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Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
CHALLENGES of COUNTY GOVERNMENTS ISSUE 081, April 16-30, 2013
Plough profits from minerals back to Taveta By BENSON MWANGA Taita-Taveta residents continue to cry foul over what they term as massive marginalised and neglect by the previously central government. Against this backdrop, the residents are optimistic that the landscape will improve for the best as the County government takes shape. Residents in the region, which is arid but endowed with vast natural resources are optimistic that their first Governor John Mtuta Mrutu and his team will give them priority over foreigners who have benefitted the most in the past. The residents want the Governor, in the predominantly semi-arid region, to go back to the drawing board and take stock of opportunities that lie within their borders. Food security is one area that they would like Governor Mrutu to focus on. They want him to address the persistent food and water shortages to reduce their dependence on relief supplies from the government and other donors. One of the major challenges facing the county is the thorny squatter issue. Majority of the locals live as squatters on either private or government land as huge chunks of land are owned by a few influential individuals. Mzima Springs, a major water source which can be used to transform the lives of the local community through provision of water for domestic and irrigation purposes in the area is only benefiting Mombasa.
Women in their quest for minerals at Sere mining site. Inset: Some of the gems on display at the Sere mines. Area residents say profits from minerals are not ploughed back to them. Pictures: Benson Mwanga
Sustainability
Over 65 per cent of the total land area is occupied by Tsavo National Park, 24 per cent by private farms while residents occupy a paltry 11 per cent, which is dependent on unsustainable rain-fed agriculture. The region has some of the most famous tourist attraction site in the country mainly Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Park, Mudanda Rock; picturesque Taita Hills Forest which hosts Taita White Eye and Taita Thrush, endangered butterflies including wildlife and plant species, Sarova Taita Hills and Salt Lick Lodges, Lion Bluff, Kilaguni and Ngulia Lodges among others. Over 80 per cent of mining in the county is carried out in the area but residents remain poor leaving the mines to benefit outsiders who control the lucrative sector. Records show that much of the gemstones exported from Kenya, such as green garnet and ruby, originate from the county where mining is highly concentrated. Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu says the area has potential for the establishment of an iron ore melting plant. Apart from iron ore the area also has several other industrial mineral deposits. “The County government should put in place measures that will provide more opportunities for acquisition of capital and also provide skills to locals on the extraction of minerals,” says Mwadeghu who is also a miner. Horticultural Production Centre, Coffee and Dairy cooperative societies, which used to assist farmers in marketing their farm produce, collapsed decades ago due to corruption and gross mismanagement. At the same time, environmental degradation
is another issue that has been compounded by the high influx of thousands of livestock from North Eastern Province. Wildlife is also a major resource in the county, but it is yet to benefit locals as they have no stake in the management of Tsavo National Park, which is under the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Degradation
There has also been persistent human-wildlife conflict which is partly to blame for food shortages and poverty in the area through massive wildlife crop destruction, injuries and deaths. The region has a population of 284,000 out of which over 155,000 are dependent on relief supplies. The poor state of the Voi-Mwatate-Wundanyi and Voi Mwatate-Taveta roads has been a major threat to the tourism industry. “Rehabilitation of these key roads could boost tourism given that the region has numerous tourist attractions including its rich cultural diversity and the picturesque Taita Hills with their indigenous and forests which are a biodiversity hotspot,” says Haji Mwakio, chairman Taita-Taveta Human Rights Network. Besides the Tsavo Park, the region also boasts of other exciting tourist attractions like rocks, caves and historical sites. “Voi-Mwatate-Taveta road is an international road that links Kenya and Tanzania and once rehabilitated it would help create wealth for em-
ployment and also improve regional trade and integration in East and Central African country’s citizens,” says Mwakio. Taita DC Njenga Miiri concedes that although the region is endowed with enormous resources poverty is still rampant. He says the available resources have not been tapped effectively to benefit the locals. “The region is third in terms of resources in the country, but this has not been translated into tangible gains that would improve the living standards of the locals,” notes Miiri. At the same time, he observes that frequent wildlife invasion was also partly to blame for low agricultural production and unrelenting famine in the region, an issue that needs to be addressed if the area is to become self-sufficient in food production. Miiri concurs that there can be no meaningful development without improved road network. He says the situation would be better if the on-going construction work at the VoiMwatate-Wundanyi road is fast-tracked. “Once the KSh2.3 billion road is complete, it will be a boon to the local economy as movement of goods and services will improve tremendously,” says Miiri.
