The Anchor, April 2010

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MPs stance in reform agenda leaves them in…

A Big Trap

By Syomilili Kyuma

MPs in the NO campaign are hemmed in a big trap if the YES campaign carries the day, investigations by The Anchor show. The biggest danger is the eventuality that voters may see the NO MPs as opponent of real change, a very popular them that is sweeping right across the country like a bush fire.

Pundits see the NO campaigners as endangered species of leaders who will fall off the precipice in the next election as they will be identified as part and parcel of woes that afflict a new constitutional dispensation. If YES carries the day, NO campaigners will have to look for a way to reinvent themselves. If NO wins, YES campaigners will identify by name the opponents of change and ask citizens to punish them as such. It is this eventuality that is making many leaders waver between YES and NO.

So frightening is the quest for change that Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has sought refuge in the YES side even when utterances and body language are glued to the tenets that bound the NO campaigns.

In Ukambani, master of theatrics Mutito MP Mr Kiema Kilonzo has finally resurfaced, after several months of political limbo after he fell out with the Simama Kenya brigade which has now lost steam.

Now the maverick MP has positioned himself to lead the NO bandwagon in Ukambani where he hosted religious leaders and asked the region to oppose the document. His stand is most confusing and many believe that he is in NO, merely for the sake of it or just for the heck of being in the opposite side with Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

But if ever there was doubt whether Kiema’s theatrics would trap anyone, the Mutito MP has ended up trapping himself.

For though Kalonzo is officially campaigning for Yes vote to please his master and gain the possibility of being the anointed heir, his lieutenants and body language are actually saying NO to the proposed Constitution.

Mwingi South MP David Musila, Mwala MP Pastor Daniel Muoki, Machakos Town MP Dr. Victor Munyaka, Makueni MP Peter Kiilu, Masinga MP Itwiku Mbai and Kibwezi MP Prof Philip Kaloki, all known as last disciples of the VP, are all singing NO in whatever form. Those in the know are saying that in just a matter of time, the VP will fall off the YES campaign and detour in a manner that will amount to a NO campaign.

So if Kiema Kilonzo ever thought he was a smart operative, he would better prepare himself to resume doing the dirty jobs he did for Kalonzo during his second term as MP.

Intelligence sources say the VP is bitter that Prime Minister Raila Odinga has owned the YES campaign as if to show that it does not matter what position the VP, or even the President takes in the campaigns. The sources blame the VP for allowing the PM the latitude he enjoys in leading the YES campaign. The space was created by the VP himself for showing a wavering stance over whether to support or oppose the Proposed Constitution.

The VP must also be furious that he is in the same side as Water and Irrigation Minister Charity Ngilu, a fiery adversary of the VP and real face of the YES vote in Lower Eastern region. Assistant Minister Wavinya Ndeti, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo and Kangundo MP Johnson Muthama are also on the YES side where also John Harun Mwau is perceived to belong, though he has been heard faulting the proposed draft. Kaiti MP Gedion Ndambuki is yet to declare his stand, a trick that NO proponents are using to see where the wind is blowing from before they take a stand.

What the local MPs are unaware of is the fact that the battle line for the next General Election are being drawn now and anyone caught on the wrong side of the campaign ought to begin packing his bags early enough to leave Parliament.

Kiema Kilonzo was forced to take a quiet retreat into the cold political wilderness when he was thrown out of the Simama Kenya outfit for reasons that are yet to be made public, although many believe it has everything to do with money.

Now his guns are traded at the constitutional review debate, an opportunity that has luckily given him a chance for renewal from political hibernation. Those who know Kiema believe that if the draft law debate was to run for long, the MP would soon drop out on his own.

The youthful MP exploited the Simama Kenya bandwagon to raise his political stature beyond Ukambani where he attempted to project himself as the third force after Kalonzo and his arch-rival, Mrs.Ngilu.

To hoodwink his new political suitors in Simama Kenya, Kiema did not hesitate to attack either of the two if occasion arose and even went ahead to christen himself the “Obama of Ukambani”.

He appears to have taken the path to self destruction taken by Professor Kivutha Kibwana, Kalembe Ndile, Joseph Munyao and John Katuku- by posing that they could stand without leaning on either Kalonzo or Ngilu- leading to their disastrous rejection by voters and sinking into oblivion.

An expert political survivor, Kiema has in the past hinged himself at every emerging opportunity to his benefit and sometimes his benefactors.

Described by many of his enemies in Ukambani as a “political gun for hire’’ or, better still, a “mouth for hire” due to his sycophantic, controversial and often abrasive approach, Kiema sometimes shames his foes and other times, himself by shrewdly or crudely overcoming every obstacle in his way.

An expert political hunter, Kiema knows when to attack or retreat only to come back and exploit emerging opportunities in the political landscape. Only this time, Kiema will have to device a strategy to bolt out from the corner he has hemmed himself into.

When he ventured into politics in 1997 on a KANU ticket, many underestimated his power but he managed second position before rebounding back in 2002 after a close association with Mr Musyoka.

When he was rigged out during the NARC nominations, he quickly joined Ford-People party that was not only unknown but unpopular but he managed to beat many contenders for the Mutito seat to emerge the winner.

As soon as he won the seat he abandoned Ford-People to join the Kalonzo Musyoka’s camp in Liberal Democratic Party where he fiercely defended him as to earn the unpalatable tag of “Kalonzo bodyguard”.

After the 2007 elections and as soon as his fortunes in ODM-K proved doomed, he ditched camp and transformed himself from being Kalonzo’s most fearless and ingenious defender to become his acidic critic.

To display his frustrations with Kalonzo, Kiema has baptized Kalonzo as Judas on his mobile phone book. Each time the VP calls him on his mobile, the name JUDAS flashes, in a bid to drive home his contention that the VP betrayed his erstwhile bodyguard.

So why has Kiema chosen the NO campaign? Those close to him know no reason why he is opposed to the draft law. Even as MPs fought to force amendments to the draft, very little was heard of Kiema. But Kiema has come to master when and who to oppose so as to remain relevant.

With Kiema taking the lead of the NO vote in Ukambani, a virgin opportunity will have presented itself to outshine the VP and Mrs. Ngilu, now conjoined in the YES side due to their obligations to President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga respectively.

Kiema who is emerging as a third force in lower Eastern after Kalonzo and Ngilu now. By pushing for NO, Kiema is weighing himself in the league of William Ruto, Daniel arap Moi, John Muchuki, Njeru Githae and Peter Munya, among others in the hope of ever coming face to face with the Lion of the YES campaign- Raila Odinga.

Raila has fiercely taken up the Yes side pushing others, including the President to the periphery. In effect, Raila has eaten up into Kamba territory, looping in former MPs Daudi Mwanzia, Kalembe, Peter Maundu and Francis Nyenze, among others, another reality that is causing sleepless nights to Mr Musyoka in view of the battle ahead for the Presidency.

Yatta MP who is a harsh Kalonzo critic has also been roped into the Raila camp, going by his playing a key role in the recent Raila tour of Machakos District.

Unity calls with Kalonzo are self-serving, Mrs Ngilu declares

W

ATER and Irrigation Min­is­ter Charity Ngilu has ruled out ever co-op­er­ating with sleeping leaders, saying such a move would force her into inactivity.

Responding to calls by church leaders who in­cluded Machakos Catholic Bishop Mar­tin Kivuva and Redeemed Gospel Bishop Jo­seph Mutua, Mrs Ngilu said it was mean­ingless for anyone to urge her to work together with leaders who have zero pro­duc­tivity. “What would be the motive of uniting with leaders who have no agenda to advance the lives of our poor citi­zens?’, she asked.

“ How about a leader who is asleep; Why tell me to unite and speak with one voice with such a leader?’’, asked the Water and Irrigation minister to deaf­ening applause.

The same theme of unity was picked by Machakos Town MP Dr.Victor Munyaka, who called for an end to the power wrangles between the Vice President Ka­lonzo Musyoka and Water minister Charity Ngilu.

He said there is urgent need for the two to unite and guide the community to­wards social,economic and political prosperity.

But Mrs.Ngilu differed with the Mp over the unity call, saying she saw no point of uniting with “lazy” leaders.

She said every leaders has his or her own programs which may not nec­essarily be the priority of others.”How do you expect to tell me to work with Munyaka for ex­ample when by that time he is en­joying his sleep?;Do you want me to join him in his sleep when my agenda is delivering service to wananchi?”,posed Ngilu with the crowd responding with a resounding “NO”.

She said she has been wondering why people are asking her to speak with one voice with other leaders whenever she toured Ukambani yet some of them have nothing to show despite their long stint in government- a veiled attack on the VP who recently celebrated 25years as MP, a bash that cost Sh 8m to organize.

Mrs Ngilu dismisses Kalonzo as selfish leader whose agenda is driven by ‘Me, Myself and I’, culminating in long a long service as MP but with little or no achievement to show.

“I have only been in government for eight years since I joined politics in 1997 but I am happy I have something to show as a thumbprint “ in Kitui Central, Ukambani in particular and other parts of the county, said the Kitui Central MP.

They were speaking at Maruba dam in Machakos town during prayers to bless the water project rehabilitated at a cost of Kshs.350m.Bishop Kivuva dedicated the dam which has since filled to ca­pacity following heavy rains pounding the area.

Machakos Town MP, supported by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka claim credit for the project while public opinion holds that the dam is as a result of the firm and resolute leadership exhibited by Mrs. Ngilu. To date a row rages as to who be­tween the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Presi­dent Mwai Kibaki ought to in­au­gu­rate the dam, with the VP sticking out his neck to have Mr Kibaki perform the official opening.

Mrs Ngilu said she has forgiven people who vandalized a plague she had un­veiled to commemorate the re­ha­bili­tation of Maruba dam in Macha­kos.

The minister also forgave those he said had talked ill about her and the kshs.350m water project in the recent past.

“I hereby forgive those who removed the plague and those who insulted me over this ambitious project for they did not know what they were doing”, declared Mrs.Ngilu.

