State of the County Address by h.e. Governor Peter Munya at the County Assembly

8/10/2019 State of the County Address by h.e. Governor Peter Munya at the County Assembly

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COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF MERU

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS,

DELIVERED TO THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF MERU,

ON 22

ND

DAY OF DECEMBER, 2014,

BY H.E. HON. PETER MUNYA, MGH,

THE GOVERNOR, MERU COUNTY.


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1. OPENING REMARKS

Mr. Speaker,

Honourable members,

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is almost two years since we were elected into office and formed the

County Government. We have surmounted many challenges and made

tremendous progress in the implementation of our electoral mandate.

The biggest challenge was creating a government from scratch, puttingstructures and systems in place and formulating a coherent development


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plan and at the same time delivering services to the people. Another matter

that distracted us from our focus was the court case that started in the High

Court and culminated into the historic Supreme Court ruling.

Apart from these major challenges there were other difficulties - associated

with the transition - that made progress in the institutionalization of the

County Governments slow. This coupled with a National Government that

was reluctant to facilitate devolution created a disenabling environment for

the devolved governments.

In spite of the foregoing I look back with satisfaction at the progress wehave made so far.


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2. ADMINISTRATION AND HUMAN RESOURCE

Mr. Speaker,

Let me therefore enumerate some of the achievements attained by my

government so far. In the area of planning and administration as you may

be aware, it took a lot of time and resources to recruit staff for the County

Government. Now I can report that most of the Departments are manned

by competent and skilled staff. Our recruitment processes applied the

relevant legal requirements and prudence in balancing the regions of the

County so that all Sub-Counties are represented in the government.


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All our Departments including Sub Counties are now fully operational. I am

pleased to inform you that our County is rated by the Public Service

Commission as number one in recruiting the highest number of staff with

Postgraduate qualifications. We are also the only County that has closed the

gender gap by having more women than men in our staff compliment.

Indeed, my government takes the welfare of our workers seriously that is why

we have also ensured that all our employees enjoy a medical scheme.

Continuous training and skills improvement is inbuilt in our staff policy.

Employment of new staff where there are shortages and whenever we want to

introduce a new service is a continuous process.


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Let me also point out that at the initial transition stages there were challenges

associated with the transfer of payroll from the National to County

Governments. I am pleased to inform you that this initial problem has been

fully dealt with. We were able to absorb all staff from the National

Government and the County Councils. All our staff are paid salaries in time

and we have undertaken to employ all ESP nurses on permanent terms next

month.

On disaster preparedness and mitigation, my government has opened two fire

sub-stations at Maua and Nkubu towns. We have trained a team of firemen on

basic fire-fighting skills and we are continuously providing more equipment andphysical infrastructure to make the firemen comfortable and safe. During this


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financial year, we have planned to procure a fire engine to enhance the fire-

fighting capacity of the Meru main fire station. My government has also been

distributing relief food to areas affected by drought and will continue

monitoring the situation and responding appropriately.

3. FINANCES

Mr. Speaker,

My government has continued to improve the provision of supportive

financial services to all Departments. I am pleased to inform you thatrevenue collection has continued to improve even as the net has continued


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to be widened. We are in the process of automating all our financial services

and I am confident that we will be through this mammoth exercise before

the end of this financial year.

In an effort to provide critical financial services my government has already

implemented the IFMIS accounting and reporting programme that has

ambitiously set out to improve our accounting systems and deliver services

to our people efficiently and seamlessly and ensure accountability in our

fiduciary dealings. We are in the process of linking all sub-counties with the

real-time fully automated revenue collection system that will ensure real

time reporting on revenue collected and also operationalize the countysmart card.


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Let me take this opportunity to commend this Assembly for resolving the

outstanding budgetary issues and passing the Appropriation Bill for the

financial year 2014/15. The Act which is now in force included money from

the pending bills for the financial year 2013/2014.

Mr. Speaker,

As you may be aware the devolved funds and revenue raised locally are not

sufficient for our recurrent and development expenditure. For this reason,

my government has reached out to development partners and donors toacquire credit and outsource critical technologies that will enable our


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programmes to be implemented. Partnerships are being negotiated for the

support of sectors such as water, energy, health, agriculture, garbage

collection and environmental protection.

