June 10, 2023

Over 200 People From Africa To Gather In A Workshop On Blue Economy

Kenya will next week host a Knowledge Sharing Fair co-organized by the EU funded-Ecofish Programme, AU IBAR and IGAD on the Blue Economy, Small-Scale Fisheries and Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation.

The four-day workshop that will bring together around 200 participants from across Africa will see sharing of success stories, knowledge, experiences and best practices in sustainable and regenerative management of small scale fishing in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Eco fish projects.

The Fair will also showcase some of the achievements of demonstration projects on sustainable small-scale fisheries within the communities that have changed the lives of some communities by enhancing their livelihood.

According to experts, the blue economy has a great potential to contribute to higher and faster GDP growth in Kenya and there is potential. However, realizing this potential requires effective management of the inland and marine fisheries.

To this end, the continent-wide interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder workshop in Kenya aims at accelerating sharing experiences and knowledge.

The goal is to generate policy recommendations that will help accelerate progress towards Africa’s socio-economic and ecological aspirations outlined in the Africa Agenda 2063.

The workshop objective will be to promote an inclusive and sustainable industrialization of the small- scale fisheries sector that contributes to poverty reduction, food security, peace, prosperity, and security in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequalities.

According to the organizers, the ECOFISH programme will showcase its nine demonstration projects that have received grants to mainstream the principles of sustainable and integrated management of small-scale fisheries in local communities. These projects serve as a social laboratory for working and learning among peers and will be presented at the continental level.

Meanwhile, the AU-IBAR will share its knowledge and experience in the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, while IGAD will share its experience in implementing its Blue Economy project, which is financially supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The inland and marine coastal fisheries resources of the Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean region represent a natural wealth of about Sh7.47 trillion (Euro 50 billion)

ECOFISH strives to ensure the sustainable management of these assets by putting in place policies to handle them effectively, by protecting them and by promoting good fishing practices.

For Kenya, the workshop could not come at a better time considering that just two months ago in April, President William Ruto chaired a special Cabinet meeting in which he noted that government has taken a value chain approach to budgeting and committed a total of Sh267.7 Billion in nine value chains which will mainstream the Bottom-up transformation agenda and one of them was blue economy and fisheries value chain.

The ongoing debate about the Finance Bill 2023 that the President has been pushing for seeks to introduce excise duty on imported fish and imported furniture saying this would build blocks necessary to fully implement the transformative Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA)

Launched in July 2019, the Ecofish Programme funded by the EU was adopted by the five Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) member states and three ESA countries (Kenya, Mozambique and the United Republic of Tanzania).

It is poised to effect a significant shift in the regional fisheries’ landscape by addressing the root causes and problems of overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices, as well as the degradation of fishery ecosystems.

Source: Kenya News Agency

June 10, 2023

Boost For Needy Students As Wavinya Releases Sh. 80million Bursaries

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has issued bursaries worth Sh80 million to 13,568 learners from different schools across the 40 wards in Machakos County in a bid to retain them in school.

Wavinya while speaking at the International Convention Centre in Machakos, during the launch of the education bursaries appealed to principals across the county to retain learners in schools and not send them home before the deposited cheques reflect in their accounts.

‘The main goal in my manifesto is to give special focus to education and to boost access and retention of our school going children,’ said Wavinya.

She pointed out that her role is to empower the next generation of engineers doctors, journalists, pilots, businessmen, carpenters and innovators among others.

‘We are gathered here today to inject hope where there was despair, to inject life into dreams and visions of our young scholars in our high schools, TVET Institutions and Universities,’ added the Governor.

Wavinya added that her government is determined to guard the dreams of their little ones in Early Childhood Development and People with Special needs.

The Governor noted that her government has embraced a holistic approach to, where through the department of education, they have initiated a feeding program in the ECDE centres across the county at a cost of Sh.30 million and also procured teaching and learning materials worth 10 million shillings.

