Towards open Government The Anchor June-July 2011

EDITORIAL
Hasten strides towards

an open government

Over the years citizens of the Republic of Kenya have hoped to benefit from the range of taxes they pay to the State, yet these hopes have been dashed.

SEUCO in Machakos The Anchor June-July 2011

South Eastern University College

 heralds a new dawn for Ukambani

South Eastern University College (SEUCO), a Public University College and the first to set foot in Ukambani is a successor to Ukamba Agricultural Institute (UKAI). UKAI started in the 1970s as one of the institutes established to harness the country’s skilled and semi-skilled human labour into productive development.

Konza Ranch's quest for sub-division. The Anchor June-July 2011

Why farmers want

to split Konza Ranch

The following is an abridged version of a presentation by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Konza Ranch Mr David Mutangili during a public hearing of the National Environment Management Authority(NEMA) on the pro-posed sub-division of the ranch to its owners

The Anchor June-July 2011

Alarm over  rising sexual

assault cases in Mwala

 Mwala district commissioner Ms Florence Amoit has expressed concern over increasing cases of child defilement and rape in the district. Citing official records, she said incidents of child defilement and rape had attained a worrying trend and vowed to ensure the culprits do not escape justice.

The Anchor June-July 2010

ACCOUNTABILITY

Pressure mounts on VP to account

for his long tenure in Parliament

TENSION is rising in Kitui County as Water and Irrigation Minister Charity exerts political pressure on Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to account for his long tenure as MP and member of Cabinet.

The Anchor June- July- Main Story

America’s ultimatum to MP is…

A noose for Mwau

John Harun Mwau: Denies he's Kingpin

JOHN Harun Mwau  has a fully fledged war ahead of him. The Kilome Member of Parliament and aspiring Senator of Makueni county may well kiss away any aspirations he has in politics as long as the tag of a global drug kingpin hangs around his bushy neck.

Relief Food: The Anchor May- June 2011

Relief food delivered

to the hungry in Mwala

The government has delivered 700 bags of relief maize and 200 of beans for distribution to families most affected by food shortage in Mwala district.

Unrest soars at Kabaa High School:The Anchor May- June 2011

Unrest soars at Kabaa school

UNREST at Kabaa High School seems un-ending after six boys were taken into police custody over arson charges. They were arrested by the other students and handed over to the police at Kithimani police station.

Kitui residents enjoy free medical service: The Anchor May- June 201

Thousands enjoy free medical

 services in Kitui County

About 3,000 patient have benefited from a free medical camp organised at  the Kauwi Primary School in Kitui West District within the Kitui County by the Lions Club of Chania Falls Thika.

Special Post: Truth about Ngelani Ranch Primary School

Search this: Truth about Ngelani Ranch Primary School and see how serving officials stole your taxes....

Special Post. Theft of Free Education Funds in Machakos

The Anchor, February 2010

Feb 17, 2010

Old buildings will last longer than newly constructed ones due to shoddy workmanship and theft of funds. Some do not match the amount of money allegedly spent to put them up∫, said Mr Kinyua.Mr Hussein ordered education officials to ensure that the ... FOR one year now, The Anchor has been awash with stories on scenes the local education sector. Our approach has been broad; that education is not just the classroom setting where a teacher stands in front of the pupils. ...

Accountability Fears in Makueni The Anchor May- June 2011

Accountability fears as relief
food supplies resume in Makueni

 By Daniel Kituku

Government resumes relief food supply to over 24,000 starving residents in Makueni district after withdrawal of the food early this year over allegations of  abuse of the food by area  provincial administration.

 Makueni district commissioner Mr. Ochilo Oyugi confirmed  receiving this month’s food ration of 1000 bags of maize, 280 bags of beans and 252 carton of cooking oil for the hunger stricken families.

Chairing a stormy District Steering Group [DSG] committee meeting in his board-room, the DC denied that his office had abused the food prompting to cut off the food supply by the government in February this year.

 However Mr. Oyugi did not disclose the reason for the withdraw of the food “I received communication of the food cancellation from manager of National Cereal and Produce Board [NCPB] Wote de-pot and I have since then been following up the matter for resumption of the food” the DC told DSG meeting.

 The cancellation of the food was not communicated to DSG committee since no meeting has been held since February this year. “I could not convene the DSG meeting since there was no food and I only convene meetings when there is agenda” the DC said.

His remarks stunned those attending the meeting as one o it’s roles is to assess the food situation in the district and advise the government accordingly.  His assertion, wrong as it may be, is indeed a confirmation that the DSG may be headed in the wrong direction.

 He went on to offer a bizarre explanation to a starving community: “Properly the food supply might have been cut off at the arrival of March-May rain season in march” the DC told the meeting as the members demanded explanation over the food cancellation.

