanitary facilities.
54. To bolster our youth development program, we shall provide a state-of-the-art
sports infrastructure, training, and recreational facilities for the youth, men,
women, and People Living with Disabilities. It’s important to note Mr. Speaker
that the bursary program has been very effective. We shall increase the Elimu
Bursary Fund from the current 160 million to 200 million annually to cater for the
increasing demand of the vulnerable needy cases.
55. In order to transform the Vocational Training Centers into business hubs and
centers of excellence in each of the 8 sub-counties, we will recruit highly skilled
instructors to make them more innovative and competitive in the informal market.
This will improve basic foundation of our children in education and also create a
good environment to improve their innovativeness and performance. We have
invested in Rukira Youth Polytechnic to make it a center of Excellence for leather
production as a model to be replicated to every sub- county. The Mwalimu Shoe
under production in Rukira will be our flagship cottage industry product and will
be used by our children from lower levels to our bursary recipients. This will spur
production and create jobs for our youth.
56. Mr. Speaker, in education, we have invested Ksh. 7.9 million and we require an
additional Ksh. 15.4 million.
57. Mr. Speaker, Nyeri County produces an estimated 200 tons of waste every day.
In the past 3 years, only 65 percent was collected and less than 5 per cent was
recycled. Currently the Department has increased collection to 85 per cent with
15 per cent being recycled. This has been achieved through procuring an
additional 4 trucks and 48 skip bins in the past 5 years. This financial year, the
Department has budgeted for an additional truck and 20 skip bins. To further
enhance the cleanliness in our major towns, the Department is in the process of
finalizing partnerships to see the installation of color-coded litterbins.
58. Waste is a resource that can be harnessed to create wealth, employment and
reduce pollution to the environment. Towards this, the Department is promoting
various alternatives to the existing waste value chains. Instead of waste being
collected solely for disposal, the Department is facilitating the diversion of at least
30 per cent of collected waste away from disposal sites and towards various
recycling practices.
59. This is a shift from the previous “buy-use-dispose linear approach to the more the
elaborate circular economy that advocates for zero waste. Towards this the
Department is establishing integrated waste management practices. As at now,
the Department has constructed sorting sheds at Karindundu dumpsite where
waste is sorted for subsequent recycling. A successful pilot project for
composting organic waste to fertilizer, compost and biogas has already been
established.
60. We have made various interventions in the industry in partnership with the
private sector to be in tune with the current global practice that is environmentally
friendly. We launched a campaign dubbed “My Waste My Responsibility”. This
has changed the language from dumping into the circular economy that lays
emphasis on reducing, reusing and recycling waste. We shall put our best foot
forward to getting land for a properly engineered land fill and convert the
dumpsites to organized transfer stations that will be used as sorting facilities. We
have started investments in bottle crushers, bailers and assorted machinery to
support waste entrepreneurs as partners in the waste management business.
61. We shall operationalize the robust County spatial plan that will guide in the
mapping of all county projects and programs for the next 10 years. The Local
Physical and Land Use Development Plans will guide Human settlements
through the provision of social and physical infrastructure. This will be the basis
on which we shall process title deeds and develop applications that comprise
building plans, subdivisions, amalgamations, change of user, and renewal of
leases. We shall implement and maintain the legal requirements to maintain an
updated valuation roll to keep our towns competitive and attractive to investors.
62. In order to secure our people and increase access to capital we commit to issue
title deeds to all colonial villages in Nyeri County by 2027. This includes
individual holdings, churches, schools, other public institutions, and digitization of
land records. This will give people the freedom to organize their lives with a
sense of permanence and they will be free to use their property to access credit
and grow their businesses.
63. Mr. Speaker, Honorable members, as I conclude highlighting my transformational
agenda, let me state at the onset to the honorable members that colossal
resources will be needed for its implementation. We have Limited Local Revenue
Resources also known as Own Source Revenue from the equitable share
(National Government) which has remained constant for the last 3 years while
the funding from development partners (donors) has not been predictable and
have strings attached.
64. Mr. Speaker, to eliminate leakages in revenue collections streams, we have a
cashless system and we have the potential to collect more than Kshs.2B from
our own generated resources through these automated services that have
curbed corruption. This has led to an increase in revenue collected over the
years to a total of Kshs. 887M as the highest ever attained since devolution
started. I believe we can do more in revenue collection to achieve the target of
Ks. 2 billion.
65. Mr. Speaker, to broaden the revenue base, without increasing the current
chargeable rates, we will increase the number of parking areas in all our major
towns, seal all the loopholes on cess collection, especially from our quarries,
automate the collection of all revenue streams to 100% through Nyeri Pay; we
will eradicate all revenue leakages by automation of processes through
Enterprise Resources Planning Solutions to undertake, real-time evaluation
analysis for projects and programs, streamlined financial close processes,
Planning, budgeting, and forecasting capabilities, and enterprise risk
management; engage the public in the county budget process in developing an
Economic Development Blue Print at the ward level namely; “Ward Focus for
Accelerated Development” The blueprint will consider the comparative advantage
of every ward/sub-county to generate programs addressing the value chains.
66. Mr. Speaker in conclusion, I wish to remind us all that the people of Nyeri County
have very high expectations from us. They need services delivered according to
the transformation pledges that will determine the scorecard in the next five years
election. Over the last five years, Nyeri has tasted unprecedented development
and they are yearning for more. The time has now come when we must roll up
our sleeves and start working for our people
67. Mr. speaker, to achieve our transformation agenda, there is a need for greater
collaboration and coordination between the executive and the assembly and
across all departments to eliminate duplication, optimize resources, create
synergies among agencies, and deliver seamless services to the citizens and
businesses.
68. Mr. Speaker, may I once again congratulate you and honorable members for
your election as speaker and members of this esteemed county assembly
respectively and wish you well, as you carry out the business of this honorable
assembly.
69. I urge you to remember the state of affairs and the weight placed upon your
shoulders by Wanjiku after promising them hope during the campaign season. In
the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, ‘A leader is a dealer in hope’. I urge you not to
be dealers of hope but also to deliver this hope by discharging your mandate as
diligently as possible in the next five years.
70. Equally, I am aware of the important role that this house plays in the discharge of
my duties. I have enjoyed an affable relationship with this house in my past
tenure. It is the congenial relationship that has allowed us to deliver the much we
have to Wanjiku, and has occasioned the re-election of the 16 of you. Each time
Nyeri County earned recognition and awards was a moment I shared and
delighted with the members of this house. The working relationship between this
house and my administration allowed us to excel on the local and national stage
through numerous awards by reputable bodies such as the World Bank.