Wavinya affirmed that the county aims at alleviating the financial constraints of its people and will ensure that no needy student remains home due to lack of fees.

She said that she is committed to supporting digital learning at all levels of education and through her office they have received 200 computers that have been donated to Katine Technical Institute and Machakos University.

She appreciated the efforts of the County Education team and the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) especially those who sit in the education committee for the sacrifice they made in actualizing the bursary issuance for 13,568 students in Machakos.

The Governor added that they have also reached out to well-wishers and corporate organizations for more support in the education sector.

‘We worked with stakeholders and local leaders to ensure transparency in the process, the demand was greater than the available resources but I am glad we put a smile on the faces of a significant number of needy students in the 40 wards,’ noted Wavinya.

She urged parents to engage the youth to consider joining the local vocational training centers so that they can acquire the required skills that will make them relevant in the job market and others can practice entrepreneurship.

The Governor further added that her government through the department of Public service continues to offer opportunities for industrial attachment as well as internship for a limited number of students pursuing various academic and professional courses.

Source: Kenya News Agency

June 10, 2023

KPC Trains 2000 Youth, Women, Disabled On Government Procurement

Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has rolled out a drive targeting to train over 2,000 youth, women and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) who own businesses in a bid to promote the uptake of the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme.

Addressing participants during the sensitization forum in Kisumu County, KPC acting General Manager Supply Chain, Maureen Mwenje said the initiative seeks to sensitize the special groups on procurement processes and create awareness of existing opportunities.

The training, Mwenje said, demonstrates KPC’s commitment to promoting fairness, and inclusivity in public tenders and contracts, as well as supporting the growth and development of the targeted groups’ owned enterprises.

‘Majority of the youths lamenting about lack of jobs are not aware of the available opportunities to supply goods and services to the government. Through these awareness campaigns we target to educate existing AGPO suppliers as well as the youth, women and PWDs interested in establishing a business partnership with KPC to take up the tenders,’ Mwenje stated.

She emphasized that the programme is in compliance with the government’s policy of empowering the marginalized sections of society to access at least 30 percent of government tenders and contracts.

The oil firm has set aside Sh450 million of its procurement budget for the next financial year targeting these groups, translating to a 64 percent increase compared to Sh286 million budgeted in the 2022/2023 financial year.

‘From July 2022 to date, we awarded tenders worth Sh419 million to the AGPO group, a surplus of the Sh286 million we had initially budgeted,’ Mwenje said.

However, the General Manager cited financial constraints and poor understanding of the e-procurement system as key challenges that hinder the participation of the three groups.

To address this, Mwenje explained, KPC has partnered with several banks to customize financial products for special groups in an effort to increase their participation.

‘The youth, women and PWDs owned ventures lack capital and have no access to loans to enable them to supply the services and goods they have been contracted. So far, KPC is providing letters of undertaking where necessary and we have also engaged various banks to provide them with financial support,’ Mwenje stated.

She further pointed out that KPC preserves a range of non-technical to technical items including consultancy and cleaning services, supply and deliveries for laptops, staff uniforms, office stationeries, ICT equipment, company’s branded merchandise, mechanical and electrical items for these groups.

The Company is holding sensitization workshops for the small and medium enterprises owned by youth, women and PWDs in Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nairobi regions.

At the forums, participants were sensitized on procedures to register and use the e-procurement portal to place bids, the various tender requirements, registration of various enterprises, eligibility criteria, payment procedures, legal and regulatory framework in order to improve the responsiveness of their tender documents.

Source: Kenya News Agency

June 10, 2023

Mombasa Public Health Facilities Offer Free Medical Treatment To Children

Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has issued an edict for children below the age of five to receive free medical services in all public health facilities.

The directive is aimed at reducing the upsurge of children seeking treatment at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CPGH), the only facility the Governor had designated two weeks ago to offer free treatment.