To provide the much needed resources for the implementation of County

Integrated Development Plan (CIDP), my government has applied best

financial management practices and prudent financial systems to ensure that

the devolved funds are well managed and utilised. On the process of

tightening the loopholes in financial system and in an effort to stop

haemorrhage of vital resources my government has encountered

impediment, resistance and to some extent sabotage from within and


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without. Nevertheless, my government has streamlined operations and will

weed out all elements that promote inefficiency, corruption and wastage.

To enable citizens of Meru County to access affordable credit and

convenient and inclusive financial services, my government is spearheading

the formation of a Micro-finance Corporation. A consultant is already

working with the county team and we are looking forward to opening two

branches in Meru and Maua towns by April next year.

In the same spirit we are also spearheading the formation of Meru County

Investment and Development Corporation. This is a corporate body fullyowned and managed by my government to act as custodian of County


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assets. In this regard, my government has undertaken the exercise of

identification, verification, tagging and developing a register of all the assets

belonging to the County government in order to protect and safeguard the

public assets and property. The exercise will also enable my government to

insure fixed assets and dispose the obsolete ones.

4.

TRANSPORT AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Mr. Speaker,

I have just highlighted that my government is working with the NationalGovernment and the international community in the implementation of our


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priority and flagship projects. One such project is the construction of the 10

Kilometres Kianjai -Miathene road on a pilot basis using the Probase

technology outsourced from Malaysia. This technology provides high quality

tarmac roads but reduces construction costs significantly. The second phase

of Probase road construction will cover approximately 300 Kilometres. The

condition for this second phase is tied to the approval of the pilot road and

upon securing the requisite guarantees from the National Government. This

will see majority of feeder roads currently under the mandate of the County

Government tarmacked by the year 2016.

Significant work has been undertaken in the area of beautification of ourmain urban centres including Meru, Maua and Nkubu towns. Apart from


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remodelling of the towns, the bus terminals and parks have been made to

international standards. In the next financial year my government will

embark on lighting up the urban centres to ensure commerce takes place in a

24 hour economy. Other major infrastructural works include re-carpeting

roads, upgrading County roads to paved standards, grading more roads and

gravelling roads in all the 45 Wards. This is in addition to installation of

culverts and construction of gabions in critical areas in all the 45 Wards. In

doing these works, my government has made substantial purchase and

acquisition of requisite machinery and equipment.

Public works have been initiated and completed in the construction of fourSub-County Offices. In the next financial year, other Sub-County Offices will


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be built. This is in addition to renovations being undertaken at the County

Headquarters. In due course the County Executive will be able to move to

the renovated premises. My government has also finalised the architectural

drawings for a new County headquarters building to address the current

shortage of office space for County staff. The construction of this building

will start once procurement processes are finalised.

On energy generation, my government has signed a memorandum with

Kengen to use our natural wind resources to generate power that will boost

the national grid. My government has gone further to provide rural

electrification in various Wards within the County.


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5. HEALTH

Mr. Speaker,

As you are all aware, there are two fully devolved functions to the Counties:

these are Health and Agriculture. The health services given at our County

over the years have encountered many hazards of infrastructural, equipmentand personnel nature. Many health facilities have dilapidated buildings,

unhygienic environments, scarcity of drugs and staff who over the years

have become immune to the suffering of the patients. This state of affairs has

made health provision apathetic, inadequate and generally wanting. Mygovernment has in the last one year or so embarked on a serious campaign


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to change the mind-set of the people have on health care provision. This

exercise requires well trained and skilled staff compliment. Hence, my

government is in the process of recruiting, deploying and retaining

competent and qualified human resources to drive our health agenda.

Further, my government has embarked on a serious public health

surveillance campaign on all communicable diseases because as you may allknow prevention is better than cure. In so doing my government has

responded quickly to emergencies through the recently procured

ambulances. So far we have procured ambulances, standby generators, baby

incubators, Deep Freezers, biochemistry analysers, ultrasound machines and


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beds for various health facilities in the County. The immunochemistry

analysers are capable of providing early detection of cancers.

In addition, Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital has specifically been

upgraded, renovated and supplied with state of the art equipment for

various critical services in medical care. Already these equipment have been

procured and installed for Intensive Care Unit (ICU), CT Scan imaging, RenalUnit and specialized ambulance with critical care nursing on board.

Moreover, we have created a Trauma Centre to cater for auxiliary

conditions related to cancer and renal diseases. In this hospital there has

been robust expansion of inpatient Wards and operating theatres.


