SPEECH BY THE GOVERNOR OF KIRINYAGA COUNTY,

H. E HON JOSEPH K NDATHI, ON THE OCCASION TO MARK

THE 6TH MASHUJAA

DAY CELEBRATIONS AT

THE

KERUGOYA STADIUM ON 20TH OCTOBER 2015

The County Commissioner
Hon Senator
Hon Woman Rep
Hon MPs Present
Hon Speaker of the County Assembly
Hon Area MCA
Hon MCAs Present
Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure to join you here today to mark yet another
special day in the history of our country. As you are all aware,
Mashujaa day is marked every year to celebrate our gallant heroes
and heroines whose bravery, sacrifices and selflessness earned our
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country the liberation and self-governance that we are now enjoying

today.
Ladies and Gentlemen
As a people, we draw inspiration from our Mashujaa who came
before us and shown us the way. Our county produced many of these
heroes and heroines and we are proud of this. We are proud today
that our forefathers from this county were at the frontline of the
independence struggle and we are eternally indebted to them. For us,
the only way to honour them is to carry forward their dreams of
independence by rejecting domination, adaption of practices and
values that create unjust society and manipulation from any quarter
at the expense of a peaceful and prosperous nation.
As we honour our heroes and heroines of independence, we recognize
that we have many of those present and who have contributed
immensely to the growth and development of Kirinyaga as well as
placing our county among the best in Kenya.
Kirinyaga County is minimally known in the entire country and was
recently described in one of the local popular dailies, as Canaan of
Kenya because of its rich agricultural climate, soil and other natural
resources.
With those remarks, I would now wish to turn my attention to the
following sectors:

Education: Starting with education, our county is known as an

academic giant. Today, I recognize our students, teachers, parents and
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school management boards as true modern day heroes who have put
Kirinyaga right at the top of academic charts, year after year. We
thank you and urge you to continue with this great work. That has
also resulted in most parents in the country wanting his/her child to
study in our county. As a government, we will continue to invest in
this

sector

including

offering

bursaries

and

investing

in

development oriented projects that include sanitary facilities,

classrooms, inter alia. This has resulted in improved performance
and access to education at primary, secondary and polytechnics.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Agriculture: In agriculture, Kirinyaga produces the best coffee and
tea in the whole world. We also produce the best aromatic rice in
Kenya and our horticulture products are 60 per cent of the entire
Kenyan produce. I want to recognize our farmers as true heroes.
Through their sweat and good crop husbandry, they have put
Kirinyaga in the world map and boosted agro-tourism. As a County
Government, we will continue to support you with technical expertise,
exploring new markets, subsidizing agricultural inputs and
developing strategies to optimize production, cash flows and returns
to our farmers. Kirinyaga being an agricultural county we are asking
the farmers to also take advantage of the rains and ensure their farms
are well prepared and visit their agricultural extension officers for
expert advice. It is also an opportunity to plant trees and protect the
environment.

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Health: Turning to health care services, Kirinyaga is ranked among

the top nine counties that provide best health care services. This has
undoubtedly been achieved through hard work of our health workers
and support from the County Government. While we acknowledge
that more still needs to be done to improve services and health
infrastructure, I am delighted to note that good progress has been
made in this field and the position we are in isnt the same we were
before devolution, about three years ago
However, as we celebrate the improvement made in this sector, I
sadly note that we have a few medicswho have been taking us back
ward through stealing of drugs and non-pharmaceutical products
which are meant for the patients and have reportedly also been
directing people to certain clinics and laboratories they own. Let them
stop this unethical and criminal practice as the long arm of the law
will soon catch up with them.I thank our people who give us
information on these rogue workers and urge them to continue doing
so and promise to treat such information with utmost confidence.
We have increased the human resource work force by employing 279
new health workers including nurses, clinical officers, medical
laboratory technologists, pharmaceutical technologists,
physiotherapist, among others. Additionally, the county absorbed 109
additional health workers who were previously working under
contracts. The county has also employed 15 doctors in the following
health facilities: Kerugoya -6, Kianyaga -3, Kimbimbi-5 and Sagana
Hospital- 1.This makes staff doctor compliment of 43 in the county.
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More facilities have been opened, namely:Kiarukungu health

centre,Kiamuthambi, Ngugu-ini and Gathuthuma dispensaries. As a
result, more health facilities are now able to offer 24 hours services
for example Gathigiriri, Kiangai, Gatwe and Nguka dispensaries.
In overall there is notable increased range of medical services to the
people of Kirinyaga e.g. Clinical services with clinical officers in all
dispensaries, Dental services, Nutritional services, Physiotherapy
and Occupational services in all health facilities
This financial year, the County Government has allocated Kshs
385,478,814 for development projects in the Department of Health.
This will fund 98 ongoing and new projects in the health sector. These
include construction of new health facilities in Kiarura, Karima,
Ngothi, Kirwara and several others. The completion of 6 medical
laboratories is expected to be finalized this financial year and also
two (2) X-Ray departments. Baricho, Kianyaga, Kiamutugu, Kabare,
Difathas and Kerugoya maternities have been upgraded.
Recently, we procured 4 ambulances for Kshs 21 Million, one for
each sub-county and 1 generator (100KVA) for Kimbimbi hospital.
In addition,in the current financial year, the county made budgetary
provision to purchase the following key equipment worth over 50
Million:
1. Digital X-Ray machine for Kerugoya hospital
2. Mortuary coolers for Kerugoya hospital mortuary
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3.1 oxygen plant for Kerugoya hospital

