Day: June 4, 2024

The National Fund for the Disabled of Kenya (NFDK) has promised to engage in more partnerships with devolved units tailored to benefit Children with Disabilities (CWDs).

Speaking at St. Colomban’s School for the Deaf in Trans Nzoia County where she commissioned a tuition block, Chairperson of NFDK Board of Trustees Dr. W. Kristina Kenyatta hailed previous partnerships with Trans County Government, which she said has been instrumental in creating an environment where children with disabilities can thrive better socially and academically.

She promised the Board will always strive to engage in more partnerships with all the county units in an effort to create an equal playground for all children

Outlining projects NFDK has so far supported in the region, Dr. Kenyatta pointed out gratitude to local communities for their support, which she said has ensured that children with disabilities lead a normal life.

The commissioned tuition block funded by NFDK and Trans Nzoia County Government to the tune of Shs. 3 M,
has structurally transformed the institution and given it a new face.

Present during the exercise was Trans Nzoia County Chief Officer in charge of Gender, Youth, Sports, Culture and Tourism Jane Wachwenge who called for inclusivity and support for children living with disabilities.

The Officer who used the opportunity to donate sports equipment to the institution, urged stakeholders to give children with disabilities an equal chance to access education which she termed as an equalization factor.

‘Education is the key that unlocks the full potential of our children enabling them to actively contribute to the society. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the available learning opportunities are accessible to all,’ she said as she emphasized the transformative power of education for Children with Disabilities.

Source: Kenya News Agency

In a bid to reduce the perennial road accidents in the country, Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University has partnered with the Technical University of Dortmund in Germany to set up a Center for Road Safety Awareness and Traffic Injury Surveillance.

The center will be used to conduct research, innovation on the major causes of and mitigation against accidents and the scientific data gathered will be shared with relevant agencies for policy formulation, discovery and innovation in the area of road transport in the country.

KCA Vice Chancellor Prof Isaiah Wakindiki said the German institution is helping out in the formulation stage and that the center, the first of its kind in the country is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

Speaking at the University’s Main Campus in Ruaraka, Nairobi, Prof Wakindiki said the move has been necessitated by the increased number of road accidents in the country, decrying that as a University, they have suffered from accidents involving their students.

‘On average, the University has been losing at least a student to a road accident every year probably because we are situated near the Super highway. From January this year to date, we have already lost a student. This is a concern that needs to end,’ he said.

The VC said they will work closely with road agencies including the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to streamline the collection and analysis of road carnage data.

Data from the NTSA shows that more than 7,100 Kenyans have been involved in road accidents since the start of the year, with over 1,000 killed, 3,000 being seriously injured and 2,500 suffering minor injuries

The data further shows that pedestrians account for the highest fatalities in 2024 at 436 followed by motorcyclists at 276 fatalities.

‘We have been talking about road safety for the longest time through various sectors of the country but no university has domesticated it in the form of a research center. This is what w
e will do here at KCA University,’ Prof Wakindiki said.

On their preparedness, he said they are training their staff on areas of data collection and are working closely with established institutions in Germany that have done a lot in scientific research.

He added that the university is working with other stakeholders to mobilize resources for the establishment of the center.

‘At the moment, one of our faculty members is on a three-month scientific visit in Germany and among other things is doing the initial data collection and fine-tuning the setting up of this center,’ the VC said.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The 4th Medium Term Plan (MTP) covering the period 2023/2027, which also marks the final five-year plan of the Kenya Vision 2030 has been launched in Kiambu County.

The Plan has been designed to elevate the Country into a new industrialized Middle-income country ensuring high quality of lives for its citizens.

Speaking when he officially launched the MTP4 Monday, Public Service, Performance and Delivery management CS Moses Kuria said that planning function is extremely important for governance, financial management, and economic management.

He noted that great planners such as Tom Mboya, Prof. Anyang Nyongo among many other leaders in the country had been instrumental in making long term plans, but the greatest regret, especially after the advent of multi-party in the country is that such plans were associated with a government of a particular type and this is wrong.

‘We all should own our long-term plans and compete on how best we can be able to implement the plans instead of making it political, ‘ he sa
id, adding that when vision 2030 was mooted, Kenya was in the category of the Least developed countries, but has now moved to the Middle-income countries.

‘This therefore means we have had the benefit in implementing the vision through MTP1, MTP2 and MTP3. I am hoping that as we transition to MTP4, we will have a better future and even make it to the category of the Upper Middle Income,’ he noted.