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In addition, my government is upgrading and equipping all level 4 hospitals

in the County to reduce pressure on Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital.

In order to improve maternal health care my government has prioritized

renovation and construction of maternity facilities in all Sub Counties. My

government has also facilitated the procurement and distribution of drugs to

health facilities around the County. We shall continue to stock and replenishour commodity stocks on quarterly basis, our target being to make shortage

of drugs a thing of the past.


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6. AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND FISHERIES

Mr. Speaker,

The other fully devolved function is Agriculture which apparently is the

backbone of our County economy.For this reason, my government has

consciously allocated significant resources to ensure revamping of the sectorand to promote value addition which also revitalizes Agribusinesses in the

County. In the period under review, my government distributed at least

200,000 coffee seedlings to farmers across the County. The objective of

which is to increase coffee production to satisfy the milling capacity of our

newly revamped coffee mills (formerly KPCU mills).


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Also in a bid to depart from traditional overreliance on rainfall for our

farming and to create awareness of alternative forms of farming among our

people, my government procured 45 green houses to promote increased

production of high value crops for small size farms. The green houses are

expected to achieve high crop yields, promote sustainable water use,

improve the quality of horticultural production in the County, assist inmarket timing through prolonged crop production, encourage shortened

crop maturity period, low pests and disease problem, and improved grade

output. The technology is hoped to be a suitable strategy to addressing the

reducing farm sizes and create more jobs opportunities for women and

youth.


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On livestock development, my government has undertaken to construct

livestock yards in various parts of the County especially where pastoralism is

the main economic activity. My government has also bought 20 high Grade

Sahiwal bulls which were distributed to various areas in the grazing zones to

up-grade local beef breeds with a view to attaining early maturity,

enhancing disease resistance, controlling in-breeding, and boost beefproductivity. In addition, graded semen has been procured to assist in

upgrading the quality of cows and breeds. Artificial insemination (A.I)

Service is being rolled out to avail high grade semen at subsidized rates. In

this connection, renovation of the old Kinoru Veterinary Clinic is underway

to serve as the County Livestock Resource Centre as a store for semen, liquid


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nitrogen and other livestock supplies. These technological skills will be

administered by well qualified veterinary officers who will be employed

soon. In addition, my government has acquired a 1,000-litre capacity milk

cooler to assist in the preservation of milk to ensure that dairy farmers do

not lose milk due to lack of preservation facilities. There is also good news

for goat farmers because the government is putting up a goat milk

processing plant at Kaguru ATC.

Other interventions in Agriculture that my government has embarked on

include introducing new technologies for safe and hygienic storage of farm

produce. More than 18,000 specialised bags which prevent weevils and

other pests from destroying dry harvests were distributed to all Wards for


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demonstrations and were issued to farmers and public institutions such as

schools. The objective is to enhance food security by minimizing post-

harvest crop losses. We have also introduced new technologies in bee

keeping and fish farming.

Finally, to facilitate growth and development in agriculture as a whole my

government has entered into an MOU with Agriculture Finance Corporation(AFC) to extend loans to farmers at a subsidized interest rate of between 5%

and 10%.


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7. EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY

Mr. Speaker,

The education sector is mainly a function of the National Government with

the County Government taking care of the early childhood education and

the technical skills provided by polytechnics. Despite the limited devolutionof the education functions, my government has embraced the idea of

improving education standards in the County.

When we took over last year the education sector though it has a robust

union structure and activities there were also serious infrastructural and


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attitude problems especially when dealing with pre-education issues. You

may be aware that in many Primary Schools the Nursery kids who are

mainly below five years were taught in classes that could not be used by

other senior students because they were in a deplorable condition. Children

were exposed to the vagaries of nature including wind, cold, heat and dust

which often resulted in children getting ill. The teachers who taught these

children were also too few and rarely paid reducing the learning activities tojust singing or chanting in the name of learning.


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Mr. Speaker,

If I have painted a grim picture of the condition of early child education in

this County, that is exactly the condition my government encountered in

many schools when we took over. Consequently, my government has

undertaken the task of building at least two (2) classrooms in each Ward as a

starting point to revolutionize infrastructure development required by themost delicate members of the school community, the youngest kids. In

addition, my government intends to provide milk to the young learners so

that they can concentrate as we make learning student centred. My

government has also recruited over 1100 ECDE teachers and during this


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financial year more teachers will be recruited to take care of 10% increase in

enrolment that resulted from the aforementioned interventions.