4. Laundry equipment for Kerugoya and Kimbimbi hospitals
5. Generators for 6 health centers.
Turning to medical supplies, we have continued to supply medical
drugs and lab reagents in the 58 public health facilities. This financial
year, 91 Million has been set aside for purchase of drugs. So far, drugs
worth 28 Million have been procured to run the health facilities for
the next 3months.
We have put in new measures to increase revenue collection and we
are urging residents to support the county in this endeavour.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Water: Because of the vitality of water, my government has for the
last two years implemented several water projects in almost every
ward. Many of these projects are complete and for the first time since
independence, our people are using clean piped water for both
domestic and irrigation purposes. By the beginning of this year, 2015,
we had implemented 75 water projects and supplied close to 30,000
people with water to their homes. Between January and September
this year, we have supported 86 water projects with pipes, fittings
and materials worth Ksh 125 Million, 12 water intakes and 5
masonry tanks are under construction, while 8 boreholes are
scheduled for immediate drilling.
Ladies and Gentlemen
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As for the youth, women and people living with disabilities, they
remain at the heart of my government and have ensured that they get
30 per cent of all County Government tenders.
I mention these few projects to highlight some of my administrations
achievements in the short period we have been in office, with many
more projects being in the pipeline. These will become more evident
in the coming financial year.
Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen
As you are aware, the Meteorological Department and National
Government have confirmed the dreaded El-Nino rains have started in
some parts of the county.We expect above normal rainfall and if not
well managed and mitigation measures put in place, this could have
devastating effects. My government is putting in place measures to
deal with this phenomenon and especially, expected disruption of
normal activities. I have established a county coordination and
communication team to manage disaster cases. This team includes
officers from both County and National Governments. Support SubCounty operations centers are being set up in respective SubCounties.
We expect that there will be increased disease burden especially in
the low lying areas of Mwea Sub County and because of that we have
asked the health department to stockpile medicine especially for
waterborne diseases and Malaria.

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We will also ensure that there will be a mobile clinic strategically

positioned to attend to emergency issues. We will also ensure that
there are enough water treatment tablets. We are also opening up
drainages to ensure there is free flow of water and we are liaising
with the National Government to ensure that the roads that will get
washed away are promptly repaired.
I am urging all residents who are in low lying areas and are prone to
flooding, to prepare to move to higher grounds should the need arise.
We urge the residents to put their safety first and be on the lookout
for any impending danger especially from flooding, swollen rivers,
landslides, lightening and cooperate with officers from County and
National Governments who will be at hand to assist you.
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am aware that poor drainage has affected investments and growth of
our towns. To this end, we have partnered with the national
government to improve storm water drainage in Wanguru, Kagio,
Mutithi, Kianyaga, Kutus, Kagio, Kianjiru, Baricho, Kiangai, Kimbimbi
and Kibingoti. Designs and contract documents are complete and the
procurement process started. When completed, the project will
improve drainage and trigger investment in these towns.
In the sanitation sector, negotiations with a number of prospective
partners are underway for both localized solutions and a larger
sewage treatment system for the major urban centres of Kirinyaga. As
a stop gap measure the County Government has plans to procure two
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exhausters to service both the Government sanitation facilities and

the general public.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I call upon on all leaders to promote economic empowerment of our
people especially, the youth. It is a shame and a betrayal to our
heroes when elected leaders turn to dishing handouts to our
young people instead of engaging them in economic empowering
activities. Leaders should inspire the people to greater ideals and
should not lead them toself-destruction and creation of dependency
syndrome.
In this regard, I thank our people for supporting the call by our
president, H. E Hon Uhuru Kenyatta to get rid of illicit brews. I am
happy to see that the number of drunken youths has drastically gone
down as my Government pursues zero tolerance for second
generation and other brews. As a county,we fully support the
Presidents directive and we shall implement it until all illicit brews
are eradicated in the county.
Finally, I urge you all to always take part in public participation when
invited to do so. It is in these fora that you express what you want the
County Government to do in your constituency or ward.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
BeforeI conclude, the Council of Governors has expressed concern
with the delay in release of funds by the National Government. This
has resulted in delayed payment of salaries and bills, thereby causing
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anxiety among workers and suppliers. The delays occasioned since

July 2015 are grounding counties to a halt. Yet, salaries need to be
paid on time to pre-empt industrial and socialupheavals, inter alia.
The National Treasury must treat this issue with utmost urgency and
seriousness it deserves. It must also release county monies
immediately to avoid wrecking devolution.
The Council of Governors further notes with concern that the timeline
that had been allocated for the complete transfer of all functions
assigned to County Governments lapses in March 2016.
The limited transfer of functions to County Governments will
inevitably culminate into a constitutional crisis if not remedied within
the mentioned time-frame. At the moment, the inordinate delays
occasioned by the various national government institutions in the
transfer of the remaining county functions have compromised
implementation of the same. First, functions must be properly
transferred through the recognized legal framework if they are to be
effectively implemented. Unless the transition authority gazettes for
the transfer of a function, a County Government cannot proceed to
perform that function. Subsequently, any form of service delivery and
revenue collection attendant to the pending functions becomes
impeded. Second, we must remember that our governance system is
founded upon the funds follow functions principle. As the ground is
laid for the transfer of the pending functions, so must the resources be
availed for the performance of those functions.

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AsI conclude, I take this opportunity to wish all candidates the best
wishes. Be our heroes. As for residents, please be good ambassadors
of this county and join me and my government in the noble task of
nation building. Lets all make this county a better place to live in for
the sake of ourselves and posterities
Thank you and God bless you all

H E Hon Joseph K. Ndathi

Governor
Kirinyaga County

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