71. As I begin my second term, I made numerous promises to the electorate. These
promises cannot be fulfilled without concerted efforts between the Executive and
the County Assembly. Your oversight role will, nonetheless, be welcome to keep
my administration in check and for us to uphold the three pillars of ‘Ukuria,
Waragania na Uigiririki.’ These three pillars will anchor our vision in service
delivery during this term to the people of Nyeri. As the Bible in Proverbs 29:18
teaches us, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish.’
72. For those of us who were re-elected, we have, over the years, learned hands-on about our duties and responsibilities. For those of you who are serving their first term and those who have been nominated, we undertake to induct you through your roles and duties. I also urge you to find guidance from those who have been here. To those who have been re-elected, be your brothers and sisters keeper. Be patient with them. Allow them to learn. Do not be quick to anger. Be gentle.
After all, we have only one boss, Wanjiku.
73. Finally, as Max DePree aptly put it, The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. I urge us all to embark on servant leadership in our delivery of duties to the Nyeri County citizens.
74. With those remarks honorable members, I declare the third Nyeri County
assembly session officially open. May God bless Nyeri County.
Thank you. Asanteni sana.
INAUGURAL SPEECH BY HON. MUTAHI KAHIGA, THE FOURTH GOVERNOR OF NYERI COUNTY AT TOWN HALL NYERI ON 13th NOVEMBER 2017
The Honorable People of Nyeri County
Distinguished Justice of the High Court
Cabinet Secretaries
Principal Secretaries
Senators
Speaker of the County Assembly
Honorable Members of the National Assembly
County Commissioner
Honorable Members of the County Assembly
Religious leaders
Business leaders
Members of the Fourth Estate
Invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am humbled to stand before you, having just sworn to the oath of office as the Fourth Governor of our great county of Nyeri. I was deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden and untimely death of our Governor, Dr. Wahome Gakuru. This unbearable loss has robbed Nyeri County a jewel in its crown.
I cannot but pay tribute to our late Governor with whom we won the gubernatorial election just less than three months ago, when I contested as his running mate. I have personally lost a dear friend, a fabulous boss, a cheerful comrade and courageous compatriot. Let me convey my deepest sympathies to Catherine (our County First Lady) and the boys, family, friends, the people of Nyeri and the nation at large.
No words are cogent enough to express our loss from this untimely death. Similarly, no tribute may be elaborate enough to express our determination to live his dream and bring his vision to fruition. May the Lord grant his soul eternal rest!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The trust and confidence, which you bestowed upon us through the power of your vote, remains a pivotal guide in shaping our daily thoughts and actions. During the few months that I have been working with the late Governor, I can attest that we have been guided by God and the spirit of collegiality in our endevour to fulfill the promises that we made to the people of Nyeri. The steps we have so far made under the leadership of the late Governor, in just over two months are commendable. Nevertheless, a lot remains to be undertaken in this shared voyage!
As I take up the baton of leadership, I want to specially appeal to all the people of Nyeri to stay on course in our collective commitment to build a more prosperous Nyeri. Our overarching promise of delivering economic growth anchored on transparency and accountability is fully etched in my mind.
Reflections and stories of hope regarding these aspirations have been repeated in many ways, especially over the last few days. I have had very encouraging and diverse messages from across the county but the underlying theme has been “We are grieving once again but will rally behind you as we soldier on”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
These messages and my own contemplations serve as a constant reminder that Dr Wahome and I were called by the unanimous voice of the people of Nyeri to the highest offices in the county despite our not being wealthy nor having powerful connections. It is the will of God that I serve in this position and do offer myself to remain your humble servant. Trust me; I am not taking up this responsibility to enrich myself.
I will continue seeking your company in the streets, farms, and markets of Nyeri as we jointly explore ways of improving our lives, one day at a time. My government will galvanize and mobilize the people of Nyeri for the noble responsibilities we were granted.
To succeed in this venture, we all need to remain truly united. Through unity, we will bring out the typical resilience of the people of Nyeri in the face of the greatest of odds. Through unity, our hopes and determination will be stirred, our fears will be doused, and we will encourage each other and rally ourselves to build a stronger county even when others doubt our capacity.
I wish to call on all leaders in this county – be it in the political arena, religious sphere, youth forums, women groups and congregation of special groups – to rally behind me to unite our county and improve the living standards of all our peoples across the county. Let us not allow anyone amongst us to exploit our differences especially in political persuasions to set us one against another. May our determination for this common purpose be unshakable!
May Dr Wahome’s death revive the spirit of the people of Nyeri to conquer any looming challenges- the spirit that drove Dedan Kimathi to fight with nothing but faith; the spirit that propelled Wangari Maathai to World stage of environmental conservation begin with a single seedling.
This is the same spirit that I wish to tap into to make the life of school going children, mothers, hard working men and passionate youths better one day at a time. For this cause, I will be accessible and also available as I have always been.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My government will spearhead the implementation of the vision that Dr Wahome Gakuru fought so hard for and was committed to. I trust that as a true confidant, with your esteemed support, we will soon be unpacking this shared vision through a very participatory, collaborative process of formulating our County Integrated Development Plan, plans for the various sectors, and subsequent annual development plans and budgets.
I am mindful that I represent the shared aspiration of the people of Nyeri to forge a focused county: a county that cherishes education, a county endowed with rich unparalleled heritage, the land of the best coffee and tea, a county desirous of the best healthcare services, a county that aspires to be food secure, and one that envisages prosperity for its youths and children.
I am confident that if we are committed to these ideals, we will not be denied the realization of our vision. In the days ahead, those of us who have been elected to serve you will be required to demonstrate our selflessness, and indeed to live to the expectations, as well as match the hopes and aspirations of the people of this county.
Let us revisit our common grounds, explore new areas of understanding and collaboration and seek novel ideals that will enrich our county. This was Dr Wahome’s perpetual desire and is my desire too!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our transformative journey, achieved a critical milestone few days ago when we established our executive committee. I wish to give a firm assurance of my intention to continue working with the team that we recently enlisted in this great transformation.
I reiterate Dr Wahome’s call for their unequivocal support. We remain alert to the glaring gap that has been left in the executive and will reorganize alongside sectoral committees at the executive level to bridge that gap.
My government will be an open and transparent government. We will seek to engage at all levels. At intergovernmental levels, we will continue with our engagement with the national government ministries, departments and agencies as we pursue our common agenda. Our engagement with other counties – especially our neighboring ones – will be expanded and refocused.
Most importantly, we will revitalize our county intergovernmental relations and collaboration with the non state actors. To the people of Nyeri of all walks of life – be sure that we will continue engaging and listening to you.