Economy
Residents feel that these resources should benefit them as they move towards devolved governments. “We have nothing to show in the way of infrastructure despite economic opportunities that lie within. Enough resources are generated from the area but little is ploughed back for lo-
cal development,” notes Mwandawiro. According to the first Women Representative in the County Joyce Wanjala Lay: “More and more investors can come to do business here if only the Government can improve the state of roads that are currently in a bad state.” On his part, Richard Mwangeka says as “we move to embrace the devolved governments, historical land injustices, development imbalance among other pressing issues need to be addressed”. “We are optimistic and buoyed by the prospects of being able to chart our own development agenda once counties become operational,” says Mwangeka. According to Gabriel Nyambu, chairman Taita Council of Elders and Nahashon Mkunde spokesman of the Taveta Council of Elders, the devolved government is a panacea to the numerous challenges the local community has been facing over the years. “We are blaming the local community’s problems on poor leadership and we hope this will change for the better following the introduction of county governments,” says Mzee Nyambu. He adds: “Past leaders have failed to effectively champion for the interest of the local community. The leaders have failed to take former governments to task to champion development.” The residents says the KSh2.34 billion allocated to the county by Commission on Revenue Allocation was small and would not meet demands of the local community. However, the Governor was optimistic saying: “We will find other ways of raising revenue to supplement the government allocation.”
Murang’a farmers want a boost in the industry By RYAN MATHENGE Farmers in Murang’a County want their governor, Mwangi wa Iria, to put cash crops at the top on priority in-tray. The farmers believe middlemen who have been exploiting them over the years are the problem that must be tackled by the county government. They expect the county government to ensure problems in the coffee and tea sub-sectors are addressed for them to maximise their profits. They also want the county government to establish irrigation projects in the lower regions that will see the area turned into a food basket. Livestock farmers also want the county government to support establishment of plants that will produce animal feeds. They say this will increase
milk production. According to Ephantus Kimwe from Maragua, the establishment of an animal feed manufacturing plant will save millions of shillings which farmers lose annually to middlemen and traders who import the goods.“The cost of animal feed has been prohibitive and some of the feeds are of poor quality but farmers have no option due to lack of finances,” Kimwe noted. Women, on the other hand, want the county government to establish more health centres and upgrade existing ones. The women appealed to the governor to ensure that health centres are well staffed, equipped and provided with enough drugs. According to Mary Mwangi, from Gikindu Location, the governor and his team should account for the pledges made in the pre-election period.
“Murang’a County has 68 health facilities which are inadequate for the over one million population spread across the seven constituencies,” said Mwangi. A leader in her own right, Mwangi noted that the leaders must give education top priority and urgently address the declining standards in national examinations. “Over the years the region has been doing badly especially in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), a trend that must be changed by stakeholders,” said Mwangi, a retired teacher. Not to be left out are people with disabilities who want the county government to ensure issues affecting them are addressed. According to Kennedy Mungai Wanguma, many of them cannot afford specialized treatment
and, therefore, need the government to cater for their interests. They want the county government to ensure that all institutions have the capacity to handle issues raised by persons living with disabilities. “We are people who require a lot of facilitation from the county government,” said Mungai. On the other hand, the youth are pleading for an environment for wealth creation where commercial banks will lower interests on loans. Francis Mwangi, a youth leader, said many of his peers have been locked out of business because of the ever increasing interest rates. ”Many want to apply for loans from the commercial banks as the Youth Enterprise Fund has limited facilitation and we want to engage in big business venture,” noted Mwangi.