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H.E the Governor launched the Kajiado County Renewable Energy Atlas, a one stop information platform that maps out areas for potential investment in renewable energy.

Alternative and environmental friendly sources of energy is the next big area of investment and job creation in this era of Climate Change.

“We have opened up our County to investors in renewable energy with concrete information on existing and potential solar energy sites, Biomass sites among others. I pass my gratitude to our partners, Arid Lands Information Network ( ALIN) and HIVOS for their input. Let us all protect our environment to safeguard our existence” the Governor said.

The County Government of Kajiado, Department of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change partnered with Green Africa Foundation (GAF), Ewaso Ngiro South Development Authority(ENSDA), Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) , Compact Poles, kazi mtaani and media fraternity in plant your age (tree planting) initiative campaign held at Nkaimurunya Ward in Ongata Rongai.

The landscape of Oloitokitok town is destined for a total transformation when my urban centres upgrading programme is finally completed.

H.E the Governor has inspected the ongoing cabrol works in the town as well as the ongoing construction of Ilasit Market.

The integrated market which is nearing completion sits on a 9- acre County Government land and will hold 500 traders.

A link road from Ilasit town centre to the market is also being constructed to ease transportation of goods and people.The market will also have a livestock sale yard.

The Governor’s vision to make our urban centres friendly trading hubs is on course.

As part of the continuous reforms at the Department of Lands, The Kajiado County Government has launched issuance of 12,657 new generation plot allotment letters. The brief ceremony at the County Headquarters was presided over by H.E. Joseph Ole Lenku in the presence of the county leadership and members of public. 

In his speech, Lenku said the new allotment letters will be issued to land owners in 26 towns after a rigorous validation process carried out by the Lands Department to ascertain legal ownership of parcels of land by the holders. He said the allotment letters have eight extra unique security features that make them impermeable to fraudulent activities from land cartels adding that this has given financial institutions the confidence to use them as collateral for credit services.

He said Kajiado continues being a model County for development in all fronts and was it not for the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, a big Lands conference was in the pipeline to showcase the advancements made since 2017. He was full of praise for all departments for their commitment in helping him realize his development track record as promised in his elections manifesto.

Speaking on matters health, Lenku urged members of the public to heed Ministry of Health Guidelines on social distancing, use of masks and basic hygiene including hand wash and use of sanitizers. He said the Corona Virus infects regardless of genders and age groups; not just the old and sickly as most people have been speculating. He said the County has played its part in mitigating the spread of the virus through setting up and equipping of isolation centres and called on individual responsibility from all residents

“I commend all front-line health workers because through their dedication we have seen a decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases in the County,”said Lenku.

Also present at the function was Speaker Johnson Osoi who expressed his satisfaction with the way the validation exercise was carried out and termed the issuance of the new allotment letters as remedy to historical flaws in issuance of title deeds that had been marred by controversies and underhand dealings that caused anxiety to most land buyers.He further implored upon the Governor to fast track efforts in physical planning of smaller towns in the County to set a good precedence for successive regimes. Osoi assured the support of the County Assembly in this endeavor.

His sentiments were echoed by Hon. Paul Matuyia who said the new allotment letters will rid off land cartels and while members of the public will benefit through access of credit facilities from financial lenders with the letters as security. He requested the Lands Department liaise with a view of finalizing on land disputes cases before tribunals on double allotments of land parcels. 

Lands CEC, Hamilton Parseina said the Kajiado Lands Registry had previously been ranked 3rd in the list of the most corrupt in the country but through stringent streamlining measures, the reforms have placed Kajiado as the model bench marking County in matters Lands.

It is expected that 50 towns will be targeted in the next phase of the Validation exercise until all land owners are authenticated and confirmed.

It will now be mandatory for every private or commercial building to have water harvesting and storage facilities.

A new law that has come into force today will require those who intend to build houses or commercial buildings to prove their water harvesting and storage infrastructure being the County Government approves their building plans.

The law which has 90 days grace period meaning the regulations will start taking effect after three months or November 2020.

The already existing buildings will be given 18 months to COMPLY after which the County Government will take action against building owners without water harvesting Infrastructure.

The new law is the work of Nominated MCA Onesmus Ngogoyo whose Kajiado County Water Harvesting Bill was enacted into an ACT after it was signed by Governor Joseph Ole Lenku earlier today.

The law also provides for the County Government to assist public buildings such as schools and hospitals with upto 50 per cent of the cost required to put up the water harvesting facilities.

The Governor lauded Mr Ngogoyo’s Bill as one of the most transformative legislations since devolution came in.

“This is the first Private Members Bill am signing into law.It will really help us conserve the fresh rain water that goes to waste every rainy season,” said the Governor.

He challenged other MCAs to emulate Mr Ngogoyo and seek to leave a legacy by coming with laws that change residents’ lives for the better.