I wish to reiterate that we have already established a very close and cordial relationship with the national government under the leadership of H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta. My government will do all that is within its powers to strengthen this partnership and see through ongoing projects – including but not limited to markets, specialized hospital, roads, agricultural training school - to completion. Our ongoing planning process must ensure alignment with the Jubilee Manifesto.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our county’s dream must be anchored on hard work and not short cuts. My administration will encourage and support the people of Nyeri, especially the small and medium enterprises to thrive through access to government procurement opportunities. This we will do acknowledging that they represent the real sector of the economy and that a robust private sector is vital to the creation of growth and jobs that we promised. However, these efforts must be mutual, collaborative and based on a truly win-win value proposition. I will demand that those who work for and do business with the county must be accountable.
At the heart of our service delivery is our staffing complement comprising nearly 3,000 individuals. I direly need the support of this team. Many of them have openly expressed the profound shock that they too have experienced. It is our duty as County Government of Nyeri to ward off uncertainty, doubt and delay and demonstrate that we are capable of decisive action that was manifested by our departed brother.
I believe that no narration can more eloquently honor the Governor Gakuru’s memory than decisively dealing with the bane of corruption and sloppiness in our delivery of services to the public. I trust that the workers’ unions will be a critical cog in this wheel of transformation too.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To continue with the programs that Governor Gakuru had already initiated for this period, I wish to make an appeal to our County Assembly to approve our supplementary budget request; our County Public Service Board to fast track the pending recruitments especially those of top managers; and our county departments to fast track the first wave of Rapid Results Initiative that we commenced in September this year.
Over the next four years, my government’s attention will be focused on generating economic growth through rebuilding and maintaining our basic infrastructure; attracting new investments and improving trading environment; creating greater access to social services ( including quality vocational education, improved health care services) .
We will pay special attention to the agriculture and water sectors to accord their rightful role of ensuring that our county is food secure and generating employment for our youths.
The creation of the Nyeri County Economic and Social Council will enable us to immensely tap on diversity of ideas and experiences necessary for strengthening our fiscal framework, promoting productivity of our critical sectors, and generating the attendant benefits to the people of Nyeri.
To truly be accountable to you and ensure that we attain best value for money, we are setting up a robust Governor’s Service Delivery Unit and beefing up our communications unit to accord regular engagement with the people we serve.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A grisly road accident has thrust upon me the huge responsibility of steering our county. I am fully aware that I cannot bear this burden alone and do need your help.
As we unite in mourning our departed hero, let us also unite in dedication and action. Let us turn away from defiance, from bitterness, from hate mongers, and agents of fear.
I sincerely and profoundly hope that we will forge forward as one people amidst this tragedy that has befallen us. Let us resolve that through our unity of purpose, we will prove to Kenya that Dr Wahome did not live or die in vain.
God Bless Kenya
God Bless Nyeri
1. It’s my distinct honor and privilege to address the inaugural session of the 3 rd
County Assembly of Nyeri.
2. Allow me to take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt congratulations to all of
you on your election during the very hotly contested elections and the most deserved nominations. You made it to this August house, congratulations once again, hongera! It gives me immense joy and pleasure to see so many familiar faces seated here today. This is the doing of the Lord and I am forever grateful.
3. Congratulations Mr. Speaker the Hon Gichuhi Mwangi for your election to give leadership to this house. Congratulations to all those who have been given leadership positions in the house The Deputy Speaker, The Majority Leader, The Whip and committee leadership to steer the business of this assembly. You are equal to the task and the whole County looks up to you.
4. Mr. Speaker, let me also congratulate our elected members, the senator and woman representative for being elected and nominated to our bicameral parliament. Allow me Mr. speaker to thank all of them for attending this function and thus giving the occasion the decorum, it deserves.
5. We have just achieved the most remarkable feat in the history of electioneering by getting 18 out of 30 elected MCAs retaining their seats. This accounts for 60% re-election which is no mean feat. This is in stark contrast with only 2 MCAs who were re- elected in the previous assembly famously known as “matigari manjirungi”. This has very close correlation with my own re-election where the voters gave me an overwhelming 65% of the vote. This makes our mandate very clear and we must take it with humility and great responsibility that has been bestowed to us.
6. This is what I will aptly call the peace dividend. We resolved to collaborate, talk and resolve our differences amicably for the benefit of our common boss, wanjiku, who graciously put us into office. I intend to maintain an open door policy to the members of this house to maintain this tradition that has yielded immense benefits to the people of Nyeri. We have together redefined that the term oversight is not synonymous with bickering and unending distractive fighting but constructive dialogue that improves service delivery.
7. Mr. Speaker we are all agents of devolution both the executive and the
legislature. The concept of devolution as predicated in the constitution adopted in
Kenya involves the creation of two levels of government (national government
and county government) that are coordinated, but not subordinate to each other.
Both levels are created and protected by the constitution. The functions and
resources for discharging the functions assigned to each level are clearly defined
in the constitution, and none of the level is an agent of the other.
8. It is now your job to legislate and oversight responsibly building on the lessons
learnt from the last Assembly as we work together to build the future that we
envision for generations to come. We are overwhelmingly a Kenya Kwanza
majority with a clear Hustler Nation Mandate. I will be proposing legislation to
this assembly to align our county priorities with our party manifesto to build our
economy using the Bottom Up model that we already started experimenting in
my last administration. My transformational agenda that will guide legislation
during this second term administration will be hinged on The Good Governance
Pillar, The Social Transformation pillar and The Economic Pillar.
9. The high calling obliges us to remember the promises we made to Mama Mboga,
Boda Boda riders and other drivers of the economy. The clarion call of the Mama
Mboga moment has occasioned the election of most of us in this house, I
included. This clarion call should remind us while serving, a need to reflect and
always remember that the Mama Mboga moment has dawned, and we should
collectively endeavor to live up to the expectations, dreams, and aspirations of
Wanjiku.
10. As I championed the County to a Kaba Mwalimu bid, I noted the hope and
expectations our people have of us. Similarly, our people’s hope and
expectations reverberated across the nation as Mama Mboga demanded better
governance and an economic model that would meet the ambitions of the
ordinary mwananchi. It is the same tune that rallied the whole country to a
Bottom-Up moment that saw H.E William Samoei Ruto and H.E Rigathi
Gachagua, our son, ascend to the highest offices in our country. Wanjiku has
immense expectations in the institution of representative democracy.
11. Socrates the Greek philosopher said that an unexamined life is not worth living.
We must of essence relook at our policy priorities and see what we can do better
for our people. As we speak our county and indeed the whole country has been
severely tested by drought. This makes me sad that in the 21 st Century we are
still talking of hunger and giving cash transfers to mitigate hunger. These are
short term measures that we must do to save lives but they are an indictment to
our long term planning and priorities.