Kuria who also shared the statement made by the President during the National Launch of the MTP4 in March this year, pleaded with the two levels of government to enhance inter-governmental cooperation by integrating programmes such as social health for the plan to come to fruition.

‘County governments are very important contributors in various programmes and I have noticed that quite a number of counties are rolling out their plans especially on health, farming, food and even seedlings, which is extremely, very good but they should be integrated and made part of one system,’ he said

Kuria explained that currentl
y the government is doing very well in areas such as agriculture, but noted that despite being clear on the plans, it still has its challenges.

‘We need to walk the talk and since my ministry is responsible for performance and delivery, we will ensure that we deliver and I want to commit that I will hold all state departments, ministries and agencies of the government into account for the plan,’ he said.

The CS said that it is time that implementation of the plan is fulfilled, adding: ‘All plans are good on paper, but they will remain so if diversified implementation is not done. I want to commit that my Ministry will work day and night to ensure that everybody being paid by the taxpayer is held to account.’

Kuria said that another challenge of implementation that the country has is that of optimism noting: ‘The minute we have optimism, we become hopeful and energize all our people.’

He emphasized that the plan cannot work in the context of political stupidity, bad manners, competition, tribalism, parochi
alism, selfishness and corruption.

He added, ‘This plan doesn’t mean an avenue for us to come here and lie to ourselves. If we fix our politics, make it less toxic, less divisive and unite this country, we have a historic opportunity to invest in our country.’

Giving the Kiambu County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2023 to 2027, Stephen Mungai, from the local Department of Planning and who was representing the CECM Finance said the plan has prioritized the major economic value chains in the areas of leather, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Education among others.

‘We have ear-marked in our CIDP training of factory and tannery owners on proper leather production techniques, we are also giving subsidized fertilizer, procuring and distributing coolers and pasteurizers for our farmers,’ he said.

Mungai explained that some of the challenges the County was experiencing include pending bills, missed revenue targets, especially on its own source of revenue, a weak monitoring and evaluation system, inadequate
resources and lack of public participation in planning and policy development.

He recommended that there is need to improve on the timelines of exchequer release noting: ‘We have also realized that we need to manage and clear our pending bills if at all we have to implement our CIDP the way we have made it, increase revenue collection, enhance public participation and implement robust financial management practices and strengthen collaboration with stakeholders.’

Kiambu population, Mungai said is projected to rise from 2.6 M last year, to 2.7 M in 2025 and 2.8 at the end of planning period; 2027, with the density of 952 persons per square kilometer.

The MTP4 future plan calls for investment in five core strategic pillars of agriculture, healthcare, housing and settlement, micro, small and medium enterprises, economy and the digital super-highway, as well as creative economy.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and Principal Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs Aurelia Rono, spearheaded the sensitization forum for the Vision 2030 Medium-Term Plan IV (MTP IV) in Bomet.

The event that was attended by Bomet County Commissioner Dr Omar Ahmed, heads of departments and County Officials, marks a crucial step in advancing the government’s agenda for sustainable development and economic transformation.

CS Chirchir reiterated that MTP IV serves as a blueprint for progress and a roadmap for sustainable development.

Aligned with the government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation model, the agenda aims to foster economic turnaround and inclusive growth by adopting a value chain approach.

The overarching objectives include reducing the cost of living, eradicating hunger, and promoting exclusive growth.

‘The MTP IV is the cornerstone of our economic agenda. It outlines our commitment to fostering growth from the grassroots level upwards.

Through targeted investments in key
sectors such as agriculture, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), housing, healthcare, digital infrastructure, and the creative economy, we aim to create 1.2 million new jobs annually and expand the tax base,’ affirmed CS ChirChir.

Highlighting the significance of value addition for local commodities, CS Chirchir highlighted the importance of maximizing the potential of resources such as tea and milk, emphasizing the need for concerted efforts to enhance their value within the region.

PS Aurelia Rono emphasized the importance of open dialogue and collaboration with local leaders, the public, and county governments to ensure that MTP IV truly reflects the aspirations and needs of the people.

She reiterated the government’s commitment to inclusivity and participatory governance, emphasizing the importance of local input in shaping national development agenda.

The launch of the sensitization forum stresses the government’s proactive approach to engaging stakeholders and mobilizing support for the imp
lementation of MTP IV.