The minister dismissed the removal of the plague as inconsequential, adding plans were being made to replace it. Mrs.Ngilu ruled out the possibility of uniting and working together with the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka unless it is a unity of purpose. She said she did not support President Kibaki in 2007 “because there are issues he had promised to fulfill after the 2002 general election but he failed to do so”. On constitution, Mrs.Ngilu said the new law will change the face of the country and the wellbeing of her people.

Makueni DC draws new list of elders for census payment

By DANIEL KITUKU

M

akueni District Commissioner Mr. Ochilo Oyugi is compiling a parallel list of village el­ders to be paid for the 2009 census.

This means that about 263 village elders from Makueni and Kathonzweni districts, who were deployed during the census, might not be paid after all.

This follows Mr. Ochilo Oyugi’s blatant re­fusal to authorise for their payment for reasons yet to be given.

According to Makueni district statistics officer, Mr. Julius Nduu, the payment of the village elders amounting to Sh. 420,800 was received last month but the district commissioner who is a signatory to the bank account declined to sign their payment.

Shamelessly, the DC recently told a group of village elders at a meeting that their payment had not been sent to the dis­trict, urging them to be patient. That position is untrue and many are won­dering why the DC was mis­rep­re­senting the facts.

Ochilo, who was addressing a Rapid Re­sult Initiative meeting at Makueni county coun­cil hall, also claimed that payment for security officers involved during the census was also not paid, another untrue position.

However the statistics officer differed with the district commissioner saying that no other pending payments apart from those of the village elders whom the DC was withholding.

However Mr. Nduu said: “Only village el­ders who participated during the census will be paid even if one has since been dismissed.” It means that the list the DC is manufacturing will be useless afterall.

Mr.Oyugi’s decision is being viewed as ille­gal and he must present an ex­pla­nation why he is manufacturing a new list of el­ders while the 2009 census list of el­ders exists. This de­cision means that the DC is headed for a conflict not just with the officers concerned but the hundreds of elders, most of them the age mates of his father, who served a na­tional calling in good faith.

Mr Mutune Kiinga, 67, and hailing from Kitise says the village elders may be con­tem­plating cursing the DC. “Why is our son doing this to us?”, he asked.

Observers are wondering what reason the DC might be having for his new list and fear that corruption might be taking its toll on the payment process. The statistics officer ex­pressed fear that the money might be taken back to treasury if it will not have been paid by end of this month. Each village elder is supposed to be paid Ksh 1,600.

“I will not be compromised to divert the money elsewhere and in will ensure that the 263 village elders whom their names are appearing in the payroll receive their payments.” Said Mr. Nduu.

The village elders are appealing for per­ma­nent secretary in the provincial ad­min­is­tration to intervene to have the DC authorize to their payment.Meanwhile, Mr Oyugi faced em­barrassment after heads gov­ernment departments in Makueni dis­trict boy­cotted a meeting to launch the 3^rd wave of Rapid Result Initiative for the dis­trict.

Mr Oyugi had created an impression that the Departmental Heads would account to him what they do, while the RRI makes each of the officers an­swerable to their superiors in the Pro­vin­cial level

Only three out of twenty heads of de­partment attended the meeting in which they were in­vited to present their written progress re­port on the achievements and challenges they met to achieve their RRI.

During the meeting, mostly attended by all chiefs and their assistants in the area, the few heads of department present were rep­ri­manded by the furious DC.

Several heads of department who boy­cotted the meeting and spoke on strict condition of anonymity complained of a short period of two days given to prepare for their pre­sen­tations and frosty re­la­tionships with the District Commissioner .

The rasping DC, who is only last four months old at Wote, seems set to run roughshod over other government offi­cials.

“Mr. Ochilo should understand that we are officers and not his recruits in a se­cu­rity training college waiting for pass out and he should change his approach.” Said a de­partment officer, who spoke on con­dition of anonymity and who recently brushed shoul­ders with the DC.

Ochilo directed chiefs to send their daily re­ports over amount of illicit brew seized in the respective areas to his office warning them that whoever fails to eradi­cate illicit brew will loss his job.

“Some of you frustrate efforts to prevent crime even to stub out the illicit brew, taking bribes from brewers to protect them” noted the DC.Efforts to obtain a comment from the DC were fruitless.

Turmoil now hits AIC Athi River

By Anchor Reporters

A STORM is raging in Athi River AIC for quite some time now, creating a huge rift in the church.

Tension is high and all fingers are pointing at threet Pastors who are frus­trating el­ders efforts to stem the crisis. Nine Church elders have send a pe­tition to Area Bishop Boniface Nguyo de­manding the removal of the pastors- but as usual, the petition has landed on deaf ears.

We therefore strongly recommend the immediate transfer of the three Pastors from AIC Athi River,aid the elders. They are: Mr. Benjamin Kitolo, Mr. Philip Manga ,Mr. Michael Mutune Mr. Isaac Malonza Mr. Justus Kyavi, Mr. Wilson Mutunga, Mr. David Kavoi, Mr. James Waita, and Mr. Peter Mutiso.

“ So as to save the escalating state of affairs getting out of hand in the church, it would help much if the transfers are effected latest by end of April 2009.May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be suffi­cient to us all as we reason together on this matter to the glory and honour of God whom we all serve.

They say they realized that there were problems in the church brought by 3 pastors.

“ We approached the elders we elected so that action can be taken. The elders discussed the problems with the three pastors but the 3 pastors were adamant and uncooperative.

The elders met and wrote a letter to the DCC for the 3 pastors to be transferred. The matter is complicated by the fact that the pastors are influential members of the DCC and once a complaint is made, they arm themselves and fight back like tigers to remove elected elders who raise the red flag.

After the letter to the DCC, one of the pastors- Pastor Joseph Muthama who is the vice-chairman of the DCC swore that he will make sure he suspends the elders since he claims to be most powerful per­son in the DCC being supported by two DCC officials the Secretary and the Treasurer.

True to his word Muthama solely sus­pended six elders after un­successfully coercing two elders to withdraw. “We church members are annoyed by the action of pastor Muthama because he or the DCC has no authority to suspend elected el­ders of the church.”, they said

The letter so enraged the 3 pastors that soon, abusive messages targeting mem­bers and elders began flying arround. “The first one was by Pastor Stephen Maweu who abused the elders in the midst of the members whom we elected these elders followed by Pastor Lady Priscillar Mwendwa and by Pastor Joseph Muthama”, says the letter that The An­chor has seen.

The letter says: “We understand the DCC summoned the elders to explain the prob­lem. When Muthama was requested to go(out), he declined.”

In the end, no action was taken,most likely because Muthama is member of the executive committee and the secretary of the DCC, who is an also an elder of in the LCC is an ally of Pastor Maweu.

“ When the DCC failed to take action we decided to see the Regional Church Chairman and the Area Bishop- Rt Rev Nguyo.. We were given assurance that the DCC was instructed to transfer the 3 pastors and report back to chairman RCC and the area Bishop. After waiting in vain for action,we members returned to the Area Bishop. He met us and in our presence instructed the chairman of the DCC and his council members to transfer the 3 pastors.”, the letter adds.

The full council of the DCC met and re­solved the three pastors to be trans­ferred but since the executive committee is composed of Muthama and two members who are supporters of the three pastors, the secretary of the DCC Peter Mutiso and Benson Kimuyu the trea­surer, nothing happened and resi­dents are now seeing this as part of the growing rebellion within the church where a ren­egade Bishop David Mbuvi is wrestling church leadership from Presiding Bishop Silas Yego.

There are many management problems in the Machakos Area with virtually every DCC having its own share of trouble that range from sex scandals, mis­man­agement of Church funds or outright dereliction of duty, bringing into question the capacity of the church to manage its own affairs and resolve disputes amicably while at the same time upholding high moral stan­dards churches ought to keep if they are to re­main respectable in the community of congregations.

Matters have not been helped by the fact that Bishop Mbuvi seems to control a rea­sonable chunk of church following and seems set to take war to unbelievable heights to oust Bishop Yego.

Observers are now seeing a clear link be­tween the inefficiency in the church with the growing rebellion, with many faithful identifying the current church leadership with ineffective leadership and seeing Bishop Mbuvi as a possible savior, even when that may not be so.

One such case is in Kangundo DCC where action has not been taken to key leader of the DCC who is also a pastor was found in a lodging house in Nairobi, a matter that is threatening to tear up the DCC.

So confusing are the scenarios that Mbuvi allies are in some instances so em­bedded in the DCCs and fraught with sin that the Yego follower, even as they claim le­giti­macy in office have trouble in running AIC offices.

In the Kangundo saga, it remains con­fusing whether the accused Pastor Rev Makau can not be send home due to his wayward ways as a solution is being sought. ‘’ It seems that the AIC can not resolve disputes due to these linkages of friendships and loyalties and we are ready to take the bull by the horns in Kangundo and wherever to rid our church of sin, said Paramount Chief Savano Maveke.

The Kangundo case has seem close to 100 letters sent helter-skelter as wor­shippers seek solutions to ending the rows that the church leadership is seemingly afraid of tackling. ‘’They seem to fear that any action may open the pandora’s box and expose church lead­ership. So the church leaders ignore such calls for action in the hope that the protests will end. But they are cheating themselves as each of the regions has its hot issues which will erupt into a big fire soon’’, said a Senior Pastor in Machakos DCC who declined to be named.

In the Athi River case, the pastors have resisted the transfers and have hand­picked their own people to run the church without the mandate of the church members, sparking a new wave of pro­tests.

One telling incident was witnessed when a delegate sent from the region saw goons invade AIC Athi River to prevent him from presenting a message evicting the pastors from the church. ‘’Before the CED chairman could give the report, a gang of people had been organized and beat CED Chairman and took him to the police station, where police declined to take action because they said it was a church matter.’’ Adds the letter.

The letter concludes ‘’We are waiting for the RCC to effect the transfers with imme­diate effect. If no action the mem­bers will take upon themselves to make sure the three pastors are out of AIC Athi River.’’

EDITORIAL

Draft Laws: It's time for

citizens to play their role

KENYA is undergoing a crucial moment in its history- that of Constitution Making. The Campaign begun in early 1990s, with the first real fruit coming in 1992 when the then ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) succumbed to pressure and amended Section 2A of the Constitution that allowed for the return of Multi Party politics.