“It is hardly imaginable that the commencement of rains can be an answer to the urgent need for food for Makueni people and there is need to have an explanation why Makueni went without food rations even as residents face famine”, said nominated Councillor Peter Mwanthi from Kalawa, whose area is usually facing a food deficit.

 The meeting questioned why some bags were under weight forcing civic leaders to return the bags weighing up to 50kg in-stead of 90kg to NCPB depot, an indication that some powerful thieving hands are defining the supply chain.

 The manager NCPB Wote depot Mr. Peter Njeru confirmed of an incident where he replaced the underweight bags after Wote Town Ward Councillor Joseph Musau returned the bags.

 The committee at the same time demanded that secondary school account for the relief food allocated to them in January this year in terms of food for fees as bursary to poor and needy students in respective schools. The area district Education Officer Mr. John Ndundu was asked to give a report back over the same in next DSG meeting.

 The committee members expressed concern over lack of accountability of the food allocated to needy schools re-questing reduction of ration allocated to schools and increase of the food supply to members of public. If is feared that corrupt administration officials are conniving with Principals to channel relief food in fees deals and follow up to get money in lieu.

 Mr. Ochilo refuted reports appearing in one of daily papers last, week alleging the he was allocating the food without consulting DSG. However he did not respond to allegation of taking Sh 10,000 from secondary school principals in exchange of food allocated to them as claimed in the daily paper.

 ”I allocate the food to schools after I get list of needy schools from the district education office and then communicate to principals to pick their allocations” the DC told the DSG. He did not indicate what criteria the DEO uses to identify food needy schools as that ability is clearly out of an education officer’s competence.

 The District Education Officer told the meeting that no follow up is made by his office after the food is issued to the schools to quantify the food into fees for bursary to poor and needy students- indicating that there exists a great opportunity for abuse of the process

Mutula Chides MPs The Anchor May-June 2011

Mutula chides MPs
seeking new posts

Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo has taken issue with those running around campaigning for Senate and Governor seats.“Those in a hurry to announce they wanted to be Senators and Governors should firs help the country to develop the necessary laws to implement the new constitution”, he advised.

The Anchor: Mwala's Sand debacle- The Anchor May June 2011

The Anchor: Mwala's Sand debacle- The Anchor May June 2011: "Mwala residents up in arms over sand thieves The government is accusing unscrupulous sand harvesting cartels of perpetuating plunder of t..."

Mwala's Sand debacle- The Anchor May June 2011

Mwala residents up in

arms over sand thieves

The government is accusing unscrupulous sand harvesting cartels of perpetuating plunder of the river systems in Mwala district by flouting the extraction regulations imposed by the national management authority [NEMA].

 District commissioner Ms Florence Amoit  pledges to ensure the NEMA guidelines are enforced to the latter to curb the menace.But it remains just that. A mere pledge.

The Anchor May- June 2011 Farming in arid lands

Sisal farming: Is it a viable 

cash crop for arid areas?

Overgrown sisal plants with long poles at the centre have always been used to demarcate land boundaries in semi-arid of Kitui County.

 The sisal plants are evergreen with-standing the severest drought conditions. However they are not wide-spread or in plantations. The impending dry season where food crops have withered due to erratic rains has invited the residents to fall back to the sisal plant to get an alternative source of money.

In addition to marking the boundaries and making fences, individual house-holds have resumed extraction of sisal strands for commercial purposes to earn a livelihood.

The Anchor May- June 2011- District Officer intervenes to halt child labour

Child Labour: Pupils haul 

rocks to build Sand Dams

By Dan Kituku

A Makueni Community Based Organization may be exploiting school pupils in what seems like child labour by using them in the construction of sand dams along local rivers in mitigation to massive sand loss in the county.

The Utooni CBO mobilizes pupils and students in primary and secondary schools in respective sand dam construction sites to provide labour  as part of community participation in return for a sand dam.

Community Participation component in local projects targets resources like cash or labour by the local community where locals volunteer their labour.

The Anchor May- June 2011- Wamunyu's way of walking from poverty

Wamunyu residents choose

road to economic empowerment

250 residents of Mwala district affiliated to 21 self help groups have teamed up to fight poverty.  They have come together under a community based organization called Wamunyu OnTime [WOTE].

The Anchor May-June 2011

Officials, traders 

form coalitions to

steal sand in counties

An assistant minister Gideon Ndambuki was shocked after he made an impromptu visit of river Inzuuni in his constituency and found trucks loading sand at the river.

The assistant minister for agriculture had received complaints over massive destruction of river from excessive illegal sand harvesting at the river usually at night thus making spontaneous visit.
More Follows......