Further, my government is in the process of recruiting at least two

Polytechnic tutors for every Polytechnic. My government has also taken

over the responsibility of paying Polytechnic Tutors because the National

Government has stopped paying them abruptly. For this reason their salariesincluding all arears will be paid by the end of this month.

The dismal performance in our County by the public Primary and Secondary

Schools over the years is a major concern. In order to improve performance

in national examinations, my government organized and funded assessment


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of quality standards of the bottom 200 low performing Primary Schools in

the County. We have also rolled out a mentorship programme for our

schools which involves encouraging prominent citizens who graduated fromour schools or live in the neighbourhood of our schools to take up the role

of mentoring these schools to improve their infrastructural and educational

standards. Secondly, we are also reviving alumni associations for our schools

for the same endeavour. I am confident that we will receive improved KCPEresults this year due to the aforementioned interventions.

My government has also awarded bursaries to bright and needy learners

where a total of KSH 135 million was disbursed for this purpose during the


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year under review. The bursaries were awarded to secondary schools,

polytechnics, colleges and university students.

Mr. Speaker,

In order to inspire the future generations with a rich Kimeru language, my

government has undertaken the rare task of researching, writing andpublishing a Kimeru Dictionary. The rationale is to preserve our cultural

heritage as well as to open the Kimeru language to other people who visit as

tourists, teachers and students. So far many people have voluntarily given

their written manuscripts and others are ready to be interviewed because as

the saying goes every old person who dies in Africa a Dictionary has died.


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In this connection, may I appreciate all Kimeru vernacular radio stations for

promoting our mother tongue and our heritage. On Jamhuri day I said that I

am aware there are those peddling lies about the cost of the Dictionary butlet me say you cannot put a cost to preserving posterity and cultural

heritage. Whatever the cost my government is determined to produce the

Dictionary.


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8. CULTURE, YOUTH, GENDER AND SPORTS

Mr. Speaker,

Culture is embedded in the lives of people, their way of life and their

cultural environment. But more importantly, the youth are the torch bearers

for the propagation of our cultural heritage. My government has prioritizedyouth programmes, training, acquisition of skills and participation in games

and sports. The Talent Academy was started to tap into the rich energies and

talents of the young people who are not attending school or college or

university. Up to date a total of one hundred and forty six (146) young

people have gone through the academy. Already we have started seeing


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fruits of the Talent Academy. Earlier this year the girlsbaseball team, a key

component of Talent Academy programmes emerged the East African

champions. During the Kenya Inter-County Sports and Cultural Association(KICOSCA) games our team emerged number two overall and was named as

the most disciplined team. One of the players also qualified for the African

championships in Morocco. In addition, the County performing and visual

artists were able to participate in the Kenya Music and Cultural Festivals.

To make Meru County a home of Sports and to contribute to sporting

which has made many heroes and heroines in Kenya, my Government is

upgrading Kinoru Stadium to International Standards. Already Ksh.100

Million has been allocated and construction work is already in progress.


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Kinoru Stadium now is the official home ground for the Tusker F.C in the

Kenyan Premier League. Before the renovations commenced the stadium

hosted a number of football matches that included national teams such asGor Mahia and AFC Leopards. Notably, Kinoru Stadium also hosted the

well-known Rugby Sevens. To ensure sports and games are promoted in all

corners of the County, my government has upgraded at least one

community sports ground in every Ward. Sporting equipment have also

been supplied in all Wards.

To empower the youth economically my government has conducted Youth

leaders seminarsin all the Sub Counties. This was meant to equip them with


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leadership, entrepreneurial and management skills to prepare them to start

and manage their own businesses. We have also constructed 20 boda boda

sheds in strategic locations throughout the County and are in the process ofprocuring the construction of additional 26 new sheds.

In order to empower women to realise their social economic potential, my

government organized a very successful women leadership and economic

Conference earlier this year. The meeting was a result of collaboration with

the Lagos State Government. This collaboration produced significant ideas

for incubation in women enterprise development and exposed grassroot

women to regional women networks.