An elated Ngogoyo who witnessed the signing of the law together with Mosiro MCA Peter Tirishe said the law will enable Kajiado residents’ access clean water especially because it is a water scarce County.

“The law provides for the County Government to construct water pans, shallow wells and protect water sources to conserve more water for the dry seasons,” said Mr Ngogoyo.

It  was a pleasure and honor for Kajiado County to host, as well as witness, the flagging off of newly recruited health personnel (through the partnership of UNDP and UN Volunteers (UNV) programme) deployed to 14 counties including Kajiado County as part of UNDP’s continued support towards the fight of COVID-19 in the Country. The volunteers bring a range of skills and experience that will boost the fight against COVID-19 at the County level.

This support is crucial considering human resource for health is a crucial component in the fight against corona virus. As a County , therefore urge all our development partners to also consider supporting us by targeting human resource development measures including offering trainings to our staff, supply of personal protective equipment’s (PPEs), and even send  their staff to the health sector among other areas of support.

In the last 24 hours, we have received 14 new positives for COVID-19 disease in the County (as reported by the Ministry of Health). We note that 8 of these cases (6 health workers from Kajiado Central and 2 cases from Kajiado East) were processed in Namanga and we had already captured their details in our report of 30th June 2020. This brings the total new additional cases for today to be 6 and the cumulative confirmed positive cases for the County at 241 with 6 deaths.

Out of the 6 positive cases, 5 are from Kajiado North (2 are health care workers working in private facilities in Nairobi County, 3 are residents of Ongata Rongai, Kiserian, and Ngong and were tested privately).

Kajiado Central had 1 positive case from Kajiado town and a contact of a previous case.

The cumulative positives in the county are now distributed as follows:

Kajiado Central 133

Kajiado South 29

Kajiado East 41

Kajiado North 36

Kajiado West 2

The total number of positive cases who have reported successful recoveries from our treatment centres remains at 141. All our positive cases are stable and receiving treatment at our isolation and treatment facilities with some being placed on home based care. Contact tracing is ongoing.

Once again we note with a lot of concern the rate of health worker infection is on an upward trend. We continue to appeal to our health workers, continuously and in an appropriate manner, to strictly use the provided personal protective equipment’s (PPEs) as you offer various services to the public and also to note that there are possibilities of community transmission out of the environs of our health facilities.

In the next few days, we are rolling out another phase of trainings and capacity building to our health workers as well as initiate a programme of regular testing. These trainings will be geared towards Infection Prevention and Control measures as well as case management.

At the same time, we continue to congratulate all our frontline health workers who have been working extremely hard, with heroism, dedication and selflessness. We most sincerely acknowledge your efforts and may God richly bless you.

#Covid-19

#StaySafeStayHome

#KomeshaCorona

Easther Somoire, OGW

CECM Medical Services and Public Health

Speech by H.E the Governor during the flagging off of 50 United Nations volunteers in support of the Kenyan Government’s National COVID 19 Response on July 1, 2020.

Devolution CAS, Hon. Abdul Bahari,

My colleague Governors and Deputy Governors present,

The United Nations family led by Resident Coordinator, Siddhart Chatterjee,

The UNDP Resident Representative, Walid Badawi,

My Brother, Devolution PS, Charles Sunkuli,

My sister, Health PS, Susan Mochache,

The County Assemblies Forum CEO, Judy Oduma,

Our Speaker, Hon Johnson Osoi.

Ladies and gentlemen;

I welcome you all to Kajiado County. Karibuni sana.

Bwana CAS: It is three and a half months now since our country’s index Covid-19 case was discovered in Ongata Rongai within my county. Also, for its unique geographical position, Kajiado remains the most of the high risk counties. We are sandwiched between our nation’s capital, Nairobi, the epi-centre of the spread of the virus, and a 700 km stretch of the Kenya-Tanzania boundary. Not only that, we border six other counties; Narok, Nakuru,Kiambu, Machakos, Makueni and Taita Taveta.

In a sense, therefore, we are the playground of cross border transmission. And it is so, both, locally and internationally.

Bwana CAS, therefore, it couldn’t have been more apt than to choose our county to be the launching pad of this important effort; an effort geared towards the fight against this marauding pandemic.

For us in Kajiado, we believe in a united front against this pandemic. I have had countless encounters and engagements with the Ministry of Health officials as we continue with this important war.

Therefore, today’s encounter with the Ministry of Devolution and ASALs is yet another indicator that this pandemic is not just a health matter. It is affecting our lives in so many ways that each and every one of us has a role to play to contain the virus.

Bwana CAS,

The tremendous negative impact of COVID 19 has effectively been devolved. The rising cases of intra-county, inter-county and inter-community transmissions clearly confirm that the virus is now with us; and is affecting our people’s lives in scales that we may take a while to recover from.

