Day: April 14, 2023

Over 100 retirees and government employees aged 50 years and above were the first beneficiaries of a training program dubbed, ‘Preparation for Retirement’ initiated by Meru Huduma Centre leadership.

Addressing the attendees, Milton Otuoma of Bellaton Human Resource Consultants, said the initiative was timely based on a realization that many people were exiting the civil service with very little or no form of preparation into the contemporary society.

Otuoma commended the larger Meru county administration leadership for supporting the training program at the county level, while considering having the same done at sub-county level to cushion those about to retire with the knowledge and skills to enable them fit in the community after a long tour of duty as civil servants.

The facilitator urged the attendees to mobilize their colleagues into forming informal interaction avenues such as WhatsApp groups to enhance follow-ups, team work, co-learning and peer-support to strengthen and lift up each other mentally and socially.

Gracing the event, Imenti North Deputy County Commissioner, Odiliah Ndeti appreciated her colleagues in other sub-counties for coming out in support of the training through mobilizing government employees aged 50 years and above in their respective areas of jurisdiction, particularly being able to bring on board those who had already left the civil service upon attaining the mandatory retirement age.

Ndeti said the county administration leadership was considering pooling the little available resources together in support of the noble program, saying with time the training sessions in preparation for retirement would be held on regular basis.

Source: Kenya News Agency

There is need to improve the standards of infrastructure in correctional facilities to cater for prison officers and better rehabilitation of inmates, State department for correctional services Principal secretary Mary Muthoni Muriuki has said.

The PS said her department was keen about the welfare of officers and prisoners in their facilities, hence the commitment to improve on their human dignity through provision of improved facilities.

We want to come up with best way forward to improve Prison facilities to ensure they are habitable for officers as well as prisoners as one way of improving the welfare of our officers and inmates, said Muriuki, while on a visit to Ngeria Prison in Uasin Gishu County on Thursday.

Muriuki observed that many of the Prisons infrastructures currently existing were either constructed during the colonial era to punish Africans or in the early sixties when the country attained independence.

‘Many of the infrastructure is so dilapidated, calls by counties to relocate some of the Prisons is not just to move them to new sites, but we are looking at a wholesome long-term process aimed at not only improving the infrastructure but also looking at improving other rehabilitative sectors such as training that will benefit the inmates once reintegrated back to the society,’ said the PS.

When correcting an individual, she added, it is important to show them empathy. ‘We are not out to punish inmates in our facilities, they need to be in an environment that is conducive for them to function psychologically,’ she said.

To ensure human dignity in correctional service facilities is at par with international standards, the PS said they were proposing the one prisoner, one bed, one mattress to ensure inmates sleep on a bed with beddings instead of sleeping on the floor.

The PS who was accompanied by Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Dr. Edison Nyale added that they were also aiming at decongesting the prisons saying 50% of inmates currently were remandees who were occupying space with lots of government resources being spent on them.

Source: Kenya News Agency

For the past two years the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology (RVIST) has been running an ambitious program focusing on mitigating effects of climate change.

Teaching staff and students have been visiting the countryside of Nakuru, Baringo and Narok Counties and training farmers on sustained innovation in drought-resistant seed varieties, environment friendly practices and better post-harvest management to reduce losses.

The team has also been engaging the communities in activities such as tree planting, soil conservation, climate smart farming methods and clean-up of water bodies.

This noble cause has caught the attention of the Governing Council of sixth edition of the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP) 2023 TVET Excellence for All Awards that has nominated RVIST for the award of Sustainable Development Goal- Championing mitigation on climate change.

According to the institution’s principal Dr Sammy Chemoiwo, climate change has become a threat to food security the world over. Its effects include unpredictable rains, leading to decreased yields and increased production costs.

Dr Chemoiwo, a career educationist in technical education, has also been nominated for the Leadership Award. Winners for the awards will be announced during the WFCP World Congress to be held in Montreal, Canada from April 25-27.

The congress, touted as the largest professional and technical education event in the world, will be attended by more than 700 delegates from 50 countries and six continents.

Researchers and students at RVIST are also exploring the use of technologies and innovations like solar irrigation, digital agriculture, climate-smart agriculture and climate-smart breeding, as ways to tackle the negative effects of climate change.

Other technologies the institute is rooting for include bio-fortification and use of climate-smart seed varieties.

‘The climate is changing so fast that current technologies won’t be able to keep up. Innovators in climate smart technologies must up their game,’ Dr Chemoiwo explains.

He insists that there is a need for concerted efforts among private and public industry stakeholders to give more attention to research.

In undertaking the climate change mitigation program RVIST has been collaborating with Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network Global, the United Nations, Geothermal Development Company (GDC) and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).

The institute has trained 30 students who are each allocated at least 30 smaller holder farmers who they encourage to grow the drought-resistant and highly-in-demand crop

‘We want to empower farmers to make informed decisions such as planting at the right time and the right crop,’ Dr Chemoiwo points out.

The Principal observes that the use of climate-smart agriculture innovations and technology is often limited to large scale farmers.

‘Knowledge dissemination to small scale farmers is critical,’ he adds.

The Principal says unless farmers embrace climate-smart agriculture, production will continue to dwindle, leading to decreased incomes, job losses and hunger.

Dr Chemoiwa indicates that there is a need to step up efforts to train farmers to embrace innovative practices.

‘New pests and diseases have cropped up,’ Dr Chemoiwo notes.

He further highlights the importance of ‘orphaned crops’ such as millet, sorghum, indigenous African vegetables, arrow roots, cassava, sweet potatoes and yams, in enhancing food and nutrition security, especially for the rural poor.

‘With climate change, varieties will need to respond to hotter and drier conditions, but also more weather variability and extreme events, higher salinity with rising sea levels and more attacks from pests and diseases as higher temperatures increase incidence and severity,’ explains Dr Chemoiwo.

He notes that apart from scaling up emerging technologies in agriculture, there is an urgent need to invest in policies and training.

‘Transformation of food systems will require interventions beyond the disruptive technological innovations such as continued investments in low-tech interventions, creating new and bold policies, and influencing consumer behaviour,’

Source: Kenya News Agency

Nakuru County World Art Day celebrations will bring together various communities in showcasing their Art as a way to preach peace and Cohesion.

The county will join the rest of the world in celebrating the day, slated for Saturday April 15, 2023 in which participants drawn from its 11 sub-counties are expected to showcase their creative wears.

Chief Officer for Tourism and Culture Rosemary Kimani, while calling on the residents of the county to come and showcase their artefacts and talents, noted that the event would give them an opportunity to coexist and appreciate one another.

‘The event at Nyayo gardens will give us an opportunity to preach peace and cohesion amongst all communities,’ noted Kimani.

Nakuru County boasts of talented artists with natural gifts that are able to sustainably earn them a living if well embraced by local and international communities.

The residents are warming up to the event that will be graced by Governor Susan Kihika, under the theme of ‘Investing in Creativity for Peace and development’.

‘We look forward to having people from all walks of life coming to appreciate and purchase our work. Art is rewarding but many people fail to attach worth to a piece and will always want to quote low amounts when bargaining,’ noted Antonio Mureithi.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization encourages people across the world to celebrate the World Art Day by appreciating the role of Artwork in sharing knowledge, while encouraging curiosity and dialogue.

Source: Kenya News Agency