12. Mr. Speaker, Human Resource remains a key combining force in service
delivery. As we enter the 3 rd Phase of Devolution, the County Government of
Nyeri has a total of 3,857 employees which comprises 2617 permanent and
Pensionable and 449 are Contractual. The County also has nine seven hundred
and ninety one (791) Early Childhood Development Caregivers (ECDE). The
County also engages casual staff through various Departments depending on the
Departmental requirements.
13. Mr. Speaker, in The Good Governance pillar, we have offered training
opportunities for 800 youth interns through the Governor’s Internship Program
and absorbed 50 attachees in various County Departments and over 3,000 have
benefited through industrial attachment. We have ensured that our employees
are paid on time, formulated and legislated over 40 policies and laws. We have
further established governance structures to provide quality, efficient and
effective services.
14. We have established oversight bodies such as the Internal Audit Committee,
County and Sub-County Alcoholic Drinks Control Committees, Nyeri Municipal
Board, and Governor’s Delivery Unit. We have recruited and trained 300
enforcement officers; engaged the public through public participation and civic
education forums, in the budget and Economic meeting forums that comprised
professionals and focus groups.
15. Mr. Speaker, allow me to highlight the commitments that I made under the good
governance pillar. With the honourable members support we will create and
sustain a highly motivated and Responsive Public Service. We shall continue
with youth Empowerment by increasing the number of interns from current 200 to
300 annually. This will create more opportunities for trainees for Industrial
Attachment. We will implement e-Government Quality Management System,
Information Security Management System and ISO standardization in all County
Departments for efficient and effective service delivery.
16. Mr. Speaker, Honorable members , in order to operationalize the executive arm
of our county government; I will in due course put in place an organizational
structure which will assist in defining the roles of each member of staff in the staff
establishment. I will be forwarding the list of proposed members of the executive
committee as well as Chief Officers of the departments for vetting and approval.
We request that you expedite this task and allow us to get down to the business
of governance.
17. In the executive arm of the government, we are improving our physical structures
in our sub-county offices to improve people’s access to government services. For
both Karatina town hall and Othaya sub -county offices we have invested Ksh. 4.
Million and an additional Ksh. 12.7 million is required to complete.
18. Mr. Speaker, agriculture is the backbone of our economy. However, it is largely
subsistence and rain dependent with a multiplicity of challenges including high
cost of inputs and less than adequate extension services. We shall support the
modernization and commercialization of agriculture with a focus to make farming
an attractive business than just a way of life and career for young people by
promoting agribusiness.
19. We want to laud the national government initiative on the directive of reducing
the cost of fertilizer from KES 6,500 to KES 3,000. My government is in
collaboration with the national government to remove the bottlenecks that
plagued such interventions in the past. We have made sure that fertilizer is going
to the farmers and not brokers. We commit to further double the fertilizer and
organic manure intake to increase production per hectare and expand crop
varieties to include all crops with a resultant increase in production and
encourage drought-resistant crops in semi-arid areas.
20. Mr. Speaker, in agricultural transformation we have improved the value chains by
procuring 23 coolers and one milk pasteurizer, provision of artificial insemination
services (AI)the dairy breed has improved, 234 ponds have been rehabilitated
and installed 114 pond Liners, and re-stocked 944 ponds with mono sex
fingerlings. A total of Ksh. 64.5 million has been disbursed to support six
cooperatives (Wakulima Dairy, Kieni Dairy Product Ltd, Sabeke Co-operative,
Nyeri South Banana, Mukeni Poultry, and Mwikuria Grains Cooperative
Societies). This capital investment has improved the value chains of the
cooperatives to access the markets. We require an additional investment of Ksh.
24 million to complete the ongoing projects.
21. Mr. Speaker: water is a major basic need of life and is crucial for sustainable
livelihood, prosperity and realization of vision 2030 and the millennium
development goals. Nyeri County is well endowed with water resources but not
optimally harnessed.
22. Mr. Speaker, by the end of last five years, we have connected 65% of the county
citizens with clean treated water for domestic use which is estimated at 160,000
households, extended 252 Km of water pipeline, constructed two Water
Treatment facilities for NAROWASCO and TEAWASCO, drilled and rehabilitated
29 boreholes, constructed 14 intakes, 39 masonry tanks, and issued 209 plastic
tanks to the 30 wards and with stakeholders engagement, major irrigation
projects have been funded and water pans for households and institutions have
been provided. However much needs to be done in irrigation coverage to ensure
the county is food secure.
23. Mr. Speaker, to ensure that the county is food secure I have committed to
mechanize agriculture by completion of 20-large-scale dams, support small-
holder agricultural drip irrigation, and work with the private sector to enhance
commercial agricultural production on at least 100,000 hectares. We will provide
and distribute certified seeds to farmers for high production. I have committed to
rehabilitate 30 dams and 100 water pans to increase water supply for irrigation,
power generation, and increase acreage under irrigation to 20,000 Ha from the
current 5000 Ha. This will benefit over 80,000 families through irrigation to
increase food production to feed the people in the county.
24. The cyclical and unpredictable climatic changes have on continual basis affected
agriculture and livestock farming in Nyeri County. Nyeri County hosts the two
most critical water towers The Aberdares and The Mt Kenya ecosystem. We
shall commit resources and work with national government and development
partners to secure those water towers. We owe that to our country and our future
generations.
25. To mitigate the effects of climate, change our focus will be to partner with Kenya
Forest Services to adopt and reforest the large sections of the Aberdares Forest
that suffered great destruction causing our rivers to dry up and affecting our
farming activities downstream. Through afforestation, we will create new jobs in
the carbon trade by harnessing forest cover from the current 40% by planting 50
million trees, establishing community Forest Associations for all the 12 County
forests, and establishing green park spaces in major towns.
26. We have consistently maintained the top spot in the country as having the best
run Water Companies that are commercially viable. We have five Water Service
Providers that we support to maintain the highest water governance as regulated
by The Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB). We shall continue to make
strategic investments using these vehicles to increase and expand the water
connectivity from 65% to 90% for rural and from 70% to 98% in urban areas. We
shall bring legislation to this house to regulate, guide and harmonize the
investments in the community Water Projects and our WSPs to ensure order and
sustainability. We will develop a Sewer Master plan that will map the connection
of all urban towns in the 8 sub-counties in Chaka, Naromoru, Mweiga, Kiamariga,
Kiawara, Giakanja, Riamukurwe, and Gatitu.
27. Mr. Speaker, in water department we require Ksh. 58 million to complete the
ongoing projects. This includes boreholes in Magutu, Gatarakwa, Thegu River
and irrigation projects like Kariithi Ruguru ward Zamwua project, Ngonde water
project , Huhoini water project, Maragima and Gakurwua water intake, Kanuna
Wangi and Endarasha water projects.