With a focus on grassroots empowerment and inclusive growth, the government aims to catalyze economic transformation and improve livelihoods across the country.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Africa’s interests and reality in a fast-evolving carbon economy represent a real opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and mobilize climate finance, experts have said.

During a high-level event on carbon markets in Africa themed, ‘Unpacking Complexity and Embracing Opportunities’ held during the African Development Bank conference in Nairobi, various experts noted that carbon markets have emerged as one of the fastest-growing innovations for scaling climate finance.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank said Africa offers huge potential to contribute to the global mitigation efforts while powering the continent’s economic growth, due to its vast natural assets.

He added that over the last few years, the global community has engaged in multiple discussions on mobilizing the financing required to implement global climate action.

‘In Africa, we have estimated that the cost of implementing our Nationally Determined Contributions, (NDCs)
under the Paris Agreement, is about USD3 trillion between 2020 and 2030,’ he explained.

Dr. Kariuki further said that during the Africa Climate Summit, held last year in September in Kenya, African leaders advocated for, among other things, innovative financing mechanisms and financial instruments to drive private capital flows for climate action across the continent.

‘The global carbon market is currently valued at about USD1 trillion. Yet, although Africa possesses 23 percent of global forest carbon, it has only earned USD200 million annually on average, principally from voluntary carbon markets,’ he said.

Considering the continent’s vast resources and carbon potential, Dr. Kariuki said the continent must tap into this market to harness the enormous economic, social, and environmental opportunities that carbon markets present.

Due to the related complexities, Dr. Kariuki added that realizing Africa’s carbon market potential will require a common understanding of the market structures, policy frameworks,
regulatory tools, knowledge systems, economic tools, incentive structures for developing high-integrity carbon projects and credits in Africa.

‘The Bank is committed to supporting our regional member countries to address the challenges related to the design of high-integrity, transparent, and effective carbon markets in Africa, while helping the countries actualize the opportunities arising there from,’ he said.

For Africa, Dr. Kariuki noted that carbon markets can generate jobs for the growing youthful population, enhance ecosystem productivity, which is critical for food security, for health and well-being, as well as climate resilience.

He added that these possible outcomes are the blueprints of economic and social development. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past during the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) era or of the Kyoto Protocol where Africa only accrued 2 percent of global CDM market.

Under the Paris Agreement, he emphasized that Africa must do better beyond the benefits to date
from voluntary carbon markets as there are great opportunities for trade in carbon credits, compliance markets where prices for emission reductions are much higher than involuntary markets.

Dr. Kariuki said the Bank will be supporting Africa’s Carbon Market Initiative (ACMI) launched at COP27 in Egypt in 2022 to foster collaboration and support efforts on the continent.

‘African Development Bank will now officially join the initiative with a view to galvanizing the requisite momentum on the African carbon markets and also empower African countries and the private sector in securing additional resources to combat climate challenges effectively,’ said Kariuki.

Paul Muthaura, CEO of the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) said that there is a great deal of energy and interest in the carbon market going on globally and that in the first 18 months, they have already started to work with seven different countries to help them put in place a conducive legal environment.

‘We are glad to say because of the cle
ar understanding of the value that Africa brings to the space, we already have a billion dollars of commitment, indicative commitments to acquire high integrity, high value, high quality African credits,’ he added.

He explained that they have been rolling out programs with partners, working with governments to build understanding and awareness on what is necessary for their firm implementation, on carbon credits.

We are looking at building credible pipeline that can start catalyzing high integrity demand to move them to the next level and we are working with Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi already, but we have to be very honest that there are 20 who have expressed their interests, but we need to build the capacity to be able to service them all,’ Muthaura said

Dr. Rebekah Shirley, Deputy Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute (WRI) said that not only is pricing carbon seen as crucial to incentivizing decarbonization, but even in the most aggressive scenarios of decarboni
zation, it is estimated that alongside mitigating or preventing emissions, the world will need to be removing five to even 16 billion tons of carbon annually by 2050.

‘There is growing demand for carbon markets. Alongside our clean energy resources, which can potentially power massive amounts of engineered removals, tropical forests alone, like those found in Africa, we could sequester an estimated 1.4 to 1.8 billion of those tons of demand, so the time has indeed come for Africa to be prepared,’ she added.

In Africa, Dr. Shirley further noted that there is a massive opportunity to create an economy, improve health, safeguard landscapes and more through the expansion into carbon markets and therefore Africa must charge forward to ensure community engagement and allow transparency and integrity as key to a viable market.

