Mutua, Kibwana line up ambitious projects for their final year in office

 

Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua and his Makueni counterpart Kivutha Kibwana, who want to vie for the presidency in next year’s elections, are banking on their performance as they leave county offices next year to shore up their national ratings.

And in the new financial year, the two governors are lining up projects including roads, completion of agro-processing industries and health insurance schemes that they hope will resonate with the public.

The two governors have set aside millions of shillings to complete and maintain flagship programmes and projects they started in their first terms as they eye other national seats upon completing of their two terms. 

Dr Mutua who has hit the campaign trail began a week-long Coast tour yesterday after meetings in Mt Kenya last week. He earned praise for opening up the county for business and tourism by tarmacking key roads such as the Makutano-Mwala-Kithimani road during his first term.

“We are planning to dual the Kyumbi-Machakos town road in the next financial year in conjunction with the Kenya National Highways Authority,” the governor said through his chief of staff Mwengi Mutuse.

“The 2021/2022 financial year will also see the county government revisit the Machakos City dream,” Mr Mutuse added.

The ambitious project, touted as one that would yield a modern city that rivals cities in the United Arab Emirates, failed to kick off after former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama secured a court injunction.

Dream city

Over the years, however, Dr Mutua’s administration has initiated some components of the dream city. These include the Machakos People’s Park, the governor’s office, a magnificent office block that resembles the US White House, and a state-of-the-art conference facility called the Machakos Convention Centre.

“We have completed the designs for the proposed Machakos Airport. We shall work on the airport's runway in the next financial year,” Mr Mutuse said.

The governor regrets political interference in his development plans. That notwithstanding, he says the Machakos City dream has seen the county attract big investors who have set up businesses worth Sh300 billion. The county has also been cutting a niche as a sporting and tourism destination of choice. This is enabled by the county government’s investment in sports stadiums.

Dr Mutua’s administration is planning to complete work on the Athi River, Kinyui, Ikombe and Masii stadiums, whose construction started in previous financial years. 

The county also has plans to build stadiums in the remaining four sub-counties in the next financial year. The governor says the idea is to tap the sporting talent of young people who remain undiscovered.

The other major programme Dr Mutua has lined up in the 2021/2022 financial year is regeneration of towns. His government has identified key townships and earmarked them for sprucing up to make them more conducive to businesses already operating there and attractive to investors. The idea is to spur economic activities at the grassroots and provide markets for agricultural produce.

These mega investments will go hand in hand with providing water and healthcare services. The county has dug 617 boreholes whose pumps are powered by solar energy.

Makueni Care

“The boreholes provide water to residents for free. We have constructed mega earth dams at Ndalani, Ikalaasa, Kyeleni and Miangeni,” Dr Mutua said.

“We have lined up three more earth dams and water purification and distribution systems in the 2021/2022 financial year.”

On his part, Prof Kibwana plans to stimulate sustainable economic development in the 2021/2022 financial year by investing in projects tailored to increase household incomes and restoring the livelihoods of communities affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The 2021/2022 budget is aimed at stimulating local economic development and providing a platform for building resilience and adaptive capacity of the community members post-Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mary Kimanzi, the county Finance and Social Planning executive.

“The budget is structured along four key strategic intervention areas: equity in development, completing projects initiated in the previous years, community-driven development and mainstreaming of sustainable development goals in the budget.”

To this end, Prof Kibwana’s administration has prioritised Makueni Care, the county’s health insurance scheme, and the construction and completion of agro-processing industries. The insurance scheme, which Prof Kibwana places at the centre of sustainable development, has set the devolved unit as a trailblazer in universal health care.

The 2021/2022 budget estimates seen by the Nation show that the county government plans to use Sh200 million on the universal health care programme. The devolved unit uses millions of shillings every financial year to sustain the scheme, raising questions about its sustainability. However, the governor believes that a healthy nation is a productive nation. That is the basis of developing Makueni Care, under which a nuclear family pays Sh500 per year for its members to be treated for free at county public hospitals.

Fruit-processing project

Senior citizens enjoy free health services thanks to the scheme that has earned Makueni praises from Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa and the World Bank.

The county government is also planning to expand its fruit-processing project and complete an ongoing pulses processing factory in Makindu township.

Budget estimates show that county officials plan to spend Sh30 million to start a maize flour factory in Kwothithu township, Kilome constituency. 

The idea, Prof Kibwana says, is to spur industrial development that in turn will create employment and offer a market for assorted agricultural produce.

The county government has also set aside money for addressing human-wildlife conflicts, a major challenge in food production in a county surrounded by three porous game parks. The budget has earmarked Sh75 million for installing an electric fence in the Mtito Andei-Nthunguni-Kyusyani-Athi Makutano section of Tsavo West National Park, where elephants have been destroying crops and terrorising residents.

“Through the 2021/22 budget, the county government has allocated Sh188 million to village clusters for livelihood recovery programmes post the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ms Kimanzi said.

The money will go into sustaining programmes under which thousands of young people are employed in construction and maintenance.    BY DAILY NATION