Seized of the dire need to set the pace in our preparedness to contain COVID 19, my Government has taken several measures:-

We have set up five isolation centres in our health facilities.

These are Kajiado Referral Hospital;

Kitengela Sub County Hospital; Ole Kasasi Health Centre; Namanga Health Centre and Oloitokitok Sub County Hospital.

We have set aside Ngong Sub County Hospital, Ng’atataek Health Centre and the KMTC Oloitokitok as COVID 19 Hospitals and Treatment Centres. In fact, health services that were being offered here have been referred to neighbouring facilities.

We now have 20 ICU beds in the county. Plans are under way to scale up this to 50 ICU beds.

We have just achieved the mandatory 300 beds capacity at our Isolation Centres. But owing to our unique situation as an emerging theatre of the virus transmission, we are set to have a total of 700 beds which are currently being made by our Vocational Training Centres(VTCs).

We have trained 720 health workers (or 60 %) of our health work force. We are looking for more support to train the remaining ones.

This pandemic has also re-awakened our creativity and innovation instincts.

To offer our people protective devices, our Vocational Training Centres started to manufacture face masks and sanitizers which we give free of charge to our residents. So far, we have made in excess of 100,000 masks and more than 5,000 litres of sanitizers.

Additionally, we have installed hand-washing facilities at all the main public places.

Ladies and gentlemen: This is just a snippet of what we have already done. We are doing much more on the ground going forward.

Bwana CAS,

The Health nightmare is not the only impact of COVID 19. We have experienced loss of livelihoods as the output of our economy shrinks.

Thousands of our people are now more food insecure than at any other time.

More than 30,000 households in my county are in dire need of relief food support. So far, we have only managed to assist 10,000 families.

My Government is implementing a digital food distribution programme. Let me tell you how it works.

The County Government through our national and county administrative grassroot structures identifies vulnerable cases. A specially generated PIN is sent to each beneficiary to their mobile phones via SMS. The message asks the beneficiary to present the PIN to a pre-selected retail outlet within a walking distance from their homes.

Meanwhile, the pre-selected retailer has an APP (M-Riziki) installed on his /her phone which is used to VERIFY the personal details of the beneficiary.

Once verified, the retailer hands over our pre-packed relief food hamper to the beneficiary.

This ICT-driven initiative, Bwana CAS, has the following benefits;

It reduces crowding and scramble for relief food in public places in this COVID 19 sensitive time.

It has restored the dignity of vulnerable people as they are not exposed to public ridicule when collecting food.

It has boosted the local economy as County Government buys relief food from local shops and pays immediately via MPESA.It has reduced logistical nightmares associated with physical food distribution.

It is highly accountable. Every transaction is digitally monitored and reported to the County Government’s back office system.

This digital distribution of relief food is working very well. I wish to invite our national and international friends to partner with us to reach more vulnerable households through this system.

Bwana CAS,

I wish to come to a close at this point. I look forward to receiving my county’s share of the UN Volunteers.

They are very welcome here and we look forward to working with them in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.

Thank you very much. God bless you all.

H.E JOSEPH OLE LENKU,

Governor, Kajiado County.

H.E. Joseph Lenku today officially opened The First sitting of the Fourth Session of The Kajiado County Assembly with a strong message of unity of purpose between the two arms of government that he said will ensure all development initiatives are on track in the run up to the next general elections.

In his address to the Members, the Governor reiterated his vision of fulfilling most of the pledges made to the electorate in his manifesto, most of which he said have been implemented as outlined in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2018-2022. He said the County Treasury intends to seal all existing revenue collection gaps to boost revenue collection to surpass last year’s Sh1Bn mark so as to ensure a boosted allocation from the Exchequer as well as will enable his administration to implement more development projects the in the next Financial Year. He asserted that towards this realization, the County Government is determined to clear all pending development bills which stood at Sh1billion, Sh581Million of which had been paid out by the close of the first half of this Financial Year. Recurrent expenditure bills amounted to Sh939Million as at December 31, 2019, Sh280Million of this had already been settled.

Towards the recently launched County Bursary and Scholarship programme, the Governor urged the County Assembly to fast-track the amendments to the Kajiado County Public Finance Management ( County Bursary Fund ) Regulations ,2019 that will set a legal framework to guide the programme.

On matters education, The Governor urged the County Assembly to fast-track the amendments to the Kajiado County Public Finance Management ( County Bursary Fund ) Regulations ,2019 that will set a legal framework to guide the recently launched County Bursary and Scholarship programme. The annual bursary kitty which has tripled from Sh40M in 2013 to Sh150M in the current Financial Year has with it raised the number of beneficiaries from 3,000 to more than 9,000. 430 students, 250 of whom are in Secondary Schools and 180 in colleges and universities have also benefited from the Scholarship Programme.