Ever since, a spirited campaign was put into place to enhance constitutional changes after the document was identified as the biggest hindrance to the execution of Good governance in Kenya.

Thus, the road since has been long and winding. It has been marked by loss of lives, spilling of innocent blood, maiming of citizens by Police, street riots, violence, and loss of property, protests and all sorts of petitions. There has also been political deceit, dishonesty and other unacceptable forms of actions- all spanning over 20 years.

In the Kanu days, Kenyans were given to believe that the quest for a new constitution was purely driven by a desire to enhance good governance. Thus in the campaigns for the 2002 elections, Mwai Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) promised a new constitution in 100 days if elected to office. Believing him, Kenyans elected him and it soon became clear that the 100 days story was a lie. The 100 days have grown into months and years. Indeed it was admitted that the drive at the time was purely aimed at removing from power the then President Daniel arap Moi.

In 2005, after much intrigue and politics, Kenyans were presented with a skewed Draft Constitution which they rejected in a referendum. Come 2007 General Election, Kenya sunk into Post Election Violence and the unresolved issue of a new Constitution was identified in Agenda Four as one of the unresolved issues that may have contributed to the fighting. In effect the agenda for a new constitution was fixed within the realm of the National Accord signed by Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, which was also enacted as part of the country’s Constitution.

Parliament then crafted an amendment- The Constitution Review of Kenya Act- bearing in mind the pitfalls that have frustrated past efforts to enact a new constitution, over­lapped them and created a law that allowed only an unstoppable process, complete with time-lines, based on the mechanism of conveyor belt- allowing stakeholders to play their roles and let it roll on to the next stop. Stra­te­gically, it is shepherded by The Committee of Experts (CoE)- a group of experts at Law, both local and foreign.

The past two years since the enactment of the National Accord have therefore seen the laying of the framework that begun the quest of a new constitutional dispensation. The CoE has gone a long way in listening to citizens and stake holders. It has read all sorts of draft laws- the Kilifi Draft, the Bomas Draft, and the rejected Wako Draft and produced The Harmonized Draft Constitution. COE went into sessions with the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution, discussed the draft and eventually produced the Proposed Constitution.

Parliament unsuccessfully tried to alter sections of the Draft but could not manage a single alteration due to the high threshold of two thirds majority that the drafters of the review law set and was passed by the very same MPs. In acrimony, Parliament, nevertheless passed the Proposed Constitution, effectively kissing good-bye any other oppor­tu­nity for Parliament to handle the constitution making process.

In a matter of days, Attorney General Amos Wako will publish the Proposed Constitution and hand it over to the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) to present it for a vote of YES or NO to citizens. If the vote is affirmative, the President has a limited time frame to assent it into law, and if he filibusters with it, the Con­sti­tution will be promulgated automatically.

This is to say that time has come for citizens of Kenya to play their part in constitution making. To do this, they will have to register as voters as only registered voters will participate. We wish to urge our readers to take part in this process and play their role as citizens of Kenya.

As a newspaper, we will be failing our readers if we fail to say some important issues on the Proposed Constitution. First, and most importantly, it guarantees the Media the space it needs to do its work. Secondly, it guarantees access to information to all. The Draft contains a compact Bill of Rights for Kenyans. It also has some clauses that are attracting opposition from some leaders and the Church. We must admit that it is never possible to produce a document that can please everyone. Similarly, Kenya can not be in a constitution making mode longer than it has. Clearly, an end to this is due.

Being a publication that seeks to enhance Good Gov­er­nance, The Anchor, respecting your right to choose, finds the Proposed Constitution of Kenya reasonably acceptable.

Residents’ letter of protest over Makueni CDF

The Chief Ex­ecutive Officer,

CDF Board,

P.O BOX 46682-00100,

NAIROBI.

Dear Sir/ Madam,

RE: Makueni Cdf Accountability

This is in regard to a letter written to you by our advocate dated 2^nd July, 2009 and Ref No. AM/09/cdf/Makueni and which you replied on 13^th July, 2009 Ref No. Cdfboard/Makueni/vol ii/16. You had promised to follow this matter into conclusion.

On behalf of the signatories attached who represent the 10 Divisions of Makueni Con­stituency and the people of Makueni Constituency we wish to make complains regarding to Cdf allocations, accountabilty and expenditure. It is important to note the following;

(i) Since the Year 2008 no information on Cdf has ever been made public, where as the money being spent is tax payers’ money. As citizens we don’t know how projectsare priotized and de­ter­mined for funding because there have never been consultations held according to the act.

(ii) Projects of the Fi­nan­cial Year 2007/08 which had been allocated by the then CDFC and approved by your office were either reallocated without request from the PMCs or approved by your office or they have never been funded altogether. Some of these projects include;

a) Kaiti River Sand dam, Kshs. 2 Million which according to your website it shows it’s an ongoing project.

b) Mwilu Disabled Persons Org Kshs. 500,000

c) Kikumini Water Project Kshs. 1.5 Million

d) Tree Planting Kshs. 750,000

e) Publicity Kshs. 1.3 Million

f) Kasevi Springs Kshs. 300,000.

(iii) The same Financial Year other projects were overpaid without approval. Some of them include,

a) Kwa Muasa Earthdam which had been allocated Kshs.200,000 but the amount spent was Kshs. 1.4 Million

b) Several Sand dams which had been allocated Kshs. 150,000 but the actual amount spent for each was Kshs. 350,000.

(iv) The former CDFC had bought 5 motorcycles and a Toyota Landcruiser for purposes of monitoring. The whereabouts of the motorcycles is not known save for one a KAX 856F which has been given to one Mackenzie Ndolo who is an artist in Wote Town but it operates without the No plate for people not to know. The Landcruiser has always been used for Personal work especilally by the CDFC Secretary and the Constituency Office Manager. A new Mororvehicle, a Toyota Hilux double cabin Reg No. GKA266U has also been spotted several times in the hands of the Constituency Office Manager doing his personal work. He has been using it when going home which is more than 100 Km from Wote almost on daily basis.

(v) Companies which have benefitted from Makueni CDf tenders are either owned by Cdf officials or proxies of the same. Some of them include;

a) Danma Construction which is owned by one Daniel Kivuva Masika, the Constituency Office Manager and also a Cdfc Official AC No. 0670292797325(Equity Bank, Wote). It has benefitted from more than Kshs. 8 Million worth of tenders.

b) Sifra General Merchants owned by two influential Councillors aligned to the MP, has also benefitted from for building sand dams amounting to more than Kshs. 1 Million. Ac No. 0670193166555(Eq­uity Bank, Wote)

c) Other questionable Companies that have immensely benefitted from Makueni Cdf include;

1. Ndaisi General Merchants worth more than Kshs. 6 Million of tenders.

2. Leopat Agencies worth more than Kshs. 2 Million of tenders.

3. Lorris Construction worth more than Kshs. 1 Million of tenders, Ac No. 0320293660949(Eq­uity Bank, Kariobangi)

These companies were crafted to specifically benefit from Cdf tenders. They were not prequalified by the District Tender Committee and therefore it means they don’t remit taxes to the Government yet they benefit from the same taxes. There has been absolute abuse of the procurement procedures. Thorough investigations need to be done to ascertain the owners and whose interest they serve because they seem to be the only beneficiaries.

(vi) Projects of Financial Years 2008/09 and 2009/10 have never been made public todate despite requests from stakeholders. This is against CDF Act and regulations because the public needs to know what is funded, amount allocated and the implementing procedure. WE feel that this has been deliberate due to the unfair distribution of resources done by this committee. In the FY 2008/09, Nguu Ward got an allocation of more than Kshs. 9 Million while the neighbouring Masumba Ward got only Kshs. 960,000 and Mavindini Ward got Kshs. 550,000. It is worthwhile to note that Cdf has been used to reward supporters and punish opposition.

(vii) Bursary disbursement has been another area where suppoters are being rewarded and non supporters being punished. Cdf officials and close confidants of the MP have awarded themselves bursaries at the expense of very poor, bright and needy students and children.

(viii) Legally Cdf ACS have the District Accountant (DA), The District Development Officer (DDO), The CDFC Chair or Secretary or Treasurer as signatories. This is not the Case because theres an illegal signatory in the name of Daniel Kivuva Masika who is neither the Chair, Secretary nor the Treasurer of the CDFC. This implies that massive corruption may be taking place.

AS the people of Makueni we want to state that we strongly support and need development that is participatory, inclusive, accountable, open and transparent but in the prevailing circumstances this is not realisable.

WE therefore pray that your esteemed Office puts on hold all disbursements to Makueni CDF and institute thorough investigations and audit of the fund with regard to the above given grounds. This needs to be done as fast as possible so as to deliver true development to the people of Makueni Constituency.

We hope your esteemed Office will act fast and give us a positive direction.

Yours Faithfully,

,

William Wambua Mulumba,

Chairperson MAPACA BOT.

On behalf of the Attached Signatories.

CC.1. The Permanent Secretary,

Ministry of Finance,

Treasury Building,

Nairobi.

2. The Permanent Secretary,

Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030,

Treasury Building,

Nairobi.

3. The Kenya Anti Corruption Commission,

Integrity Centre,

Valley Road, Nairobi.

What is the issue driving sex scandals in the Catholic Church?

By Archbishop Daniel Kasomo

M

andatory Celibacy is the issue be­hind all the sex scandals faced by the Catholic Church. The bish­ops know this, but they do not have the courage to say it in public. How­ever Some Bishops, Priests and Lay people in Africa, America, Europe and Australia have pointed out the need for res­to­ration of optional celi­bacy and Married Priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. The possibility of married priests and restoration of optional celibacy for the Roman Catholic Church should at least be up for dis­cussion. It’s more important to have good married priests than to have many celibate ho­mo­sexual and child mo­lesters. A shame and scandal to the Church.

Forced celibacy brings with it sexual frustration which then find in­appro­priate outlets. The ob­vious danger of forced celi­bacy is that it forces lust into obscure and terrible channels. The celibacy law obliges the priest to abstain from all forms of sexual activity, though their sexual im­pulses remain virulent, and thus the danger exists that these impulses might be shifted into a ta­boo zone and compensated for in abnormal ways.