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Mr. Speaker,

My government inherited a huge social burden of street children in manyurban Centres. Interventions to deal with the problem have borne fruits

where children are now resident in strategic childrens homes around the

County. Other vulnerable groups including People Living With Disability

(PLWD) have been catered for through the facilitation of the formation of

their umbrella body as well as the provision of essential equipment worth

3.8 Million. Eventually, these groups will be associated with a SACCO

where they can access critical funds and assistance to enable them to live

fruitful lives. Assistance to other people living with terminal health


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conditions has been channelled through their nearest health centres and

hospitals.

9. WATER, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Mr. Speaker,

Under Kenya vision 2030 the overall goal of Environment, Water and

Sanitation sector is to attain a clean, secure and sustainable environment.

This sector forms critical linkages with the main productive sectors namely

agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and energy. These sectors are heavily


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dependent on use of natural resources that are derived from the

environment.

In order to provide planning and structured development of the water

sector, my government in collaboration with Geothermal Development

Company undertook mapping of all our ground and surface water resources

using satellite imagery. Later, ground truthing based on site visits and existing

maps was carried out to validate our surface water maps. we have also

carried out surveys, designs and water quality assessment of seven dams in

our main water towers (Ngatho natural pan & Tantha dam in Ngaya forest,

Thangatha and Ura dams in Nyambene forest and Mt. Kenya forest. we are

at the moment in the process of securing permits from Kenya Forest Service


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while carrying out Environmental impact assessment alongside resource

mobilization for development of the dams. Further, my government has

developed an inventory of costs for environmental proposals that spanacross the County covering climate change, soil and water conservation,

forest management, wetlands management among others.

Through collaboration with the donor community and the national

government, Meru County has attracted significant partnerships. For

instance, we have partnership with the IFAD and the Spanish Trust fund on

the Upper Tana Natural Resources Management Project that will enable our

County to benefit in the management and utilization of river basins, water,

irrigation, agriculture, livestock and fishery projects. Moreover, we have


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signed a memorandum of understanding with Nordic Climate Facility for

improved water economics in our sub-catchments that will also provide

technical assistance in resource mobilization to meet our long term goals infuture water source developments and distribution management. My

government is additionally, working with Germany international

development cooperation (GIZ) to develop an innovative financing window

for irrigation projects.

Mr. Speaker,

My government has made significant steps to deal with the problems of

water scarcity in the County and specifically in the emerging urban areas.


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More than 200 KM of water piping has already been acquired and installed

to enable rehabilitation of dilapidated water infrastructure and develop new

8 water distribution networks. To ensure people from all corners of theCounty have access to water my government has embarked on rain water

harvesting and strengthening of community projects. With the completion of

40 units of 225m3Africa Water Bank (AWB) tanks, coupled with 45 units of

225m3 system tanks and distributed 230 units of 10,000 litres plastic tanks

will see the county harvest at least 42 million cubic metres of water per year.

Recently, we signed an agreement with AWB to construct 35 more tanks in

the dry belt in the County. Once completed the 40 tanks will be able to

serve over 65,000 people with their water supply needs for a month.


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The Water Bill has already been passed into law and my government has

taken management steps to streamline, enhance efficiency, seal revenue

leakages and cut on duplication of roles in water supply by merging the twomain water companies in the County: these are IMETHA and MEWASS. The

merging of the two companies will ensure seamless and harmonious

operations in delivery of water services to our people. The law will also

assist the Community Water Projects to be transformed into Cooperatives

for easy management of the projects. Further, my government has signed

agreement to borrow money for the renovation and expansion of the

MEWASS water treatment facility. I am aware that water problems have

persisted in the last few months arising from the water treatment plant being

old and inadequate.


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Mr. Speaker,

To ensure our markets remain clean and hygienic we have embarked on theconstruction of 16 garbage receptacles across the county and procured a

refuse tipper and a vacuum exhauster. My government has also rehabilitated

Muungu dumpsite in Imenti South to ease disposal of solid waste. My

government has embarked in the establishment of tree nurseries in every

ward to enable sustainable supply of seedlings and empower our people. In

this rainy season, we have planted 43,000 tree seedlings in our Sub County

headquarters, partnered with Kenya Forest Services (KFS) in developing

Ntugi-Ntumburi hills management plans alongside initiating cleaning

programmes in sub-county headquarters. We have also factored in money in


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the budget to buy additional refuse collection trucks to improve the

cleanliness and sanitary conditions in our urban centres.