‘From today, all the public hospitals have been directed that all children under the age of five will receive free treatment to be able to reduce the number of people at CPGH. The Coast General ideally is a referral hospital,’ said Governor Nassir during a press briefing.

The Governor said apart from facility improvement funds, the health facilities would also receive additional funds to cater for the treatment of children.

The County Government will from next week roll out medical camps across the 30 wards in health facilities to select 15,000 beneficiaries of the Universal Health Coverage programme dubbed Mombasa Care, he added.

‘The aim is to get 15,000 families from all wards to be given medical cover which will be 100 per cent paid for by the County Government. We are going to use our Community Health Promoters (CHP) and the media to create awareness on the programme,’ said the Governor.

The initiatives will largely be funded by Own Source Revenue (OSR).

In May, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir commissioned 2,387 Community Health Promoters (CHPs) who will be receiving monthly stipends.

The Governor reiterated his commitment to enhancing the provision of basic interventions for healthcare services through the Mombasa Care Programme.

‘One of the key ways to achieve this was through regularizing a compensation mechanism for CHPs as they play an important role in advocating for underserved communities to receive services,’ said Governor Nassir.

Source: Kenya News Agency

June 10, 2023

County Strategizes With Partners To Enhance Quality Healthcare

Health care workers in West Pokot County and partners supporting health and nutrition in the region have laid down strategies on how health and nutrition can be improved in the region through increasing access and demand for quality health care and nutrition interventions at facility and community levels.

The Malezi Bora programme is an initiative to communicate messages on the utilisation of health services in Kenya. It occurs twice a year, in May and November, but sometimes the one that happens in May spills over to June and the one for November spills over to December, as explained by West Pokot sub-county medical officer of health, Dr Solomon Kokwo.

Speaking in West Pokot County during the meeting with facility in-charges and Community Health Workers (WHWs) together with partners supporting health and nutrition in the county, Dr Kokwo disclosed that 52 health facilities and 15 sub-health management teams with partners supporting health and nutrition have devised innovative approaches on how the health of women, children, and girls of age between 10 and 14 years can be improved through the Malezi Bora programme.

‘The county is partnering with key stakeholders in maternal and child health and nutrition, and we have laid down strategies on how we can increase social mobilisation for mother and child nutrition services in the county,’ said Dr. Kokwo.

He went on: ‘We want to increase access to health care services in the facilities and increase caregiver participation in the health facilities across the county.’

He said health care providers have been asked to accelerate the uptake of mother-child health and nutrition services delivery and management in their various health facilities across the county and improve nutrition outcomes for patients.

Dr Kokwo said they have also tasked the health care workers to take the health care services where the people are because most of the country’s facilities are still far apart and not yet within the six-kilometer range according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation.

‘We intend to reach the unreachable: lactating women, children under five, women of productive age, and expectant women,’ he disclosed.

He said essential drugs have been distributed for expectant, lactating women, children under five, and women of reproductive age across the county, and health workers are expected to deliver medical services to the needy courtesy of the government.

He urged the health workers to sensitize the community to stop the practices that could be impeding women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care services.

He said the health department team wants to ensure the full cooperation of Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) in their respective health facilities as a way of strengthening and accelerating health development at all levels and across the county.

Dr Kokwo called for periodic meetings to monitor and review data on progress gained as advocacy is carried out with the aim of improving health services for women and children.

West Pokot Sub County Nutrition Coordinator Isaac Lopeli reiterated that the health department, together with partners, wants to improve maternal, perinatal, infant, and childhood mortality and morbidity health care services in the county.

‘Reproductive health and the psychosocial health development of the child, adolescent, woman, and pregnant women are paramount, and a lot of health care attention needs to be addressed,’ he highlighted.

Lopeli noted that health workers have been given updates with a focus on immunization intervention, vitamin A supplementation for children aged between 6 and 59 months, growth monitoring, treatment of minor illnesses, and behaviour change communication.