Scandalous wrongs cannot be glossed over; we need a change of attitude that makes room for the truth and make celibacy op­tional. As we sympathize with sex abuse vic­tims in the Catholic Church. It has been pointed out in the mass me­dia that a Massive sexual abuse of chil­dren and ado­les­cents and ho­mo­sexu­ality by Catholic cler­gymen has been reported from the United States, from Ireland, from Australia, from Africa, from Kenya, from Ger­many and now from Vatican the home of Roman Catho­lic Church. As similar scan­dals be­gin to explode in Holland, Swit­zer­land, and Austria. . No one disputes the data now; ev­ery­one disputes the nature of the problem. And worse than that, the data simply keeps piling up on all sides. And you know what celi­bacy is the Issue.

This represents an enormous image loss for the Catholic Church and spot­lights the pro­found crisis in which this church is caught. Pope Benedict XVI deserves credit for breaking the wall of silence, and for dem­on­strating that no abuser will be protected on his watch. We en­courage him to go further and declare that celibacy is the issue.

Priestly ‑celibacy is “not a dogma” and its usefulness could be “re­flected on” in the Church. Well, the golden calf of man­datory celi­bacy needs to be struck down. The pope and the curia need to stop hiding behind the fairytale lan­guage that de­scribes the so called perfect celi­bacy to which priests are called. The first priests were married and it was normal for priests to be married. Jesus chose married men who loved their wives and continued to raise their children. This nonsense about the apostles having to give up sexual contact with their wives is totally unsubstantiated, another fairytale from the celibate mindset of the curia in the Vatican. It is better to learn a lesson from Jesus by making celibacy optional than to be taught a lesson by sex scan­dals of the clergy.

There was a married priesthood when the De­posit of Faith was set. It is supported by Scrip­ture. The Church had no right to change what Christ had blessed and allowed. The Church has sinned by in­sti­tuting this false and illicit celi­bacy re­quirement on ev­ery Latin Rite priest. Celi­bacy must be freely chosen and it is not freely chosen when it be­comes a job re­quirement as it is in the Latin Rite. The pope and the curia con­tinue to sin by supporting this illicit man­date. Marriage is a sac­rament, celibacy is not. The relationship of this world-wide sexual abuse of chil­dren by so called perfectly celibate priests needs to be examined. But first, correct the church’s abuse of the priesthood which makes celi­bacy greater than the priesthood.

The bishops’ denial that there is any connection between the celi­bacy rule and the abuse prob­lem can only confirm their criticism. The pre­vailing prac­tice of Episcopal cover-ups, of moving offenders from one parish to an­other rather than ex­pose them either to legal accountabil­ity or to moral cen­sure in the public arena is part of the problem. The question is, “What did they know and when did they know it?” In other words, were they involved in the cover up, or were they just clueless bishops.

The bish­ops have accepted enough re­spon­si­bility. Of course, it is good to hear that wholehearted mea­sures are now being taken to bring cases of abuse to light and to prevent them in the future. Nev­er­theless, one must ask, do not the bishops themselves bear re­spon­si­bility for the decades-long practice of covering up cases of abuse, often taking no more se­rious measures than re­lo­cating the perpetrator under the veil of secrecy? Have the cover-up spe­cialists of the past suddenly be­come credible un-coverers? Must not independent commissions be es­tab­lished to deal with such cases? From the beginning, the “sex scandal and abuse crisis” has ac­tually been an in­ter­locking set of two prob­lems: the abuse committed by some priests, and the ad­min­is­trative fail­ures of some bish­ops who should have known better to deal with the problem by simply rec­ommending for celi­bacy to be made optional.

The Catholic Church is seemingly endless abuse scan­dal because of forced celibacy. Seemingly endless because although the cases of abuse are all relatively re­cent, there’s no way of knowing just how far back this abuse had been part of the Church under-culture but most likely after the imposition of forced celi­bacy. Bish­ops and car­di­nals can be forced to step down as it happened in Central African Re­pub­lic, Ireland and other places but still that is part of the prob­lem. The solution is optional celibacy. This is running away from the prob­lem, let them stay put and call for Vatican III and invite Married Roman Catholic Bish­ops and vote for optional celibacy because celi­bacy is the issue. A semi­nary in Europe was closed down because celibacy was the issue. Ma­jority of the seminarians were ho­mo­sexuals.

Switching off the Bishops who know where the shoe pinches will not help. As long as the perception is that the Catho­lic Church has fixed its priests’ problem but not its bish­ops’ problem, many people will see that as a job half done. So jus­tice in this matter should not be applied se­lec­tively but let us make celibacy op­tional for all the clergy. Sus­pending priests and forcing Bishops to resign will not solve the prob­lem but the solution is to make celibacy op­tional. If all priests who have children in their celibate life were to be sus­pended or defrocked many par­ishes will be closed down here in Kenya. Suspension, ex­commu­ni­cations, defrocking, la­icizing and name calling is part of the problem the problem is man­datory celibacy and the solution is optional celibacy. Let the priests with se­cret Love affairs stand up and be counted and stay put we solve the prob­lem within the Catholic Church not out­side the Catholic Church because where Peter is there is the church. Celibacy is the Issue.

Ngilu's action finally leads to water in Maruba

This is an account of a parliamentary question by Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka on water supply. The Anchor, in its quest of keeping you informed brings the report-verbatim.

''National Assembly Official Report

Tuesday, 7th October, 2008

The House met at 2.30 p.m.

[Mr. Speaker in the Chair]

CHRONIC WATER SHORTAGE

IN MACHA­KOS TOWN

Dr. Munyaka asked the Minister for Water and Irrigation:-

(a) whether she is aware that there is a chronic water shortage in Machakos Town;

(b) what she is doing about the water ven­dors who are now supplying the resi­dents with untreated water at high cost; and,(c) what steps the Gov­ernment will take to end the chronic water shortage.

The Minister for Water and Irri­gation (Mrs. Ngilu): Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply.

(a) Yes, I am aware that there is a water shortage in Machakos Town, caused by the demand out-stripping the supply.

(b) However, I would like to in­form the hon. Member that we have re­leased funds to

construct the new Maruba Dam, which will provide adequate wa­ter to the resi­dents of Machakos Town. My Ministry will deal with the vendors to ensure that they are cer­tified. They will then be monitored to ensure that they supply quality wa­ter.

(c) The Ministry has set aside Kshs250 million to complete that dam. This will provide water to the residents of Macha­kos Town at the rate of 10 million litres per day.

Dr. Munyaka: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I want to thank the Minister for that very good an­swer. I also want to thank the Gov­ernment for considering the plight of the residents of Macha­kos Town. However, I would like the Minister to assure this House that this water will not be diverted to other areas like the Nol Turesh Water Project and find its way to some flower farms.

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I can assure the hon. Member that the water will be used by the residents of Machakos Town. How­ever, should he find some people stealing the water and di­verting it to flower farms, he should notify me and I will take the appro­priate action.

Mr. C. Kilonzo: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Min­is­ter is quite aware that one of the biggest cen­tres in my constituency is Matuu Town. Over the years, there has been no wa­ter in that town.

Could the Minister consider Matuu Town to be supplied with water from Masinga Dam?

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, the hon. Mem­ber is right. Matuu Town has no wa­ter. We have negotiated with one of our part­ners and we have set aside some money to provide water to the residents of Matuu Town. This work will begin in the next fi­nan­cial year and Matuu Town and its environs will get water.

Mr. Mwaura: Mr. Speaker, Sir, right now, the residents of Macha­kos Town are very thirsty. In the circumstances, could the Minister institute some measures to en­sure that the residents of Machakos Town are supplied with water today or tomorrow? We have facilities and per­sonnel lying idle in our barracks!

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I am aware that Machakos Town resi­dents are very thirsty and as a result— Before the dam is com­pleted by May 2009, we have put aside Kshs6.5 million that is going to en­sure that all the bore­holes within Macha­kos Town are working, and what­ever kiosk that will have water will be opened. Otherwise, there will be no need to use the barracks.

Mr. Mbadi: Mr. Speaker, Sir, I wanted the Minister to address the question of the dis­tricts lacking water engineers and only having water inspectors. Why is the Min­is­try still sending money for de­vel­opment to the districts which have no engineers and not con­soli­dating this money [Mr. Mbadi]

to the regional water boards which have engineers? This will ensure that the money is utilised effec­tively, be­cause at the moment.

Mr. Speaker: Madam Minister! Mr. Mbadi, you have asked your question already!

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, hon. Mem­bers are aware that we passed a law in this House, the Water Act 2002, and we are still imple­menting the re­forms according to this Act that we passed. So, in some dis­tricts, we have water engineers while in others we have wa­ter companies. There­fore, we are still trying to harmonise the work of the Min­is­try, the work of the water com­pa­nies and the work of the wa­ter ser­vices boards that are spread out in all the regions. That is the rea­son!

Dr. Munyaka: Mr. Speaker, Sir, could the Min­is­ter give the estimated time of completion of that water project? Could she also assure Machakos resi­dents that they will be the ones offering the labour to the project?

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, by the way, when I launched this water project, the hon. Mem­ber was not there. I am sure I wrote a letter to him, asking him to come and say everything he wanted to say to his people.

However, I want to say here that I have said that the local labour must come from Macha­kos Town and the work will be com­pleted, indeed, in the next six to eight months. Work has al­ready started.

Mr. Speaker: Very well, Madam

Minister! I would have liked to see the Mem­ber for Machakos Town. Is he in the House?

(Dr. Munyaka stood up in his place) You are not so dusty, yet the Minister has said that the people of Machakos Town are dusty!

(Laughter)

Next Question!

Mrs. Ngilu: Mr. Speaker, Sir, Macha­kos Town people should not think that what you have

said is what I said. I did not say they are “dusty”. Indeed, Machakos Town people are very clean, but they are thirsty and we are going to pro­vide them with water so that we quench their thirst.

Mr. Speaker: Very well, Madam Minister!