Lenku said health matters continue to be a top

priority of his administration with equipping of medical facilities around the County in top gear. He singled out the Lenku The Mother Child Health (MCH) complex at Kajiado Referral Hospital, ready for operationalization in the coming weeks, the fully equipped

Kitengela hospital and Ngong Sub County Hospital Theatre and Male and Female Wards as well as Construction and equipping of a theatre at Rongai Health Centre, currently at procurement stage. To cater to the gaps in the administration at the County Hospital he said his government will employ hospital administrators at the four major hospitals; Kajiado Referral,Ngong’, Ongata Rongai, Loitokitok and Kitengela Sub County hospitals.

On Infrastructure development, he assured more road construction projects akin to the completed tarmac roads in Kitengela, Kiserian, Ngong ,Ongata Rongai and the Central Business District within the Financial Year. This he said went hand in hand with promotion of trade and creation of trade spaces such as the Rombo retail market which waits commissioning with Ngong, Kitengela, Kiserian and Ilasit retail markets earmarked for completion and occupation in the next two years.

In his address, the Governor intimated that efforts to fast track payments of pending compensation claims to victims of human-wildlife conflicts had paid off with 50 per cent of the families that lost their kin in wildlife attacks being fully compensated at the requisite rate of Sh 5 million per family.

On Legislation, the Governor challenged the County Assembly Members to embrace the spirit of collective responsibility, that members are not seen to be overly critical of legislation regulations, policies or Bills out there, when they are still within the armpit of the Assembly.  This he said was the recipe for success or failure of the County Goverment.  He urged the MCAs to fast-track pending legislative tasks including Bills and Policies from the Executive as well as from Private Members. He outlined the follow legislative business for the Fourth Session; The Kajiado County Villages Bill (2019), The Kajiado County Climate Change Bill (2019), The Kajiado County Environment Management Bill (2019). The Kajiado County Finance Bill (2019) as well as The Kajiado County Quarry Bill which have all been submitted to the County Assembly for consideration.

Lenku equally noted and appreciated the effort members are putting in ensuring in enacting laws that are useful to the people. he particularly noted five Private Members Bills that require huge support from the Assembly during this session.

(i)The Kajiado County Agriculture Development Bill (2019) by Honourable Joshua Oluwuasa.

(ii) Kajiado County Rain Water Harvesting Bill (2019) by Honourable Onesmus Ngogoyo.

(iii)The Kajiado County Livestock Sale Yard Bill (2019) by Honourable Jackson Mpaada.

(iv). The Kajiado County Corporate Social Responsibility Bill (2019) by Honourable Joseph Masiaya.

(v). The Kajiado County Animal Disease Control (2019) by Honorable Amos Peshut.

He pointed out that The Kajiado County Investment Policy; The Kajiado County Cultural and Heritage Policy as well as the Kajiado Women Economic Empowerment Policy were pending before the County Assembly.

Alongside these policies are petitions by various stakeholders; notably a petition on the Effects of processing of soda ash by Tata Chemicals Magadi Ltd in Kajiado Town and one by Kitengela residents on Introduction of payment of rates on freehold tenure and review of rates payable to leasehold tenure.

Others include a petition by Ngong Council of Village Elders on Enactment of legislation to provide for delineation and establishment of village units within Kajiado County as well as a petition submitted on Employment of the local indigenous community in all private companies/ public institutions and flower farms operating in Kajiado County.

In the same breathe, the Governor highlighted

that key regulations important for the social-economic well-being of the County were pending before the County Assembly and urged the Honorable Members to act fast to consider them. They include :

(i)Amendments to the Kajiado County Public Finance Management (County Bursary Fund) Regulations (2019)

(ii) Alcoholic Drinks Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2019.

The Governor’s address touched on the political atmosphere in the Country with the

The Building Bridges Initiative which he said was conceptualized by President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga as a platform through which certain ills that bedevil the country can be changed. He intimated that the County will within the week be presenting a memorandum in Narok expressing a wish to be incorporated in the final BBI Report. He called upon all honourable members to embrace and board the BBI train and seize the opportunity that could soon transform the County’s political landscape as well as fight injustices and create prosperity for the people. He urged them to keep a focused mind, an open heart and show the county the great things that they, together with the Executive, can do.

H.E the Governor has today unveiled the Kajiado County Hospital Management Boards for Kajiado Referral, Ongata Rongai Health Centre and Loitokitok, Kitengela and Ngong Sub County Hospitals.

The teams will drive our vision for universal health care in the County. Congratulations to them.

(Center)H.E Governor Joseph Lenku,CEC incharge of health Ester Somoire and Kajiado County Hospital Management Boards for Kajiado Referral