Kenyan President William Ruto who presided over the opening session of the annual meetings of the African Development Bank Group emphasized on the urgent need to mobilize investment for cli
mate transition in developing countries from public and private sources globally.

President Ruto mentioned COP28 in Dubai last December that agreed to support the creation of markets that can mobilize resources at scale and called for reform of the international financial architecture.

The President said ‘We assert that transforming the international financial architecture is imperative to give Africa a fair chance to turn its immense potential into opportunities to overcome multiple challenges and develop inclusively and sustainably.

Kenya last week hosted the 59th annual meetings of the AfDB Group, as the Group also celebrated its 60th anniversary. The bank has become Africa’s premier development financing institution and to date has financed 5,432 projects, 4,036 of which are completed, providing a mechanism to coordinate the fight against poverty and improve the standards of African financing and other institutions.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Young people from Nakuru County have been urged to turn to agriculture as one of the avenues where they can sustain themselves rather than looking to get employed in offices to earn a living.

County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Mr Leonard Bor said there are more returns in agriculture than the traditional income sources such as formal employment.

He said the agriculture sector has a huge opportunity for employment creation that can help absorb hundreds of unemployed youths and improve their livelihoods.

Mr Bor observed that World Bank statistics indicate that youth in Kenya account for 35.4 per cent of the population. Of these, a million enter the labour market every year.

Yet, added the CECM very few enter into farming despite the enormous opportunities that lie within the sector.

Speaking at the Nakuru Agricultural Show ground during capacity-building training for over 70 farmers drawn from all the 11 Sub-Counties, Mr Bor noted that while the average age in
Kenya is 19.5 years, the average age of a Kenyan farmer is 60, which raises doubts whether the country can be food secure when its most active population is not willing to participate in food production.

The CECM indicated that Governor Susan Kihika’s administration through public-private partnerships was supporting digital innovations that offer an opportunity to attract youth to agriculture through digital platforms and innovations such as social media, apps, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence.

The farmers were trained on Climate Smart Agriculture, avocado farming, pest and disease control, post-harvesting techniques, and local poultry farming.

Mr Bor noted that the increasing rate of unemployment in the country is posing threat to the county’s development stride and should therefore be tamed by helping young people join agribusiness.

Young people under the age of 35 years make up 75 per cent of the Kenyan population according to the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census,
thus being in a position to bring a shift in food production.

‘These young people should be empowered to join the agriculture sector so that we tame unemployment as we increase our production,’ Mr Bor said.

The CECM said the youth should do away with the mentality that agriculture is for the retirees and realize that even young people can do agriculture as a business. Agribusiness, he said, is a profession like any other and not for the unschooled or unemployed like many believe but for all in society.

While noting that the current century agriculture means more than subsistence farming Mr Bor indicated that increased access to education and new forms of agriculture-based enterprise mean that young people can be a vital force for innovation in farming, increasing incomes and well-being for people in the society.

He advised the farmers to embrace new agricultural techniques in a bid to avoid losses as a result of climate change as well as to address issues of food security affecting various regions.

Mr Bo
r noted that Kenya just like the rest of the African continent is losing its farmland productivity at a higher rate.

The Food Security pillar, he said can only be achieved if Conservation Agriculture (CA) is aggressively adopted by farmers, adding that the CA way has a new dimension in a period of Climate Change, calling for Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA).

‘There is a need for sustained innovation in areas like drought resistant varieties of seeds, environment friendly farming practices and better post-harvest management to reduce losses. Dissemination of information to farmers across the country is also key in the implementation of climate proofing agricultural value chains,’ stated the CECM.

He said farmers would realize high yields when they embrace climate-smart agriculture to wade through climate change, drought and flooding.

‘Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is the solution to these problems. It involves actions that sustainably increase productivity, enhance adaptation, reduce greenhouse emissions
to a possible zero and enhance achievement of national food security and development goals. Responding to the impact of climate change takes a whole village,’ he said.

The County Government through Public-Private Partnerships, he affirmed would continue to equip farmers with adaptation practices on climate action, geared to increase food production hence, reducing the food prices.

He outlined climate smart agriculture practices as development and use of drought and heat tolerant potato varieties, finding use for waste products from farms, reduction of post-harvest losses through support of agricultural machinery, adoption of biological pesticides, conservation of agriculture practices such as zero tillage, and mulching and making use of waste material for biogas.

Source: Kenya News Agency