28. Mr. Speaker the role of infrastructural development cannot be overemphasized.
Reliable roads not only improve inter and intra connectivity but also reduce
agricultural post- harvest loses. In the next five years, I have pledged to provide a
world-class, cost-effective, physical, infrastructural facilities and services. This
will be achieved through upgrading all major town roads to bitumen standard,
2000 kilometers to all-weather road standards across the County, and maintain
an estimated 3000KMs.
29. Mr. Speaker, we have made good progress in infrastructural development. We
have graded and opened 3710 km of rural roads to gravel standards, constructed
25 bridges; 18 box culverts, and seven footbridges; installed 2,898 street lights
and 207 floodlights equivalent to 145 Kms.
30. Further, we will install 300KM of street lighting in all urban and peri-urban
centers to facilitate a twenty-four-hour economy. We will build bridges across all
the major rivers in the county and construct high standard culverts on all roads to
make them more durable and safer for use by our residents.
31. The plan for non-motorized transport is to link access roads and main roads by
marking signage and creating walkways for pedestrians and cyclists. This is
environmentally friendly and pro poor. We shall embark on a beautification
program of our town parks and green spaces and road sides. We shall also
promote the overall use of green energy in public offices businesses, homes,
public institutions, and utilities to cut on escalating growth in power bills.
32. Mr. Speaker, in the infrastructure development, on roads we require Ksh. 29.3 on
ongoing works, Ksh. 7.9 million constructions of bridges in Chania and Hamukira
culvert bridge in Chinga. Additional funding for street lights in Kamakwa/Mukaro,
Aguthi Gaaki, Rware and Narumoro Kiamathaga wards at a cost of 6.3 million. A
flagship biogas installation in Aguthi Gaaki requires 5 million to complete ongoing
works
33. The Constitution of Kenya 2010 introduced major focus areas for the Health
Sector, primarily captured under the Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 which describes
health as an economic and social right. In the wake of the Corona Virus
pandemic the health sector has become the most pivotal service and the main
focus of government at both local and national levels.
34. Mr. Speaker, honorable members I am aware that our healthcare services have
been bedeviled with various challenges relating to staffing, facilities, equipment
and drugs to an extent that it became a major campaign tool during the last
general election. Despite the fact that the success of our health sector speaks
volumes in the last five years. We have developed public health infrastructure
that comprises one level five hospital, five Level fours, 31 health Centre and 90
dispensaries that are fairly distributed within a radius of 5-7 km, and a facility
density of 3.9 per 10,000 populations. Operationalizing Naromoru Hospital is
going to be our major priority. We plan to set up another level Four hospital in
Kiawara to serve Kieni West and a specialized eye hospital in Tetu Constituency.
35. We have procured, Biochemistry Analyzers for Six Rural Health Facilities, 3 Parts
Hematology Analyzers for Five Rural Health Facilities, Clinical Chemistry
analyzer for Karatina, Mukurwe-ini, and Mt. Kenya Sub-County Hospital, Dental
units complete with oil-free compressor and accessories for Karatina and Mt.
Kenya Hospital, installation of Laundry Machine, Mt. Kenya Sub County Hospital,
procurement and Operationalization of the ECG and LEEP machines. We have
supplied and installed Bulk oxygen plant and piping at Karatina Sub- County
hospital (ongoing) and Mt Kenya Hospital, procured and supplied health
commodities to all 130 health facilities with a fill rate of over 80%. We have
operationalized the 6 Intensive care Unit beds from 3 making it 100%
operational, expansion of the renal and dialysis unit by 2 additional machines,
have 99 percent fully Immunized Children; 70% with 4th ANC Coverage.
36. The success of our Health Service Fund is critical to the revolution that happens
in this sector. Our focus must now shift to the quality of health care that can only
be guaranteed by sufficient staff and medicine in in our pharmacies. We shall
invest in an efficient robust Technology System that prioritizes the patient and
sustainability of our health system.
37. Mr. Speaker as you are aware, the UDA Government has given a firm
commitment to restructure KEMSA that bedeviled the supply of pharmaceuticals
and non-pharmaceuticals in the health sector. We ask this house and the senate
to legislate so as to protect devolution and ensure devolved services are
optimized for the benefit of the citizenry.
38. Our new focus will be to implement preventive and promotive health services to
mitigate against the spread of both communicable and non-communicable
diseases, and implement a “best practice” plan for quality improvement and
patient safety. We further plan to invest more in cancer treatment to reduce the
burden on its treatment, by investing in highly specialized equipment to offer
oncology services, ICU, and renal services in the county referral hospital.
39. Mr. Speaker, to ensure transparency in the utilization of health facilities and
reduce leakages in revenue collection, we shall establish ICT infrastructure to
primary healthcare facilities. This will ensure accountability in the
operationalization of the Health Fund. Similarly, we will establish Health
Management Information Systems (HMIS) to strengthen data collection in one-
stop-shop services, analyzing data in real time related to vaccines, drugs stock
and restocking of pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceutical products.
40. Mr. Speaker in health preventive and curative services, to improve the
infrastructure, we incurred Ksh. 57.6 million and we require an additional Ksh.
103.8 million to complete among others, the isolation ward at Mt. Kenya hospital,
medical gas piping at Karatina hospital, construction of a Kitchen at Othaya
hospital, medical equipment for various rural facilities and maintenance of
primary health care facilities in 15 wards.
41. Mr. Speaker, my transformational agenda is to ensure the county adequately
protects its citizens timely and effectively. Imparting of skills to the youth will not
only greatly reduce the level of unemployment but also the consequential crime
rate it engenders. In the last five years my government has acquired two (2)
modern fire engines, constructed two (2) new fire stations at Othaya and
Kiawara, recruited 150 youth through the Kuza Kazi Youth Empowerment
Programme in partnership with Coca Cola Company Almasi Beverages,
constructed Two (2) new modern social halls at Kariki and at Muruguru, renovated community social halls at Chinga and Mweiga community, constructed
a Multipurpose Hall and a Kitchen at Karatina Childrens Home, and a modern
rehabilitation center for drug and substance abuse at Ihururu.
42. Mr. Speaker, through the youth empowerment program, we have distributed
equipment worth Kshs. 26 million to youth groups in 15 Wards and We continue
to support vulnerable groups affected by disasters rebuilding and providing
building materials, food, clothing, interment expenses to bereaved families, and
food rations to the orphans at Karatina Children’s Home.
43. Mr. Speaker, my transformation agenda will be to purchase five new firefighting
engines and emergency rescue vehicles to reduce the distances of firefighting
services across the county. To support this, we shall recruit more trained disaster
management officers and sensitize the community on Disaster prevention and
mitigation measures. Further we shall construct and rehabilitate fire stations in all
8 sub-counties, install water hydrants in all 30 wards, deploy fire engines to all 8
sub-counties, and institutionalize the Disaster Management directorate.