In our endeavour to make our towns more beautiful and habitable, my

government is in the process of reclaiming and rehabilitating all green spaces

within our towns. Earlier in the year I opened the rehabilitated Nteere Park

in Meru Town and we are soon commencing the construction of phase one

of Maua Recreation Park. I am also directing the Departments of

Environment in conjunction with Planning and Infrastructure to quicken the

pace of the repossession of the Kanyuuru and Kathita riparian areas for

rehabilitation and reclamation.


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10.COOPERATIVES, TOURISM AND ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Mr. Speaker,

My government has made considerable strides in reviving the coffee sector

through the setting up of the Meru County Coffee Cooperative Union and

the leasing of the KPCU mill plant in Meru town. Indeed, we have good

news for coffee farmers who sold their coffee through our facilities. The

money for the sold coffee will be released to farmers before Christmas. We

urge all farmers to work on improving the quality of their coffee to reap

better prices.


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We are at advanced stage of creating a Meru County Investment and

Development Corporation to act as a custodian of county assets and to

manage business on behalf of the county. Management of all investments iscritical for trade and industry to thrive. Apart from management of County

investments the Corporation will also carry out the mandate of marketing

the County as an investment destination and facilitating investors to invest.

The cooperative movement has always been the engine of development in

Meru County. However, when my government took over, the sector was

faced with a myriad of challenges ranging from mismanagement to outright

theft of assets of co-operators and lacklustre performance. In order to

revamp this sector, my government appointed a Taskforce to study the


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problems afflicting this sector and recommend solutions. I am pleased to

inform you that the Taskforce has made significant progress in this direction.

The other major challenges in the cooperative sector were a poor savings

culture and exclusion of the lower cadre of our community from accessing

credit. To deal with these challenges, immediately after inception my

government embarked on a mobilization campaign to create SACCOs for

this excluded population. I am pleased to inform you that we were able to

create 3 SACCOs in each Sub County consisting of a SACCO for women,

youth and general traders. Each SACCO has an average of 5,000 members.

In addition, our budget for this financial year factored in seed money to be

given to these SACCOs for onward loaning to their members. Cheques will


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be released in January 2015. Further, women and youth leaders have

already been trained as Trainers of Trainers (TOTs). In addition, these

SACCOs are already operational with Bank Accounts and now they can be

able to attract deposits from the public and also they can attract donor

funding.

Enterprise Development and Tourism still remains a gem in our county plans

with tremendous growth potential. My government has laid the requisite

structural plans to endear Meru County to international, regional and local

tourists. Just this month my government sponsored a fabulous night of

catwalk dubbed the Miss Tourism Meru pageant. The forum brought many

residents of Meru to enjoy the rich talents. Therefore, tourism programmes,


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plans and activities are lined up to raise the profile of Meru County as a

preferred tourist destination in the Mt. Kenya region.

Moreover, efforts to create a wildlife conservancy on the northern corridor

of our county are in top gear. My government has completed a programme

of recruiting and training community wildlife rangers in collaboration with

Kenya Wildlife Services Training School in Manyani. We are however

saddened by detractors who have taken the County to court demanding de-

gazettement of the conservancy. Nevertheless, we have already enacted the

County Conservancy law anchoring the Nyambene Conservancy into law

and creating its management structure.


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To promote industrialization initiatives in the County my government has

partnered with Kenya Industrial Institute in resource mapping, profiling and

the development of a master plan for industrial development policy for the

County.

11.LAND, HOUSING, ECONOMIC PHYSICAL PLANNING AND ICT

Mr Speaker

My government has translated the vision of this County into a five year

strategic plan. Towards this end and as required by the Constitution and

related laws on devolution, the County Government of Meru launched the


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County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2013-2017 in July 2014. This

integrated plan is projected to steer growth and development of this

County. In producing the CIDP my government created fora for public

participation as required by law. In this connection the Meru Rising

Conference held in July 2013 at Kenya Methodist University came up with

a development and investment blueprint. In January 2014 the Ameru

Stakeholders Forum took place in Safari Park Hotel Nairobi where

partners, investors and diaspora helped to consolidate our development

agenda. My government in collaboration with other stakeholders will host

an investment conference at the end of February next year that will

showcase development opportunities in our County to both foreign and

local investors.


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bli hi ib C D d I f i C i hi h


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establishing a vibrant County Data and Information Centre within the

financial year.

In the housing sector, due to rapid urbanization, the County is facing huge

housing challenges. My government has undertaken a compressive audit of

County housing and assets. Consequently, the County now is generating

enhanced revenue from rental income.