Focus shifts to the capacity of Machakos

Water Company to deliver services effectively

S

O where is the water now? That is the inevitable question that Machakos Residents are posing after Maruba dam became overflowing with water.

All eyes are now directed to the Macha­kos Water and Sewerage Com­pany to manage not just the Maruba dam water but also the Nol-Turesh Pipeline water.

Residents say there has not been change in water supply trends since the dam became full and no doubt focus is shifting to the water company’s ca­pacity to manage the available water.

“The crisis in Machakos town now is not the availability of water. It is its man­agement. Now the gov­ernment has done its bit and it is upon the water company to perform”, said Mohammed Ibrahim, a resident of the town.

Pressure is therefore mounting on the water company management to show that it is up to the task. The pressure comes at the company went through a Rapid Results Initiative that targeted mass cut-offs, zoning of the area and the recruitment of a CEO to manage the company.

The company has to address a long list of issues including staff who collect and pocket revenue, unpaid water bills, outright theft of water by among others, key businessmen and residents, com­peting water cartels, leaking pipes and unaccounted for water(UFO) to the tune of 70 percent.

Residents say corruption among staff of the company is the biggest bottle­neck and wonder why they are retained to mismanage water.

The chairman of the Machakos Water and Sewerage Company Mr Leonard Munyao Kamba told The Anchor that the new CEO Mr Steve Nyaa was soon rolling out a management strategy to provide water to Machakos Town.

The strategy is being hampered by dilapidated pipes that have frustrated pumping of water from Maruba to the town and old Iveti reservoir. Another bottleneck has been a blockage at Maruba intake, that has been resolved by the construction of a By-pass to the treatment works.

If the current team is unable to manage the water, Tanathi Water Services Board may have to seek a new Water Service Provider for Machakos or overhaul the current Water Service Provider as it has done in Mwala district and is about to do in Kan­gundo where the WSP have been re-organized to more productivity.

Meanwhile, the rehabilitated Maruba dam in Machakos has suddenly become like a tourists attraction.

Scores of curious residents have been flocking the site, about five kilometers from Machakos town to have a glimpse of the facility.

This followed reports attributed to Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka that the dam’s spill way wall had been washed away following heavy rains pounding the area. Dr.Munyaka was quoted warning those living below the dam to prepare to evacuate as the wall had cracked.The Engineer who supervised the con­struction of the kshs.70million spill way wall Eng.J.Kiptala said the facility has a 50 year quarantee from this year.

He described the alleged “leakage” from the wall as normal and assured there was no cause for alarm.

“The openings are called wipe holes and do not pose any threat to the 8-metres tall spill way wall”, he said.

More people among them, former Kibwezi MP Kalembe Ndile,the chairman of the Macha­kos Water and Sewerage Company Munyao Kamba and his management were at the site.

The dam has since filled to capacity, giving Machakos residents who have been going without water for months during the recent dry season a sigh of relief.

Munyao cautioned leaders against making inflammatory remarks about the project as this would lead to unnec­essary panic and confusion. “This water does not belong to any individual but to Machakos town residents”,he said.

FEATURE

Meet Jane, the Mwingi girl thrust

into rare heroism at only four years

When 29 –year old single mother, Peninah Mwinzi, gave birth to her third born baby, Joseph Munywoki in 2009 she did not imag­ine how she could rise to the challenge of bringing up her family.

Her first born, Jane was 4, the sec­ond born, Muu’wo Mutavanya was 2. Ms Peninah was unemployed but knew the family responsibility lied wholly in her meek hands.

Peninah, from Mui location, Mwingi East was a casual labourer at Mwingi Town but had to leave her job the moment labour pains struck.

The fact that Peninah could not afford to pay for a maid to take care of her children as she resumed the work, gave her sleepless nights.

Seven days after the delivery, she de­cided to leave the baby under the care of the first born Jane-only 4 years.

Faith and went away the whole day searching for available job oppor­tu­nities. She was lucky to find a job at Kitui Millers Limited, at Mwingi Town .

“I had boiled enough milk to take the baby for a day. I had confidence that my four year old daughter would feed the baby.,” she narrates.

When Peninah came back in the evening she was embroiled in a con­flict with her neighbours at the plot she was staying in at Mwingi Town, who came to her as a group pestering her with questions as to why she left the baby with her daughter as young as four.

“They all wanted to beat me up but I ex­plained to them that I had to leave the baby anyhow because I had no option,” she says.

But when she entered her room she found everything in order. The baby was safe in the hands of Jane.”My daugh­ter fed it. When it cried she cheered it up, and when it felt sleepy she laid it on the mat,” ex­plains Peninah.

The following day Peninah had to wake up again at dawn to go for her job af­ter cooking enough food to take them for a day. Jane was given-or even left with the same responsibility to feed her young sib­lings.

Still every one in the plot was opposed with the mother’s idea of leaving the now eight –days old baby under the care of its four –year old sis­ter.

Every day Peninah left home at dawn and came back in the evening around 5:30, apart from few days when she could rush back at home during lunch hours to breastfeed it when her duties were mini­mal.

She was paid according to the amount of work she performed which could earn her between Ksh100 and Ksh250 per day.

She did the same every day until her neighbours gave in.

On the other hand Jane had to sac­ri­fice her time to play with the other kids and ensured safety of her sib­lings.

“When the young baby was about a month old, the same neighbours who used to criticize me were now praising my daugh­ter for her emeging heroic stature,” she re­calls.

Jane did not attempt lo leave the baby alone to join other kids in their play. She demonstrated a rare character, and was equally sensitive as she handled it. “I even doubt whether my daugh­ter re­sponded to calls of nature,” Peninah jokes.

As Jane took care of the baby she also had to make sure that her 2 –year old brother ate to his satisfaction the food that their mother had cooked for them before she left for job every day.

Again the axe fell on Peninah on Feb­ruary this year because there were no available jobs at the millers, where several other workers were also dis­missed.

She also found another job where she worked in shambas for a month.

She is now working as a maid at Kalisasi location, Mwingi district, about three ki­lo­me­ters from Mwingi Town where she lives with her family. She is charged with a responsibility to per­form house­hold chores.

The baby boy is now one year old. Muu’wo is 3. Jane is now five, but tes­tifies that she had been taking care of her brother when he was as younger as 7 days old.

”I have been feeding my young brother Jose (short for Joseph) while my mother was away for job,” says Jane. They are now living in a happy family be­cause her new employer provides them with food and pays her Ksh2, 500 per month.

Voter listing shock hits Mwingi North

By John Musembi

I

NSECURITY in Vice President Ka­lonzo Musyoka’s Mwingi North Constituency is likely to affect the on going reg­is­tration of voters.

Consequently, the Interim In­de­pen­dent Electoral Commission (IIEC) is worried that reaching their target of 80,000 voters may be impossible and will leave many disenfranchised.

The deputy constituency registrar Collins Mutua says the exercise is dogged by insecurity and prevalence of invalid Identity (ID) cards that can not be used to get the electors’ cards.

He said the registration exercise is fur­ther complicated by the blatant re­fusal by members of a local Kavonokya religious sect to not only acquire the electors’ cards but the na­tional ID cards.

Mutua said insecurity in the pe­riph­eral areas where Kyuso and Tseikuru dis­tricts share a common border with Bura district had affected the voter reg­is­tration due to banditry while many eligible adults were ignorant of the importance of getting IDs in areas like Mukong’a in Mumoni district.

Mutua’s remarks support the lam­en­tation by the VP that about 9,000 of his constituents were unlikely to ac­quire voters’ cards as they held old invalided ID cards. Kalonzo’s figure is indeed con­ser­vative.

Mutua says the people in the con­stituency who were unlikely to ac­quire the voters’ cards due to lack of valid ID cards were estimated at over 25,000. He said they included 11,000 who held the old IDs and the rest were eligible youths who were yet to ac­quire ID cards.

Worse still, the officer in-charge of the Mwingi registration bureau Festus Bosire disclosed that that up to 40 per­cent of eligible voters in Mwingi did not have valid ID cards or did not have them altogether. He however pointed out that in order to reach such people his office was carrying out mobile reg­is­tration in far off areas.

But his Kyuso district counterpart Moses Ndambuki said he was in a di­lemma because he did not have a vehicle to carry out mobile reg­is­tration. Saying that his officers only served people who visited the offices, he added that the number of freshers seeking ID cards and those seeking re­placement had shot up recently.

“In recent times an incredible 4000 residents have come to replace old ID cards. It appears that they have re­alized the importance of getting the new gen­erations IDs as a prerequisite to getting the voters’ cards,” said Ndambuki

As he concluded celebrating his 25 years in parliament with a party at his Tseikuru home village, Musyoka asked the ministry of immigration to seek fast and efficient ways of re­placing the old IDs cards in order to enable the holders get voters’ cards and participate in the coming constitutional referendum.

“We are also faced with another prob­lem at around Waita area where members of the Kavonokya sect cannot register as voters as they do not even have national identity cards. We really do not know what to do with the sect whose members are in thousands,” la­mented Mutua.

He however said that his office had sought the indulgence of the National registration bureau in the area so that it could fast track the issuance of IDs to eligible youths and the replacement of the old IDs to enable the owners to acquire the voters’ cards.

Farmers shun NCPB, traders reap big as maize trades cheaply

By Anchor Reporter

A Kilo of maize is trading for a song in many parts of Ukambani. A general sur­vey shows that peasant farmers are selling Maize at Sh 8 per kilo.

This means that a 90kg bag is fetches Sh 720. Traders in many shopping cen­ters are taking advantage of this windfall and are mopping up maize from the farmers and storing it to make a kill at the National Cereals and Pro­duce Board where a bag attracts Sh 2,300.

A survey by the Ministry of Agriculture in Mwala dis­cov­ered that farmers in parts of the district were selling the cereals for as little as Sh. 8 per kilo

District Agriculture Officer Mr. James Kariuki told the Mwala District Executive Committee that the middlemen had flooded Masii, Makutano and Mwala lo­cations in pursuant of the booming business.

He said in Masii, price of the commodity had slightly improved from SH 8 to be­tween SH 13 to 15 per kilo, which was still too low to benefit farmers. moment.