44. I commit to construct and renovate social halls in all 30 wards, construct staff
quarters for Karatina Children’s home. To support our citizens living with
disability we shall purchase devices for People with Disability, provide Relief
Support to vulnerable families with food and non-food items. We shall provide
medical cover for vulnerable persons and sensitize registration of NHIF to all for
ease access of treatment in the hospitals.
45. Mr. Speaker, in gender and youth empowerment we require Ksh. 9 million to
construct staff houses at Karatina children’s home, Ksh. 6 million to construct
ablution block, Ksh. 8.9 million for staff houses at Ihururu rehabilitation center
and Ksh. 1.5 million for toll free line.
46. Mr. Speaker, to create employment opportunities for the youth and cottage
industries, my government will gradually increase Enterprise Development Funds
(EDF) lending from 55 million to 500 million at an interest rate of 5% . The EDF
lending is projected to have a ripple effect that would create job opportunities for
more than 100,000 people. In addition to create business in the informal sector,
we have constructed and rehabilitated 43 markets and constructed 180 stalls
across all the wards to improve the business environment and enhance
accessibility to goods and services.
47. Mr. Speaker, my government recognizes co-operatives as the key driver of our
social economic transformation agenda. Nyeri County has 179 active co-
operative societies spread across all sectors of our economy with a membership
of over 400,000, an asset base of over 19 billion with an estimated annual
turnover of 6 billion per year. These co-operative societies help their members
pull resources together for shared prosperity. This means that 40% of our
population is registered in one cooperative or another. The cooperative
movement also plays a catalytic role in enhancing agricultural marketing to
ensure sustainable development in agriculture.
48. We will encourage the formation of marketing cooperatives to stabilize market
prices and economies of scale for products from small-scale farmers in maize,
wheat, and potatoes, avocadoes, and dairy products. This will provide incentives
for the integration of youth into agribusiness value chains, including market
guarantees and incubation training and scholarships for youth to agribusiness.
49. Mr. Speaker, the Kenol Marua dual carriage highway has given Nyeri county a
comparative as well as competitive advantage to attract industrial investors. My
government will give a three year tax holiday incentive to companies starting and
scaling up their business in Nyeri county. This will tap the benefits of the railway
and dual carriageway Kenol to Marua. The policy is intended to attract more than
100 companies regionally and internationally and create more than 2000 jobs.
50. Mr. Speaker, I endeavor to turnaround and transform Nyeri county to a Tourism
and culture destination both locally and internationally. We will carry out mapping
of tourism niche products both fauna and flora and identify tourism sites and
develop a web-based electronic catalogue to market our products. The platform
targets, eco-tourism, agro-tourism, adventure tourism, cultural heritage by
developing talents across the 8 sub-counties on photography and videography,
film creation, and performing arts and promote sports tourism.
51. Mr. Speaker, on trade, we require Ksh. 60 million to complete ongoing works in
markets, provision of sanitary facilities , installation of solar projects and toilet
blocks in various wards.
52. Mr. Speaker we are cognizant of the fact that quality education is a basic human
right. Our children have a right to receive quality education to enable them
become useful citizens in future. Building a strong foundation through quality
pre-primary education cannot therefore be negotiable. We have disbursed Elimu
Fund bursary amounting to Kshs. 440 million to 84,000 beneficiaries in the last
four years; We have also employed 800 ECDE Caregivers, formulated an ECDE
policy , VTC legislation and provided learning and teaching materials to all 437
ECDE Centers . We have also finalized the scheme of service to translate all the
ECDE caregivers to permanent and pensionable terms. We shall build on these
gains in the new administration.
53. Mr. Speaker, I have pledged to introduce a Free School Milk program to every
child at the ECDE level, twice a week to improve their nutrition. I have further
committed to construct 50 CBC model classrooms, 100 ablution blocks and
improve on existing sanitary facilities.
54. To bolster our youth development program, we shall provide a state-of-the-art
sports infrastructure, training, and recreational facilities for the youth, men,
women, and People Living with Disabilities. It’s important to note Mr. Speaker
that the bursary program has been very effective. We shall increase the Elimu
Bursary Fund from the current 160 million to 200 million annually to cater for the
increasing demand of the vulnerable needy cases.
55. In order to transform the Vocational Training Centers into business hubs and
centers of excellence in each of the 8 sub-counties, we will recruit highly skilled
instructors to make them more innovative and competitive in the informal market.
This will improve basic foundation of our children in education and also create a
good environment to improve their innovativeness and performance. We have
invested in Rukira Youth Polytechnic to make it a center of Excellence for leather
production as a model to be replicated to every sub- county. The Mwalimu Shoe
under production in Rukira will be our flagship cottage industry product and will
be used by our children from lower levels to our bursary recipients. This will spur
production and create jobs for our youth.
56. Mr. Speaker, in education, we have invested Ksh. 7.9 million and we require an
additional Ksh. 15.4 million.
57. Mr. Speaker, Nyeri County produces an estimated 200 tons of waste every day.
In the past 3 years, only 65 percent was collected and less than 5 per cent was
recycled. Currently the Department has increased collection to 85 per cent with
15 per cent being recycled. This has been achieved through procuring an
additional 4 trucks and 48 skip bins in the past 5 years. This financial year, the
Department has budgeted for an additional truck and 20 skip bins. To further
enhance the cleanliness in our major towns, the Department is in the process of
finalizing partnerships to see the installation of color-coded litterbins.
58. Waste is a resource that can be harnessed to create wealth, employment and
reduce pollution to the environment. Towards this, the Department is promoting
various alternatives to the existing waste value chains. Instead of waste being
collected solely for disposal, the Department is facilitating the diversion of at least
30 per cent of collected waste away from disposal sites and towards various
recycling practices.
59. This is a shift from the previous “buy-use-dispose linear approach to the more the
elaborate circular economy that advocates for zero waste. Towards this the
Department is establishing integrated waste management practices. As at now,
the Department has constructed sorting sheds at Karindundu dumpsite where
waste is sorted for subsequent recycling. A successful pilot project for
composting organic waste to fertilizer, compost and biogas has already been
established.
60. We have made various interventions in the industry in partnership with the
private sector to be in tune with the current global practice that is environmentally
friendly. We launched a campaign dubbed “My Waste My Responsibility”. This
has changed the language from dumping into the circular economy that lays
emphasis on reducing, reusing and recycling waste. We shall put our best foot
forward to getting land for a properly engineered land fill and convert the
dumpsites to organized transfer stations that will be used as sorting facilities. We
have started investments in bottle crushers, bailers and assorted machinery to
support waste entrepreneurs as partners in the waste management business.