Mr. Speaker,

My Government has prioritized the process of Physical Planning which is

critical to the orderly functioning and development of all the other sectors.

Al d th M T I t t d St t i U b D l t Pl


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Already the Meru Town Integrated Strategic Urban Development Plan

(MTISUDP) has been developed enabling the coordinated development and

control in this fast growing town. Planning of other urban centres is

underway and once completed will play a significant role in our County

Development agenda. The current impediments created by blockage to road

reserves through grabbing or unauthorized buildings will be a thing of the

past once these plans are finalised.

Mr Speaker


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Mr. Speaker,

As you may be aware close to 60% of land in Meru does not have Title

Deeds. My Government is working with the national government to fast-

track issuance of Title Deeds to many parts of the County. We are expecting

to issue approximately 200,000 Title Deeds. On the problem of land

adjudication in the border between residents of Tigania West and Buuri, my

government initiated dialogue among residents and successfully removed the

14 year court case that had obstructed land adjudication. Now, my

government has moved to put in place resources and plans to ensure the

area is adjudicated and demarcated. On other land issues, my government is

undertaking a comprehensive audit of all public lands across the County to


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undertaking a comprehensive audit of all public lands across the County to

identify and secure them.

Mr. Speaker,

On the ICT development, my government has allocated significant resources

to procure, install and activate the requisite infrastructure to leverage on ICT

and enhance efficiency in service delivery. Other benefits of ICT

development include but are not limited to the automation of County

records which make accessibility easier and faster.


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addressed to enable Kenyans move on with the important agenda of


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addressed to enable Kenyans move on with the important agenda of

addressing their security concerns. Kenyans treasure their freedoms to live

and work anywhere in this republic without fear or intimidation. These

freedoms have been seriously threatened and undermined by insecurity.

Even though security is not yet a devolved function, County Governments

should not continue to be relegated to being spectators when the lives of

people are put at risk by terrorist and criminal elements. In this regard, I

urge the National Government to gazette the County Policing Authority

Regulations to enable Counties to put security management mechanisms in

place as soon as possible. Management of security at local level is a world-

wide practice which has been the missing link in our Countrys security

management system since the devolution of functions. One key aspect of

security management at the County Level is to provide quick and immediate


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security management at the County Level is to provide quick and immediate

response to incidences like the ones we have recently seen in North Eastern

region of the country.

Our proximity to the northern frontier makes security management a critical

factor for development of this County. In this connection, I urge all citizens

in this County to continue to live in peace and harmony with one another

and to be vigilant during the Christmas festivities ensuring strangers are

carefully vetted in hotels, shopping malls, Churches and other public

institutions.


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13.LEGISLATION BY THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY

Mr. Speaker,

Last but not least, may I take this opportunity to thank this house for the

cordial manner in which it has continued to work with the executive arm of

the government in the execution of its mandate of representation, legislation

and oversight. This has created an enabling environment for both arms of

the government to deliver services to the citizens without acrimony or bad

blood witnessed elsewhere. I urge the honourable members of this house to

nurture this good tradition.

May I also thank the honourable members of this house for a very


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May I also thank the honourable members of this house for a very

resourceful calendar that has enabled this house to pass many important

laws within a very short time. Most of the bills that my government has

forwarded to this house for enactment have been passed within a

reasonable time frame. Indeed, the following bills have been passed by this

house and I am pleased to inform you that I have assented them into laws.

These are:

Meru County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2014

Meru County Public Participation Act 2014

Meru County Investment and Development Corporation Act 2014

Meru County Micro Finance Corporation Act 2014

Meru County Revenue Board Act 2014

Meru County Cooperative Societies Act 2014


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y p

Meru County Wildlife Conservancies Management Act 2014

Meru County Water and Sanitation Services Act 2014

Meru County Finance Act, 2013

Meru County Appropriation Act, 2013

Meru County Appropriation Act, 2014.

In view of the above, I am directing the Department of Public Service to

organize a public sensitization programme on what these laws entail.

14.CLOSING REMARKS


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Mr. Speaker,

Finally, I wish all honourable members and everyone else in this County a

Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year 2015.

God bless you, God bless our County and God bless Kenya.

State of the County Address by h.e. Governor Peter Munya at the County Assembly

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Transcript of State of the County Address by h.e. Governor Peter Munya at the County Assembly