‘I want to accelerate the uptake of vitamin A supplementation, the deworming of children, and the treatment of bed nets,’ he said.

He explained that a vitamin A supplement is an immune booster and helps reduce the risk of child mortality, morbidity, and malnutrition.

‘We urge caregivers to accelerate vitamin A supplementation and deworming for children aged between 6 and 59 months,’ he said.

He said they will be vaccinating girls aged 10 to 14 with the Human Papillomavirus (PHV) vaccine, which helps prevent diseases like cervical cancer.

He further said that health care workers have also received a vitamin A monitor chart and a deworming chart for tracking progress on how children have been supplemented.

‘The health department expects the routine health services to continue and also outreach services to be offered, especially supplementation, at ECDE centres in hard-to-reach areas to be reached with medical services,’ he highlighted.

He said in the year 2022, the number of children that were at risk of stunting stood at 34% in the county, down from 45.9% in the year 2014, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS).

He said the county government, through the ministry of health, is appreciating partners for their kind support in the health programs, initiatives, and projects they are undertaking in the county.

He added that they have a lot of commitment from partners on matters of nutrition at the county, including the Africa Medical Research Foundation (AMREF) and Action Against Hunger (ACF), among other stakeholders who have offered to support the health department.

Source: Kenya News Agency

June 10, 2023

Speaker Urges Media To Issue Factual Information On Legislative Work

The media has been challenged to be factual and professional in their line of duty especially when covering legislative work.

Speaking during a sensitization forum between the Senate and Kenya Parliamentary Journalists Association (KPJA) at Serena hotel in Mombasa, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi said that media plays a crucial role in disseminating information to the public about the legislative function thus the need to ensure the content shared is truthful and sensible.

Kingi said the house respects the freedom of the media as listed in Article 34 of the Kenyan Constitution noting that they have made the Senate accessible for journalists to cover its daily activities.

He said the symbiotic relationship between the Senate and the media is a true reflection of how the two are ready to work to empower the public with information and updates of the leaders they elected to represent them.

‘Factual and balanced news is informative to the public and it will ensure accountability and transparency in the legislative process,’ he said.

He added that in order to effectively deliver on its mandate, the Senate relies on partnerships and one that has stood out is the media who were represented by KPJA.

Kingi said the media has served as a vital pipeline of feedback from the grassroots on how devolution is boarded in line with Chapter 11 of the Constitution.

He said both senators and the media have been able to keep their fingers on the pulse of existing and emerging political and social dynamics in the county.

‘Article 34, 35 and 108 of the Constitution guarantees the freedom of the media, right to information and public participation, respectively,’ said Kingi adding that through their work, media enforces public opinion and firm decision making besides serving as a point of reference and scanning societal institutional environment.

‘The public are always on the lookout and tend to ask questions like what does the media have to say on a certain issue? How come we have not seen this in the media which tells us the credibility of the press still exists/,’ he said.

The Speaker further assured the KPJA team of the Senate’s support to enable them to effectively deliver their duties.

Kilifi County Senator Stewart Madzayo reiterated the Speaker’s comments by asking journalists to report what the elected Members of Parliament were doing in terms of representation and oversight roles.

‘The house is now undermined as there is no freedom for some members to oversee the executive. It is now upon the media to bring this to light and inform the public on the role their leaders are playing in parliament,’ he said.

KPJA Chairman Dancan Khaemba acknowledged Parliament’s effort in facilitating their work.

Khaemba urged journalists to ensure they adhere to the code of conduct while covering news stories and called for continued cooperation between journalists and the Parliament saying teamwork was needed to ensure the public is well served.

‘For us to operate optimally, we have to clear some obstacles. Accessibility is a challenge as there are some instances where protocols do not go hand in hand with deadlines for journalists,’ he said.

The Kenya Parliamentary Journalist Association was established in the 9th Parliament. Its role is to boost media effort in dissemination of factual news through specialized reporting on parliament affairs.

Source: Kenya News Agency