61. We shall operationalize the robust County spatial plan that will guide in the
mapping of all county projects and programs for the next 10 years. The Local
Physical and Land Use Development Plans will guide Human settlements
through the provision of social and physical infrastructure. This will be the basis
on which we shall process title deeds and develop applications that comprise
building plans, subdivisions, amalgamations, change of user, and renewal of
leases. We shall implement and maintain the legal requirements to maintain an
updated valuation roll to keep our towns competitive and attractive to investors.
62. In order to secure our people and increase access to capital we commit to issue
title deeds to all colonial villages in Nyeri County by 2027. This includes
individual holdings, churches, schools, other public institutions, and digitization of
land records. This will give people the freedom to organize their lives with a
sense of permanence and they will be free to use their property to access credit
and grow their businesses.
63. Mr. Speaker, Honorable members, as I conclude highlighting my transformational
agenda, let me state at the onset to the honorable members that colossal
resources will be needed for its implementation. We have Limited Local Revenue
Resources also known as Own Source Revenue from the equitable share
(National Government) which has remained constant for the last 3 years while
the funding from development partners (donors) has not been predictable and
have strings attached.
64. Mr. Speaker, to eliminate leakages in revenue collections streams, we have a
cashless system and we have the potential to collect more than Kshs.2B from
our own generated resources through these automated services that have
curbed corruption. This has led to an increase in revenue collected over the
years to a total of Kshs. 887M as the highest ever attained since devolution
started. I believe we can do more in revenue collection to achieve the target of
Ks. 2 billion.
65. Mr. Speaker, to broaden the revenue base, without increasing the current
chargeable rates, we will increase the number of parking areas in all our major
towns, seal all the loopholes on cess collection, especially from our quarries,
automate the collection of all revenue streams to 100% through Nyeri Pay; we
will eradicate all revenue leakages by automation of processes through
Enterprise Resources Planning Solutions to undertake, real-time evaluation
analysis for projects and programs, streamlined financial close processes,
Planning, budgeting, and forecasting capabilities, and enterprise risk
management; engage the public in the county budget process in developing an
Economic Development Blue Print at the ward level namely; “Ward Focus for
Accelerated Development” The blueprint will consider the comparative advantage
of every ward/sub-county to generate programs addressing the value chains.
66. Mr. Speaker in conclusion, I wish to remind us all that the people of Nyeri County
have very high expectations from us. They need services delivered according to
the transformation pledges that will determine the scorecard in the next five years
election. Over the last five years, Nyeri has tasted unprecedented development
and they are yearning for more. The time has now come when we must roll up
our sleeves and start working for our people
67. Mr. speaker, to achieve our transformation agenda, there is a need for greater
collaboration and coordination between the executive and the assembly and
across all departments to eliminate duplication, optimize resources, create
synergies among agencies, and deliver seamless services to the citizens and
businesses.
68. Mr. Speaker, may I once again congratulate you and honorable members for
your election as speaker and members of this esteemed county assembly
respectively and wish you well, as you carry out the business of this honorable
assembly.
69. I urge you to remember the state of affairs and the weight placed upon your
shoulders by Wanjiku after promising them hope during the campaign season. In
the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, ‘A leader is a dealer in hope’. I urge you not to
be dealers of hope but also to deliver this hope by discharging your mandate as
diligently as possible in the next five years.
70. Equally, I am aware of the important role that this house plays in the discharge of
my duties. I have enjoyed an affable relationship with this house in my past
tenure. It is the congenial relationship that has allowed us to deliver the much we
have to Wanjiku, and has occasioned the re-election of the 16 of you. Each time
Nyeri County earned recognition and awards was a moment I shared and
delighted with the members of this house. The working relationship between this
house and my administration allowed us to excel on the local and national stage
through numerous awards by reputable bodies such as the World Bank.
71. As I begin my second term, I made numerous promises to the electorate. These
promises cannot be fulfilled without concerted efforts between the Executive and
the County Assembly. Your oversight role will, nonetheless, be welcome to keep
my administration in check and for us to uphold the three pillars of ‘Ukuria,
Waragania na Uigiririki.’ These three pillars will anchor our vision in service
delivery during this term to the people of Nyeri. As the Bible in Proverbs 29:18
teaches us, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish.’
72. For those of us who were re-elected, we have, over the years, learned hands-on about our duties and responsibilities. For those of you who are serving their first term and those who have been nominated, we undertake to induct you through your roles and duties. I also urge you to find guidance from those who have been here. To those who have been re-elected, be your brothers and sisters keeper. Be patient with them. Allow them to learn. Do not be quick to anger. Be gentle.
After all, we have only one boss, Wanjiku.
73. Finally, as Max DePree aptly put it, The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. I urge us all to embark on servant leadership in our delivery of duties to the Nyeri County citizens.
74. With those remarks honorable members, I declare the third Nyeri County
assembly session officially open. May God bless Nyeri County.
God bless Kenya.
Thank you. Asanteni sana.
INAUGURAL SPEECH BY HON. MUTAHI KAHIGA, THE FOURTH GOVERNOR OF NYERI COUNTY AT TOWN HALL NYERI ON 13th NOVEMBER 2017
The Honorable People of Nyeri County
Distinguished Justice of the High Court
Cabinet Secretaries
Principal Secretaries
Senators
Speaker of the County Assembly
Honorable Members of the National Assembly
County Commissioner
Honorable Members of the County Assembly
Religious leaders
Business leaders
Members of the Fourth Estate
Invited guests
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am humbled to stand before you, having just sworn to the oath of office as the Fourth Governor of our great county of Nyeri. I was deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden and untimely death of our Governor, Dr. Wahome Gakuru. This unbearable loss has robbed Nyeri County a jewel in its crown.
I cannot but pay tribute to our late Governor with whom we won the gubernatorial election just less than three months ago, when I contested as his running mate. I have personally lost a dear friend, a fabulous boss, a cheerful comrade and courageous compatriot. Let me convey my deepest sympathies to Catherine (our County First Lady) and the boys, family, friends, the people of Nyeri and the nation at large.
No words are cogent enough to express our loss from this untimely death. Similarly, no tribute may be elaborate enough to express our determination to live his dream and bring his vision to fruition. May the Lord grant his soul eternal rest!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The trust and confidence, which you bestowed upon us through the power of your vote, remains a pivotal guide in shaping our daily thoughts and actions. During the few months that I have been working with the late Governor, I can attest that we have been guided by God and the spirit of collegiality in our endevour to fulfill the promises that we made to the people of Nyeri. The steps we have so far made under the leadership of the late Governor, in just over two months are commendable. Nevertheless, a lot remains to be undertaken in this shared voyage!