This comes as the government urges farmers in to stop selling their maize at throw away prices to middlemen.

Mwala District commissioner Ms Flo­rence Amoit once again directed those in­tending to dispose off their surplus stocks to do so through National Cerealsand Produce Board where pricing was reasonable.

Much as the NCPB deal sounds attractive, some factors are hindering peasant farmers from taking their maize to the stores.

First, local farmers’ maize has not dried up to the required moisture levels set by the NCPB and as such, their maize has no place at the stores.

Again, NCPB still operates in a very un­attractive mode where farmers deliver maize and go home without cash as opposed to a situation where middle men pay cash that goes straight to the peasant’s pocket.

“ The type of farmers in this locality are not those with huge cash reserves. Their needs need instant cash and they go for it wherever they find it. In fact when the DCs appeal to them not to sell maize to local traders, they think the ad­min­is­trators are insane”, said Lee Ngui, a trader at Matuu.

This development comes as it emerged that local NCPB depots have been using cash set aside for local farmers to buy maize imported from Uganda by local traders.

Standing notoriously in this is the Macha­kos NCPB depot where a Masii based trader brought not less than 10 trailers of maize from Busia and sold it off, purporting to have brought in local maize.

The DC said she had received reports that some of the middlemen were storing the cereals haphazardly on cement floors which was a recipe for aflatoxin and or­dered the department of public health to crack­down on buyers found dis­re­garding health requirements on storage of the cereals.

Else where, District Maendeleo Ya Wanawake organization chairlady Ms Mary Mwikali has petitioned the government to provide the farmers with transport to de­liver their produce to the NCPB depot in Masii town.

She said most farmers were being forced to deal with the middlemen because no public service vehicles plied their ar­eas owing to poor road network.

Makueni Prison team turns odds into realities

By Daniel Kituku

T

urning odds into realities is their dictum. Prison warders in Makueni prison are con­verting idle resources and wasted man power into use, generating revenue for government and food for the inmates at the prison.

The G.K prison situated two kilometers away from Wote town the Makueni dis­trict headquarters; the prison accommo­dates bee hives of agricultural activities in its 50 hectare piece of land at its new site.

The prison established 2003, and then housed at a small piece of land in the town’s suburbs, was turning odds into re­alities after acquiring the 50 hectares of government land.

The officer in charge Mr. Kennedy Locho is spear­heading a number of de­vel­opment projects at the new site from substantial locally mobilized resources to augment lim­ited gov­ernment assistance to the prison.

Despite green thriving farm, the site has a new face from up­coming prison ad­min­is­tration block, prisoners’ cells and staff houses under construction. “We have acquired most of these building materials locally with a help of labor force from 126 inmates at the prison” said Mr.Locho.

The inmates have helped in making bricks used in building 16 rooms staff houses ready to be occupied by war­dens. They also provide manual and technical con­struction work under supervision of a warden, chief officer II Mr. Ngele, who also has technical construction knowledge.

The upcoming building at the site is just a tip of iceberg to numerous income gen­er­ating projects at the site. A 40 hect­are blossoming sorghum plantation at the compound catches eyes of passersby as they pose to witness good work at the prison.

“We are geared for hundreds of tones of sorghum harvest in the next two weeks for ready market at Kenya Brewery lim­ited” noted Mr. Locho as he took reporters around the plantation.

The brewer approached the institution sometimes last year before start of re­cent past October-December rainy season in the region, where they agreed on the sor­ghum farming deal in return for rev­enue. “The company supplied us with seeds and is set to come back for the harvest soon. Thank god we had ad­equate rains” Mr. Locho noted. The Kenya Breweries uses the sorghum to produce beer and a huge demand for the beer ingredient, coupled with its scar­city, leaves the company with no option than lobby for its production, by supporting potential individual farmers and institutions.

“The barley once sold, the cash will go to government as revenue though Appro­priation- In-Aid account” he added.

The KBL helps few other individual farmers in Ukambani region to cultivate the barley for the company. The barley can also be used for food. However the suitability of the local climate notwithstanding, it is not an attractive crop to local farmers due poor attitude and lack of market.

At the Prison, besides the sorghum plan­tation, mature maize crops spreading into six hectares farm is yet another out­standing feature. The grain is used to feed inmates at the prison. Several other crops are also found at the compound. They include sunflower, cassava, grafted mangoes, oranges, lemons, bananas, paw­paw, cowpeas, beans and vegetables among them Sukumawiki.

The crops aside, the institution has three dairy cows and three bulls which help in cultivation, along side the inmate labour force.

“Water supply for farming remains a ma­jor setback especially when prolonged drought hits the region, and we have plans for a bore hole to enable us practice some drip irrigation” Mr. Locho noted.

“We are set to occupy the new building soon, already arrangement for a colorful official opening ceremony are at top gear and I will soon invite you” Mr. Locho told the reporters.

Machakos committees wake up

Newspaper story arouses civil servants from slumber

By Martin Masai

C

IVIL Servants in Machakos have revived crucial instruments of moni­toring de­vel­opment that have been dead for nearly two years.

The revival follows a story in The Anchor. The dead committees in­cluded the Dis­trict Development Committee (DDC), District Investment Committee (DIC), District En­vi­ronment Committee (DEC) and the District Management Unit (DMU) which evaluates and monitors the imple­men­tation of government projects. Citizens suffer and public funds are at a risk of outright theft whenever such committees die, leaving departmental heads to run public funds exclusively.

Members of Parliament, Mayors and Chairmen of County Councils, Church, NGO and other representatives tra­di­tionally attend such meetings to provide a sem­blance of public par­tici­pation in meetings where im­por­tant decisions on how their taxes are to be used are made.

They have remained moribund without an explanation forthcoming to citizens. Even the local Machakos Residents Asso­ciation, for one reason or another has not both­ered to follow up on the state of affairs at the government offices to notice that most civil servants bother no more in informing citi­zens what they are doing in their min­is­tries.

A survey has revealed that the committees have had few or no meetings in the past one year resulting in a dev­as­tating effect on Government de­vel­opment agenda in the area.

For example, the DDC last met on April 9, 2009. The next meeting was sched­uled for September 3, 2009 but it was never held and there was no reason given. This means that the role that the DDC ought to perform has collapsed and no known au­thority in Machakos has been per­forming those responsibilities.

The DIC last met on February 26, 2009 and since then no meetings have been held while the DMU was the first to hi­ber­nate as records show that the last meeting was held early 2008. They did not meet last year and there are no in­di­cations they are meeting this year.

This trend has been hitherto unknown in Machakos District, arguably one of the busiest districts in Eastern Province. Ob­servers say the situation has de­vel­oped under the watch of Machakos District Commissioner Bernard Kinyua.

However the Civil Servants have some­what been meeting under the aus­pices of District Steering Group, which can hardly slumber due to the food situation in the district and the interest it arouses. The DSG met this month.

The District Executive Committee, an arm of the DDC has convened the first meeting of the year during which the District Officer One Mr Mr. David Wanyonyi, representing Machakos District Commissioner Bernard Kinyua told members that the story had served as a wake-up call for Civil Ser­vants in the district.It took place as Scheduled on April 22. The next DEC meetings fall on May 10, June 17, July 22 and August 19 in a bid to ensure each other committee met each month. The Anchor will keep a keen eye on these schedules to ensure that public servants do what they came to do in Macha­kos and the region in general.Failure to hold these meetings means that Departmental Heads carry out programs their own way and in many in­stances, money planned for de­vel­opment is lost in ghost projects. A bigger opportunity for theft of public funds has been presented by the CDF whose key official is the Dis­trict De­vel­opment Officer- the DDC sec­re­tary. Such opportunity can well be boosted by the death of THE DDC or any of its other arms.

Research on theft of public resources shows that when public officials work in secrecy, citizens stand to lose as they re­main unaware of the resources that the State has availed for use to reverse the advances of poverty among them.This finding has led to formulation of strat­egies like the Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plan( LASDAP) in the case of Local Authorities. LASDAP is a public participatory process that involves residents in a Local Au­thority that requires full disclosure of the re­sources available and how they are to be used to fulfill the needs of citizens.

Forester in trouble over 'secret' KKV projects in Mwala District

By Anchor Reporter

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wala district commissioner Ms Florence Amoit has criti­cized the forestry de­partment for implementing Kazi Kwa Vijana [KKV] projects without involving the district management committee.

The DC wondered why the head of Kenya Forest Serve zone for the larger Macha­kos re­gion had cho­sen to side­line the committee, yet it was overall in de­ciding how the projects are to be imple­mented.

‘’As per the guide­lines from the Prime Minister’s office, it is the re­spon­si­bility of the committee to agree on how and where the projects are to be un­der­taken but the Macha­kos Kenya Forest Service office which is in-charge of Mwala district had chosen to go it alone,’’ she queried when chairing dis­trict executive committee meeting in her office.

She was reacting after she learned from the KFS assistant zone manager, Mr. Mburu, who had attended the meeting for the first time presented a list of 7 ongoing projects under the youth ini­tiative for which she was unaware.

These include afforestation campaign at the 16 and 5 hectares of public land in Kibauni and Yathui divisions, where planting of 100,000 and 20,000tree seedlings is underway respectively.

Mr. Mburu said an­other 18,000 tree seed­lings are to be planted at a 5 hect­are piece of land within Kimatu dam and an­other 5,000 seed­lings at Kiteta area cov­ering 5 hectares also. The dc said all this was being done with­out the committee’s knowl­edge.

Ms Amoit accused the head of the zonal office of ignoring invitation letters to attend the dis­trict KKV man­agement meetings to de­lib­erate on planned ac­tivities.

She warned the officer in charge that he will be held per­sonally accountable should things go wrong with re­gard to man­agement of the KKV cash and siting of the projects.. Mr. Mburu said the dis­trict had a forest cover of 3 per cent which is going to go up as result of the KKV tree planting cam­paign. He blamed per­sis­tent drought for the low forest cover, saying trees found it diffi­cult to survive due to lack of wa­ter.

He said after becoming parastal, KFS had un­der­gone re­struc­turing which cul­mi­nated in new forest management units, namely con­ser­vancy representing province and zone rep­re­senting regions of combined dis­tricts. Conservancies are headed by head of conservancy and zone by head of zone contrary to forest officer which was in place in the past, he con­cluded.

