Month: July 2023

The Amani National Congress (ANC) Party supports the move by the National Government to engage in dialogue with the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition. ANC Secretary General (SG), Omboko Milemba, says the Party is in favour of talks between the government and the opposition and that all matters facing Kenyans are settled through mutual understanding. Mr. Milemba says the ANC Party is hopeful that an amicable solution will come out if the incumbent Administration of Kenya Kwanza and the opposition sit down together and foster dialogue. ‘We want the two political formations to hold talks and reach consensus on all matters affecting Kenyans, through understanding and dialogue,’ said Milemba. He went on, ‘As ANC, we are standing by the government and supporting dialogue with the opposition, to find a solution to what bedevils our country. Speaking to the media in Mombasa, Milemba said the ANC is not opposed to negotiations between the government and opposition figures, so long as ‘such talks are held within the ambit of the Constitution’. ‘ANC Party believes that democracy starts with dialogue and that when different political formations come together in dialogue, the country has a much greater chance of implementing reforms and forging lasting peace,’ he said. Milemba, who is also the MP for Emuhaya Constituency in Vihiga County, said Kenyans of all walks of life should pray for the successful outcome of the dialogue between the political parties. ‘We are not opposed to any initiatives that would help find a solution to the political crisis that has seen the country rocked by deadly street protests in recent times,’ he said. MP Milemba commended President Ruto and former Prime Minister Odinga for their decision to give dialogue a chance for the sake of posterity. ‘Genuine dialogue aimed at long-term stability between President Ruto and the former premier is an excellent way to bring about durable solutions to the myriad challenges facing the country,’ he said. The legislator called for sobriety as the ruling Kenya Kwanza Administration prepares to sit down for talks with the opposition to work through some of the many challenges facing the nation. ANC Deputy Party Leader Margaret Ntongai says she supports talks between the government and the opposition, noting that the recent political impasse has wreaked havoc on the economy. Ms. Ntongai says recent demonstrations have negatively affected businesses, disrupted transport infrastructure, and disrupted trade as well as investments. She also urged Kenyans to pray for the dialogue between the government and the opposition to succeed and bear fruit. ‘Our country has suffered a lot already, and what we now want is for the government and the opposition to sit down and chart a peaceful way forward,’ she said. The two ANC officials said top party organs are in the coastal city of Mombasa on a retreat to discuss strategies on how to revamp the Party ahead of the 2027 General Elections. Reports indicate that former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo will head a 10-member Committee to spearhead talks between President William Ruto and Opposition Leader Raila Odinga. The team will include four members from outside parliament, with Kenya Kwanza and Azimio nominating two each, the majority and minority leaders of the National Assembly, and four other MPs-two from each side. Top on the list of demands by the opposition are a quest to reduce the high cost of living, a halt to the unilateral reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), respect for multi-party democracy, and an audit of the IEBC servers with a view to enhancing electoral justice in the country.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Residents of Ijara Sub-County in Garissa have been advised to plant more trees to promote a healthy environment while also mitigating the effects of climate change in the County. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Senior Warden, Mr. Adan Alio, said the KWS rangers have started a tree planting campaign, starting with the camp based in Masalani in Ijara, that would be a pilot project and a model for other institutions and the general public to emulate. The Warden said that KWS is working closely with the Kenya Forest Services in the spirit of teamwork as stakeholders in environmental and wildlife conservation through involvement in the tree planting initiative. Mr. Alio noted that more trees will be planted to ensure mitigation of climate change and that its adverse effects are managed through beautification and greening of the environment, which is not only good for observation, such as in eco-tourism, but will also help in refining the surrounding air conditions. He urged the Sub-County residents to take advantage of the ongoing rains and at least plant as many trees as possible in their environment and in Masalani town in particular.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Machakos County, in partnership with the World Bank, has launched the distribution of Agricultural inputs worth 81.5 million that will go to 367 farmer groups to elevate the agricultural production capacity within Machakos County. The exercise is set to benefit 10,000 households within Kathetheni, Masii, Ikombe, Kola, and Kalama wards. Speaking during the launch at her office, Governor Wavinya Ndeti said her government is mobilising all the available resources to ensure the farmers recover from the effects of the drought. ‘To improve agricultural production, my government has initiated a number of projects, including the ‘Maziwa na Mali’ initiative, which aims at increasing dairy milk production among farmers,’ pointed out Wavinya. The Governor further added that a community development-driven approach has been used to deliver the projects, where the communities identify their needs and develop an action plan for addressing the said needs. She noted that the agricultural inputs included 50, 307 one-month-old indigenous chicks, 3 incubator units, 61 Sahiwal yearling cows, 1,725 goats, 1,827 assorted fertiliser bags, 437 wheelbarrows, 1,444 bags of chick feed, 540 Ox-drawn ploughs, 1,293 pieces of iron sheets, and 1,263 multi-story gardens. Wavinya urged the Committee managing the grants to ensure transparency and accountability in handling the resources on behalf of the people of Machakos and the farmers to use the inputs provided to increase crop and livestock productivity. She added that three farmers’ Cooperatives have been funded to start processing their farm produce. Earlier in April, Governor Wavinya embarked on an empowerment programme for farmers by issuing cheques worth 138,180,837 million to facilitate the procurement of farm inputs to promote production in Machakos County. She expressed optimism that the noble gesture would spur higher yields and ensure the needed food security among groups and individual farmers by boosting productivity and creating wealth in the county. Wavinya implored Machakos residents to exploit the available opportunities in crop production, fish farming, and dairy production to increase production by using the established channels, including the extension services.