Ndambuki expressed concern that rivers in Makueni County have dried up due to the ex-cessive illegal sand harvesting regretting that government was using a lot of funds to supply water to the county residents.

Addressing public baraza at Kakuswi primary school in Mbooni East district, the assistant minister ordered the County’s  OCPDs David Kirui of Mbooni area, Joshua Leina and Sara Duncan of Makueni and Makindu areas respectively to crackdown illegal sand harvesting activities.

The legislator is set to hold a crisis meeting on the illegal sand harvesting  with the three OCPDs’, District commissioners’ of the nine district in the county and office in charge of National Environmental Management Authority [NEMA].

Sand harvesting can not take place without the support of the administrators, the  police and Nema officials. They collude to form a formidable cartel of hardcore graft barons in many of the districts of Ukambani. It is the case in Machakos, Kathiani, Masinga, Nzaui, Mukaa, Kangundo and Matungulu Districts others.

Mr Ndambuki underscored the need to control the sand harvesting to reduce en-vi-ron-men-tal destruction at the rivers which have resulted to acute water scar-city in the county.

“Our residents are forced to walk for long distances in search of water since water has disappeared at our rivers following the excessive scoping of sand, the water reservoir  and what is left at  most of the river beds are imaging bear rocks” Ndambuki Lamented.

He cautioned those behind the illegal sand harvesting of severe punishment re-minding them of recent passed bill of harsh penalty over illegal sand harvesting.

   An assistant minister Gideon Ndambuki was shocked after he made an impromptu visit of river Inzuuni in his constituency and found trucks loading sand at the river.

The assistant minister for agriculture had received complaints over massive destruction of river from excessive illegal sand harvesting at the river usually at night thus making spontaneous visit. Ndambuki expressed concern that rivers in Makueni County have dried up due to the excessive illegal sand harvesting regretting that government was using a lot of funds to supply water to the county residents.

 (See a related story elsehwere)

Machakos Girls becomes

Centre for French learning

Machakos Girls High School in Machakos county is now the centre for French language learning in Lower Eastern Region courtesy of the French government.

The ambitious project under the banner Reqional Resource Centre for French (RRCF) was inaugurated French Ambassador to Kenya Mr.Etienne de Poncins.


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The Ambassador was accompanied by a Director of Quality Assusrance in the ministry of education Fidelis Nakhulo,PDE Eastern Province Mr.Benard Gitau,Machakos DEO Abdi Kadir, the school BOG Chairman Justice Kasanga Mulwa and the Principal Ms Flora Mulatya among others.

He said the centre brings to eleven the number of such centers sponsored by his government in the country in the framework of the Franco-Kenyan bilateral cooperation project that supports the teaching and learning of French.

“The Machakos Girls project is one of the ten regional centers that were planned for secondary schools all over the country and five for universities within the framework of FSP project of revitalizing French language in Kenya”, said the Ambassador.

He lamented that  such a vital centre was lacking in the entire Eastern Province hence the reason Machakos was chosen.

Mr Poncins said the resource centres would offer teachers and students modern teaching methods and learning materials by introducing ICT in the teaching of French as a language in Kenya.

He hailed the cordial relationship between France and Kenya and said he was impressed the French language has served to bring the two countries together.

“Social ,cultural, economical and political relationships mostly takes place through languages and we area happy that the French language has served to bring Kenya and France closer”,s aid Mr. Poncins.

Mr.Nakhulo encouraged Machakos Girls students to take advantage of the new projects to improve their performance in French in KCSE.

 The PDE said the centre will help improve the teaching of French in schools within Machakos County and the larger Lower Eastern Province

 Ms Mulatya thanked the French Ambassador for helping the school establish the resource centre and assured him that the school will strive to compete with others in French globally.

  

OPINION
Sex scandal in the Catholic

 Church has refused to go away

From where I stand: Many Catholics who had looked up to celibate priests as their models feel betrayed, ashamed and disappointed. They feel that some priests have ‘slipped away from the footprints of the apostles’ by living double lives and sex abuse scandals that has refused to go away. The scandal first appeared as a thing for priests now it has slipped to the bishops. Trust has been compromised. The halo has been tilted, if not broken.


More Follows...

The Anchor May- June 2011 Konza Ranch awaits NEMA nod

Konza farmers await 

NEMA's nod to split ranch

By Martin Masai

HUNDREDS of shareholders of Konza Ranching Co-operative Society are awaiting authority from the National Environment Management Authority(NEMA) to sub divide the  22,000 acre ranch into individual plots.

The wait has triggered apprehension among the 1,594 members, after indicators surfaced that some powerful power brokers were planning to round up the leadership of Konza ranching, herd them to court over fictitious charges and deprive the farmers the same way Malili members were swindled when their leaders were arrested and charged.