Kitui County begins work on model Market

By Boniface Mulu

The Kitui County Coun­cil is de­vel­oping Kabati market to be a modern market.

Kitui County Council Chairman Nzyoni Manguye and County Clerk George Wambua have commissioned work for the market, billed as first of its kind in the County.

Mr Wambua said that the modern Kabati market is the first of its kind in the larger Kitui Dis­trict. He said that their vision is to make the Kitui County Council the best council in Kenya by 2016.

The County Clerk said that the council had undertaken various projects within its ju­ris­diction in the last two years. “Currently, the coun­cil has entered its third wave of the Rapid Results Initiative (RRI),” Wambua added. Mr Mang’uye said that the Kabati market is going to be con­structed within a period of one and a half years.

But the contractor, Mr. Kamawe Nugi, assured the public that the con­struction work is going to take be­tween eight months to one year. Mang’uye assured the contractor of the Kitui County Council’s total support. The chairman warned that the council is ready to deal with anyone who is trying to undermine it. All the 39 Kitui County Councillors and the council trea­surer Alfred Kitoo were present.

The contractor was accompanied by among others the director of the Thika based Ngarena Investment Limited, Mr. Michael Kimani. The Ngarena In­vestment Limited are the civil and building contractors. The Ki­tui West MP Charles Nyamai was represented to the function by the local CDF project manager Benjamin Mutisya Mwanzia.Meanwhile, the Council is in the processing of mapping areas in its jurisdiction with mineral potential so that the resource could be tapped, according to Mr Wambua.

He said Kitui district was rich in minerals whose potential has not been tapped hence need for the council to pump in money to exploit the resource in addition to improving its revenue base.

Speaking to reporters in his office, Wambua said huge deposits of lime­stone found in five locations in Mutomo district will greatly benefit from the resource.

The clerk added that gypsium , granite stones and iron ore were being been explored while geologists con­firmed to have hit huge deposits of coal in the Mui coal basin that straddles between Kitui and Mwingi districts.

He however said it was unfortunate for two giant cement manufacturers Bamburi and Athi River Mining to result to court for monopoly of lime­stone in Mutomo asserting that the move has delayed ex­ploi­tation of the mineral.

He said once the project takes off, the council revenue base will be im­proved while the land owners will be the major beneficiary as they will be direct share­holders.

Main stream media houses under fire

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MEDIA consultant, Mr. Frank Wanyama, has blasted media houses in Kenya for mistreating and frustrating correspondents.

He regretted that the media houses are only out to enrich themselves through the sweat of the correspondents.

He asked the government to protect them (the correspondents) against exploitations by their employers. Wanyama hit out at the media houses for not appreciating and recognizing the work done for them by corre­spon­dents. “The correspondents contribute 95 per cent of the stories that are read in the national media. But they are paid less than one per cent of the money made by the media com­pa­nies through their (the corre­spon­dents) work,” the media consultant complained.

He said that the correspondents are a very vital ingredient in the media industry and that they must be recognised and valued by their em­ployers. Wanyama was lecturing hundreds of participants during a two-day training workshops organised for journalists from across the country by the Media Diversity Centre in part­nership with the Kenya Corre­spon­dents Asso­ciation at the Silver Springs Hotel in Nairobi .

The workshops were opened on Monday by the African Women and Child Fea­tures Services Executive Director, Mrs. Rosemary Okello Orlale. Wanyama said that the media houses are able to pay correspondents but they do not pay them.

He said that the media houses ad­min­is­trators among them the editors are very rich. “The rich people are greedy,” he added. Wanyama re­gretted that there are some corre­spon­dents who have worked for about 20 years in the country but they have never been recognised by their media houses.

He said that a media houses should employ a correspondent permanently after he/she has served for it for at least five years. Other lecturers included Dr. Joyce Nyairo, Kwamchetsi Makokha, Jane Godia and Dr. Mzalendo Kibunja. Wilson Ugangu, Atsango Chesoni, Alex Kitua and Aggrey Mutali among others also lectured. The Kenya Corre­spon­dents Association chairman, Mr. William Oloo Janak, was among the participants.

Matungulu witch doctor faces wrath of residents

By Gastone Valusi

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witch doctor was arrested in connection with death of a local pastor in Matungulu District.

The witch doctor was rescued from the members of the public in Nguluni town by administration police from nguluni chief’s camp who moved fast and saved the man from the public. The irate members of the public had started stoning and beating him for allegedly poisoning George Nandwa.

Mr Nandwa, the pastor in charge of United International Life Ministry of Churches[UILM]at Nguluni, is said to have fallen sick on Monday night and went to the witch doctor, who is a neighbour where he was given herbal concoction believed to have been toxic but died on his way to Kangundo General Hospital. His body is lying at Kangundo District Hospital mor­tuary.

Following the pastor’s death members of the public hunted down the witch doctor accusing him of the death of their pastor.

The Kangundo OCPD Isaiah Odhiambo confirmed the death and said that the police are interrogating the witch doctor. Mr Odhiambo, also warned the public not to take the law in their on hands but to report such incidents to the police.

He hailed the Kitui County Council and the Local Government Ministry for choosing the Kabati market to be a modern mar­ket. “If it was not for the Kitui County Council and the Local Government Ministry, this project could not have been here,” Nyenze said.

He asked the local people not to in­ter­fere with the project politically. He called upon them to give the con­tractor good co­op­eration. Nyenze also asked the con­tractor not to be biased while working with his workers at the con­struction site (the Kabati market). Nyenze at the same time said that they did not want political in­ter­ference with the Kitui County Coun­cil. “We hear that the Kitui County Council Clerk George Wambua is being removed from Kitui politically,” he said. Nyenze highly lauded Wambua for his exemplary ser­vice as the Kitui County Council Clerk.

EX-Minister Nyenze to sue MP over Kitui West CDF

By Roslyne Zawadi

FORMER cabinet minister Francis Mwanzia Nyenze has complained over alleged mis­man­agement of the Kitui West CDF money.

He pointed accusing fingers at the area Member of Parliament Charles Mutisya Nyamai and threatened to take him to court.

He complained that the MP is biased in the distribution of the CDF money in the constituency. “The MP is favouring his Yatta home division. We are bitter over the un­fair dis­tri­bution of the funds by the MP. We want fair dis­tri­bution of resources because that is your money,” an enraged Nyenze told the Kitui West constituents.

He called for an audit of the area’s CDF. He was speaking at a public rally at Kabati market within the Kitui West constituency during the cer­emony of the official handing-over to the con­tractor the Kabati market site. The contractor is a Nairobi based Ar­chi­tect. The mar­ket is being con­structed to be a modern one by the government at a cost of 70 million shillings through the Kitui County Council.

Nyenze, who is the former Kitui West MP, complained that Nyamai is maginalising the constituency’s two other divisions namely Matinyani and Mutonguni.

The former minister is a director with the Water and Irrigation Ministry. He announced that the government is to construct a borehole at the Kabati mar­ket so as to tackle water prob­lems there. “I talked with the Water Min­is­ter Charity Kaluki Ngilu today and she told me that the government has already set aside a total of 2.2 billion shillings for water at the Kabati market,” Nyenze said.

He thanked Ngilu for having appointed him a director with the ministry. Nyenze assured the people of the entire larger Kitui District that the government is going to supply them with sufficient water.

He asked Nyamai to be attending Kitui West constituency’s leaders’ meetings for the good of the area. He said: “Honourable Nyamai is the sitting MP and I am the standing MP.” The former minister further supported Kenya ’s draft constitution saying it is good for Kenyans.

He hailed the Kitui County Council and the Local Government Ministry for choosing the Kabati mar­ket to be a modern market. “If it was not for the Kitui County Council and the Local Government Ministry, this project could not have been here,” Nyenze said.

He asked the local people not to interfere with the project politically. He called upon them to give the con­tractor good cooperation. Nyenze also asked the contractor not to be biased while working with his workers at the construction site (the Kabati market). Nyenze at the same time said that they did not want political in­ter­ference with the Kitui County Council. “We hear that the Kitui County Council Clerk George Wambua is being removed from Kitui politically,” he said. Nyenze highly lauded Wambua for his exemplary service as the Kitui County Council Clerk.

Defiler,65, jailed for 30 years in Makueni

By Daniel Kituku in Wote

A 65 year old man who was caught defiling a 15 year old mentally challenged girl was sentenced 30 years im­pris­onment by a Makueni court.

The accused, Gideon Ndisya Ngumbi had denied defiling the girl on July 2 2009 at Ngele village, Ukia location in Makueni district.

The court heard that the accused met the complainant in company of other two girls at Mukuyuni trading centre in the location. He then ensnared the two girls with money sending them to buy sweets, leaving behind the mentally handi­capped girl, he then lured her to a nearby maize plan­tation.

A witness told the court that she saw the girl being led sus­pi­ciously to the shamba by the old man and imme­di­ately alerted her mother, who re­sponded imme­di­ately.

By the time she rushed to the shamba, the assailant was at it. She could hear her screaming daughter as she paced up to begin rescue plans. She told the court that she found the accused in the act of defiling her daughter and raised the alarm by screaming to attract neighbours.

However the accused ran away leaving the girl sprawled on the ground, un­dressed. The mother, with help from res­cuers, dressed up the girl and re­ported the matter to Mukuyuni police post. The matter was later reported to Mukuyuni police post and the minor taken to Makueni District Hospital.

in the same court, a man appeared before Makueni principal magistrate Fredrick Nyakundi charged with defiling a 11 year old girl.

DC worried as 78 percent of

Kitui women give birth at home

By Boniface Mulu in Kitui

ONLY 12 per cent of women in Kitui deliver their children in hospital. District Commissioner, Joshua Chepchieng, quoting official figures, said the rest never reach hospitals for delivery.

He said the figure is worrying. “If 88 per cent of the pregnant women are staying at home without going to deliver at the hospital, we are sitting at a time bomb. Going to the hospital as the last result is not helpful to the expectant woman,” he added.