As I take up the baton of leadership, I want to specially appeal to all the people of Nyeri to stay on course in our collective commitment to build a more prosperous Nyeri. Our overarching promise of delivering economic growth anchored on transparency and accountability is fully etched in my mind.
Reflections and stories of hope regarding these aspirations have been repeated in many ways, especially over the last few days. I have had very encouraging and diverse messages from across the county but the underlying theme has been “We are grieving once again but will rally behind you as we soldier on”.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
These messages and my own contemplations serve as a constant reminder that Dr Wahome and I were called by the unanimous voice of the people of Nyeri to the highest offices in the county despite our not being wealthy nor having powerful connections. It is the will of God that I serve in this position and do offer myself to remain your humble servant. Trust me; I am not taking up this responsibility to enrich myself.
I will continue seeking your company in the streets, farms, and markets of Nyeri as we jointly explore ways of improving our lives, one day at a time. My government will galvanize and mobilize the people of Nyeri for the noble responsibilities we were granted.
To succeed in this venture, we all need to remain truly united. Through unity, we will bring out the typical resilience of the people of Nyeri in the face of the greatest of odds. Through unity, our hopes and determination will be stirred, our fears will be doused, and we will encourage each other and rally ourselves to build a stronger county even when others doubt our capacity.
I wish to call on all leaders in this county – be it in the political arena, religious sphere, youth forums, women groups and congregation of special groups – to rally behind me to unite our county and improve the living standards of all our peoples across the county. Let us not allow anyone amongst us to exploit our differences especially in political persuasions to set us one against another. May our determination for this common purpose be unshakable!
May Dr Wahome’s death revive the spirit of the people of Nyeri to conquer any looming challenges- the spirit that drove Dedan Kimathi to fight with nothing but faith; the spirit that propelled Wangari Maathai to World stage of environmental conservation begin with a single seedling.
This is the same spirit that I wish to tap into to make the life of school going children, mothers, hard working men and passionate youths better one day at a time. For this cause, I will be accessible and also available as I have always been.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My government will spearhead the implementation of the vision that Dr Wahome Gakuru fought so hard for and was committed to. I trust that as a true confidant, with your esteemed support, we will soon be unpacking this shared vision through a very participatory, collaborative process of formulating our County Integrated Development Plan, plans for the various sectors, and subsequent annual development plans and budgets.
I am mindful that I represent the shared aspiration of the people of Nyeri to forge a focused county: a county that cherishes education, a county endowed with rich unparalleled heritage, the land of the best coffee and tea, a county desirous of the best healthcare services, a county that aspires to be food secure, and one that envisages prosperity for its youths and children.
I am confident that if we are committed to these ideals, we will not be denied the realization of our vision. In the days ahead, those of us who have been elected to serve you will be required to demonstrate our selflessness, and indeed to live to the expectations, as well as match the hopes and aspirations of the people of this county.
Let us revisit our common grounds, explore new areas of understanding and collaboration and seek novel ideals that will enrich our county. This was Dr Wahome’s perpetual desire and is my desire too!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our transformative journey, achieved a critical milestone few days ago when we established our executive committee. I wish to give a firm assurance of my intention to continue working with the team that we recently enlisted in this great transformation.
I reiterate Dr Wahome’s call for their unequivocal support. We remain alert to the glaring gap that has been left in the executive and will reorganize alongside sectoral committees at the executive level to bridge that gap.
My government will be an open and transparent government. We will seek to engage at all levels. At intergovernmental levels, we will continue with our engagement with the national government ministries, departments and agencies as we pursue our common agenda. Our engagement with other counties – especially our neighboring ones – will be expanded and refocused.
Most importantly, we will revitalize our county intergovernmental relations and collaboration with the non state actors. To the people of Nyeri of all walks of life – be sure that we will continue engaging and listening to you.
I wish to reiterate that we have already established a very close and cordial relationship with the national government under the leadership of H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta. My government will do all that is within its powers to strengthen this partnership and see through ongoing projects – including but not limited to markets, specialized hospital, roads, agricultural training school - to completion. Our ongoing planning process must ensure alignment with the Jubilee Manifesto.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our county’s dream must be anchored on hard work and not short cuts. My administration will encourage and support the people of Nyeri, especially the small and medium enterprises to thrive through access to government procurement opportunities. This we will do acknowledging that they represent the real sector of the economy and that a robust private sector is vital to the creation of growth and jobs that we promised. However, these efforts must be mutual, collaborative and based on a truly win-win value proposition. I will demand that those who work for and do business with the county must be accountable.
At the heart of our service delivery is our staffing complement comprising nearly 3,000 individuals. I direly need the support of this team. Many of them have openly expressed the profound shock that they too have experienced. It is our duty as County Government of Nyeri to ward off uncertainty, doubt and delay and demonstrate that we are capable of decisive action that was manifested by our departed brother.
I believe that no narration can more eloquently honor the Governor Gakuru’s memory than decisively dealing with the bane of corruption and sloppiness in our delivery of services to the public. I trust that the workers’ unions will be a critical cog in this wheel of transformation too.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
To continue with the programs that Governor Gakuru had already initiated for this period, I wish to make an appeal to our County Assembly to approve our supplementary budget request; our County Public Service Board to fast track the pending recruitments especially those of top managers; and our county departments to fast track the first wave of Rapid Results Initiative that we commenced in September this year.
Over the next four years, my government’s attention will be focused on generating economic growth through rebuilding and maintaining our basic infrastructure; attracting new investments and improving trading environment; creating greater access to social services ( including quality vocational education, improved health care services) .
We will pay special attention to the agriculture and water sectors to accord their rightful role of ensuring that our county is food secure and generating employment for our youths.
The creation of the Nyeri County Economic and Social Council will enable us to immensely tap on diversity of ideas and experiences necessary for strengthening our fiscal framework, promoting productivity of our critical sectors, and generating the attendant benefits to the people of Nyeri.
To truly be accountable to you and ensure that we attain best value for money, we are setting up a robust Governor’s Service Delivery Unit and beefing up our communications unit to accord regular engagement with the people we serve.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A grisly road accident has thrust upon me the huge responsibility of steering our county. I am fully aware that I cannot bear this burden alone and do need your help.
As we unite in mourning our departed hero, let us also unite in dedication and action. Let us turn away from defiance, from bitterness, from hate mongers, and agents of fear.
I sincerely and profoundly hope that we will forge forward as one people amidst this tragedy that has befallen us. Let us resolve that through our unity of purpose, we will prove to Kenya that Dr Wahome did not live or die in vain.
God Bless Kenya
God Bless Nyeri