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Basket weaving groups scattered across Taita Taveta are now a step ahead in marketing their wares following the signing of a partnership deal between the County government and Gitzellfairtrade International. In the deal, sisal-woven baskets, locally known as vidasi, will now have direct access to the international market through a supply chain supported by Gitzellfairtrade International and a twice-a-year collection of the ware from women’s groups practising the craft. ‘We’re happy to announce our partnership with the County Government of Taita Taveta to help women reach a wide global market for their baskets, and we’re sure it will make a significant impact on household income levels and that of the County as well,’ said Zellipah Githui, a Gitzellfairtrade International official. In her remarks, Githui said the sustainable and global supply chain reaches all markets to ensure competitive prices for the baskets, and a trickle-down benefit will be felt at the household level. ‘Ours is a supply chain with a very wide reach to ensure women get competitive prices for their products and positively impact the flow and availability of income flow to the household unit,’ said Gichui. Celebrating the good news and in attendance during the signing of the deal, Hilda Mbuwa, the lead representative of women basket weaving groups, said it has been a big hurdle to get a reliable market for their wares. ‘It’s not been easy for women to continue with the craft as there has been no reliable market. Some women have ventured into other economic activities. However, this new market opportunity will ensure a revival of the almost forgotten craft,’ said Hilda. She further said that the burden now shifts to the women as they have to strive to ensure top-quality wares to meet international standards and spur demand for baskets from Taita Taveta. ‘Now that we have a market, the ball is in our court to ensure the supply of quality wares to compete fairly in the global market and market our potential as a county,’ said Hilda. In attendance and speaking on behalf of the county administration, Jennifer Dali, Gender and Youth Affairs Advisor, said that Governor Mwadime is committed to supporting women’s groups to meet high quality standards and sustain a steady supply of baskets. ‘Now that our biggest hurdle of lacking a good market is solved, our part is to ensure women get the support they need to produce quality wares. The governor and his administration are ready to ensure, among other things, an uninterrupted supply of quality raw materials,’ said Dali. Passed down from one generation to the next generation of womenfolk, and in this case from mother to daughter, basket weaving is one of the oldest traditional crafts in Taita Taveta and across cultures in Africa. There have been efforts by previous County Administrations to patent baskets from Taita Taveta and the formation of an umbrella association for county basket weavers, but a lack of proper marketing strategy and access to the coveted global supply chain have watered down the overall impact of such initiatives.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has begun training football players at a young age to acquire enough skills to attract the attention of Football Clubs in Kenya. FKF President, Nick Mwendwa, said the trainings are being conducted at the grassroots level, with the Football for Schools (F4S) Programme coming as a boost. He said for a long time Football Clubs in Kenya have had their own strategies of selecting the best players that will assist them in winning the Kenya Premier League (KPL), going as far as outside the country, to look for players for lack of enough options. With proper early training, Mwendwa says FKF target to produce many players that those clubs will have many choices they can recruit from, to help them win championships. He noted that despite producing for the clubs, Kenya is also developing football talent at a young age, so that they can compete with seasoned Football teams, during the African Cup of Nations and even the World Cup. ‘Our job is to have many top players we are going to produce, so that our clubs will have a choice from Kenya. We are working at the grassroots because that is where we will get quality players,’ he added. He was speaking during the closure of a three-day training of 50 master trainers, to spearhead the F4S programme in the first selected 2000 schools across the country. Mwendwa together with the Global FIFA F4S programme Director, Fatima Sidibe, launched the F4S Mobile Application that will assist the master trainers, to train more trainers. He thanked FIFA for donating 63, 000 footballs, specifically for the programme and meant for the 4-14-year-olds which can be used on any type of field across the country. ‘We need to understand that this is a lifetime project, which is meant to introduce young talented persons to football, so that they can have fun, enjoy and then we can pick the best for our other programmes,’ he added. ‘Sometimes a child may play but may not be able to play at the professional level. We are also helping them where they go, because we have university challenges, we have college challenges, where they go to advance their skills professionally,’ he added. Sidibe said FKF has agreed to integrate the programme into their strategic plan and, together with the Ministry of Education, continue with the programme for a very long time.

Source: Kenya News Agency