No explanations were forthcoming. But Chepchieng urged locals to use health facilities they fund with their taxes for their own benefit.

The official was speaking to hundreds of people who attended this year’s In­ter­na­tional Midwives Day cel­ebrations held at the Kitui High School. National Nurses Association of Kenya’s second vice chairman, Julius Muema, said that some 414 out of every 1,000 women in Kenya die from pregnancy-related problems. He said that figure is the national average. Muema said as an association, they are not supporting abortion in the country.

But he said that the clergy are not sincere when they are against the country’s draft constitution regarding the abortion issue. “An abortion can be done by medical specialists when the mother’s life is in danger just to save her life. Let the health officials be given the opportunity to do abortion when the mother’s life is in danger,” he said.

Muema said that the clergy are taking the abortion window in the draft con­sti­tution out of context.

During the event, midwives earned a rare accolade for overseeing the birth of generations in Kenya.

A senior official with the Public Health Ministry Mrs. Tabitha Mwangi lauded the midwives for their devotion in rendering services to mothers and the community.

She said that the good health system in the country has reduced child and maternal mortality. “The good health care services have greatly improved the health of children and that of mothers in Kenya ,” Mwangi added.

She urged the midwives to practice to work together for the benefits of the community. The Kitui High School was the national venue for the celebrations in the country. Addressing the function, the Kenya Midwives Association chair­per­son, Mrs. Loice Muteti explained the line between a nurse and a midwife. She said the two are different. Muteti said nurses are trained differently from midwives. “We as midwives are working out to bring these services to the community at the villages,” the health official said.

She said thousands of babies are lost at birth in Kenya because the mothers are brought to them (the midwives) when it is late for them to be attended to professionally. She said: “Today we are having midwives who have certificates to Ph.D,”. Muteti impressed upon the importance of breast-feeding the baby soon after the delivery.

She said that the traditional birth attendants have no skills to stop bleeding in mothers after delivery. And she asked the midwives to link up with the traditional birth attendants to save the lives of mothers. “The International Midwives Week was started 1991. In Kenya , we celebrated the International Midwives Week in Nyeri District and we are today celebrating the second one in Kitui District,” she said.

Why State is unable to deal with illegal breweries

By Jonathan Mutiso in Machakos

RESIDENTS of Machakos district are roundly condemning the Provincial Ad­min­is­tration over laxity following the thriving of deadly breweries.

Speaking in Machakos town during the launch of Rapid Re­sponse Initiative (RRI) ,Macha­kos chamber of commerce chair­per­son Paul Mbole laid all blame on the ad­min­is­tration.

”The administration has failed Macha­kos residents by allowing the sale of the illicit brew”, said Mbole. He further accused them of collecting protection fees from the brewers and failing to protect residents.

Willy Kimilu who has been known for quite a long time in the in­dus­try, his home­stead is known as a den of attacks to those who try expose the brewery.

In 2007 January a group of commu­nity po­licing officials and area chief were attacked leaving some unable to walk or per­form their duties to date.No one was arrested and justice was not ad­min­is­tered.

The same place 2010 journalists were attacked and nothing seemsis being done by police since he have been seen freely visiting his police informers during the day at the police quar­ters.

Speaking at the function, Machakos dis­trict commissioner Bernand Kinyua said recently the AP police re­cov­ered 3,940 litres of kangara and 150 of chang’aa where 15 sus­pects were arraigned in court and charged with the same.

Those figures are laughable as the lo­cation produces approxi­mately over 10,000 litres of illicit brew for sale in Machakos Town and beyond daily.

Kinyua admits the behaviour has become very prevalent in this location as the youth con­tinue to suffer after taking these drugs including bhang, chewing miraa and drinking changaa.

“The liquor is cheaper than legal drinks and has very high alcohol content — brewers of­ten add ethanol to give the drink an extra kick. The alcoholic drink is common among Kenyans living in the country’s low-income urban and rural ar­eas, who are too poor to afford half liter of conventional legal beer but we are ready to arrest these brewers” he said.

Residents of Mukuni village complained that one of the famous brewers Willy Kimilu is believed to engage in the illegal business for more than 20 years and has been colluding with provincial ad­min­is­tration.

Investigations shows that the drink has com­pletely affected Mung’ala, Kasinga, Mutituni,Kisooni,Tumba and Mjini estate in Machakos town. Last week 17 people died after drinking chang’aa at Shauri Moyo Es­tate in Nairobi while others were also reported to have lost sight from the effects of the lethal drink whereas the brewers in Machakos were still holding tight into the business.

In August 1998 more than 100 people died south of Nairobi after drinking chang’aa laced with methanol. In November 2000, at least 140 Kenyans died, many went blind and hun­dreds others were hos­pi­talized after con­suming chang’aa in the poor neigh­borhoods of Mukuru Kwa Njenga and Mukuru Kaiyaba, both lo­cated on the out­skirts of Nairobi ‘s Industrial area.

And the Mukuru deaths were not an iso­lated case. In 1999, about 100 villagers in Mai Mahiu, 60 kilometers west of Nairobi , died as a result of drinking adul­terated alcohol.

In 2005 , 21 people died after con­suming illicit home-brew in Kyumbi village of Macha­kos district . Several others were ad­mitted at the Machakos district hos­pi­tal in critical condition after drinking the li­quor while others turned blind,

Barely three years ago two people died when the distilling drums exploded at one of the distillers but residents continue to complain that nothing has been done to stop the brewing of liquor despite en­dan­gering life of students from neighbouring schools.

“It remains interesting how the matter will be handled this time round con­sid­ering the fact that local ad­min­is­tration has been com­pro­mised and the war seems far from ending”, said a resident who sought ano­nymity.

Religious leaders from Machakos district said the dangers that changaa pose to people lies on the methanol it contains, saying during distillation, non-toxic al­co­hol producers, ex­tract distillate from certain temperature ranges only to ensure pro­duction of ethanol, the main in­gre­dient of all “safe” alcohol.

“Whatever the initial influence or cause, when the youth persistently engage in substance use, they evolve a culture of abuse since they start treating it as part of their lifestyle, and are not conscious of the dangerous situations they are falling into”said Joseph Mutisya, a religious leader.

Tanathi dissolves tired, debt ridden water companies

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ana and Athi river water ser­vices board [TANATHI] has disbanded the four water service providers in Mwala district following allegations of rampant corruption and mismanagement.

Instead, a new water outfit, Mwala water and Sewerage Company has been formed to take over the management of water and sewerage services in the district.

The board’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Joseph Nzesya said the board had re­solved to wind up the four water projects, namely Wamunyu, Kiaka, Mbiuni, and Mwasa due to inefficiency in manning resources and graft by mem­bers of management committees which had severely affected their operations. He said their roles have been merged and the responsibility passed to the new company.

Citing the case of Wamunyu, the CEO said the project had been incurring a loss of over SH 800,000 per month allegedly owing to corrupt practices and in­effi­ciency by the committee in charge which had also placed high water tariffs for the con­sumers but which the board was working to have it re­duced by 30 per cent to attain the na­tional average.

‘’The project has in addition, an out­standing elec­tricity bill amounting to over SH 4.1 million owed by Kenya Power and Lighting Com­pany which the man­agement committee was unable to pay,’’ Mr. Nzesya revealed at makutano market during offi­cial launching of the new company pre­sided over by dis­trict commissioner Ms Florence Amoit who said that the gov­ernment is not going to con­done corruption in public in­sti­tutions.

A board of directors comprising 12 mem­bers was installed to run the new water company with Jomo Kenyatta Uni­ver­sity of agriculture and technology university lecturer Dr. Shadrack Muya picked as the chairman.

Mr. Nzesya said Kiaka water project was similarly faced with an outstanding elec­tricity bill totaling over SH 1.4 while Mbiuni was owed SH 600,000 by KPLC which the board had resolved to pay after an audit was commissioned to uncover members of the management committees who have allegedly em­bezzled the funds for prosecution and recovery of the cash.

To curb corruption, he said water con­sumers under the TANATHI ju­ris­diction will soon be required to start paying their bills through selected banks including Kenya commercial and family banks to check stealing by corrupt cashiers.

He said the board will sink 16 boreholes in district to boost water supply whose management will handed over to the new company.

Lower Eastern set for Civic Education

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he Committee of Experts on con­sti­tu­tional review in collaboration with the civil society in Ukambani has em­barked on vigorous civic education ahead of the referendum.

The committee has partnered with the Lower Eastern NGOs Network (LENGO), the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Interim In­de­pen­dent Boundary Review Commission and URAIA to conduct the exercise.

The CoE civic education coordinator Ms Caroline Kasina rooted for the passing of the proposed constitution..

She defended the Draft law which she said captures the interests of Kenyans, ar­guing that there is no perfect con­sti­tution in the world.

“The proposed new law may not be 100 per cent perfect but it is a big stride to­wards the right direction”,she added.

Ms Kasina was speaking at a Macha­kos hotel during a workshop for Civic Edu­cation Coordinators from the sev­en­teen con­stitu­encies.

She told the educators to be vigilant and attack what she termed as “mis­in­for­mation” by certain people opposed to the draft.

“We don’t want a repeat of the 2005 affair where politicians hijacked the process and poisoned the minds of Kenyans to rejects the document for their own selfish interests”,said Kasina. She appealed to the civic educator and others players in the exercise to ensure they stuck to the contents of the pro­posed constitution to avoid possible confusion.

Kasina said the CoE will provide the right training materials to ensure wananchi got the right information for them to make informed decisions during the voting.

She encouraged residents in Lower East­ern province to come out in large numbers and registers as voters.

While supporting the Draft the LENGO co­or­di­nator Ms Brigit Kiteng”e urged the civic educators to use the content in the proposed constitution as it is published.

“This is the best document we can give to Kenyans, It is life and death and we must exhibit responsibility by passing it at the referendum “,said Kiteng’e who is also the CEO of The Inter-Agency Rural De­vel­opment Programme.

She asked the civic educators to make the people understand the contents of the proposed law by not adding or subtracting them.

Ms Kiteng’e praised the media for the role it is playing in educating Kenyans on the new document and asked them to carry the burner to the end of the process.