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REPUBLIC OF KENYA
THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY OF LAIKIPIA
FIRST ASSEMBLY THIRD SESSION
REPORT OF THE FINANCE AND TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC WORKS
COMMITTEE
VISIT TO BARINGO COUNTY.
Dated: 10TH
FEBRUARY, 2015
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Preface
Mr. Speaker sir, the Transport and public works as well as the Finance committee were
constituted on 24th
April 2013 pursuant to provisions of Standing Order 191(1), it is my pleasure
and duty to present to this house, the committees report on a committees visit to Baringo County.
The membership of the committees is derived from S.O 191(1) and it comprises of the following;
Hon.Francis Mukuria - Chairman Transport and public works
Hon.Joseph Kabaci - Chairman Finance Committee
Hon.Catherine Waruguru - Vice chairperson of Finance committee
Hon.John Nderitu - Vice chair of Transport committee
Hon.Joseph Suge - Member of Finance Committee
Hon.Wilson Wakahiu - Member of Transport Committee
Hon Alice W. Ndegwa - Member of Finance Committee
Committee Mandate
Mr. Speaker sir, the Transport and public works committee is mandated to look into all matters
related to County transport, including County roads, street lighting, traffic and parking, public
transport and harbors, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters
related thereto county public works and services including storm water management systems in
built up areas and sanitation services.
Further Mr.speaker sir, the Finance and county planning is mandated to look into all matters
relating to County public finance and planning, development including statistics; land survey and
mapping; boundaries and fencing; housing and electricity and gas reticulation and energy
regulation.
The functions of the committees are as follows;
a) To investigate, inquire into, and report on all matters relating to the mandate,
management, activities, administration, operations and estimates of the assigned
departments;
(b) To study the programme and policy objectives of departments and the effectiveness of
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the implementation;
(c) To study and review all county legislation referred to it;
(d) To study, assess and analyse the relative success of the departments as measured by
the results obtained as compared with their stated objectives;
(e) To investigate and inquire into all matters relating to the assigned departments as they
may deem necessary, and as may be referred to them by the County
Assembly;
(f) To vet and report on all appointments where the Constitution or any law requires the
County Assembly to approve, except those under Standing Order 184 (Committee on
Appointments); and
(g) To make reports and recommendations to the County Assembly as often as possible,
including recommendation of proposed legislation.
Committee on Finance and Transport members with Hon. Members from Baringo County and Hon. Kamkem Koech the Baringo
County Assembly Speaker.
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INTRODUCTION
Baringo County is truly the land of a thousand views located in the ululating hills of the expanded Rift
Valley with vast terrains of valleys and escarpments. It is located in the former Rift Valley Province
of Kenya, it borders the following Counties; Turkana to the North and North East, Samburu and
Laikipia to the East, Nakuru to the South, Kericho and Uasin Gishu to the South West, Elgeyo
Marakwet to the West, and West Pokot to the North West.
It prides itself as the only county to have produced the longest serving and the 2nd President of
Kenya H.E the Former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. It is in the heart of the former Rift
Valley Province with 6 Constituencies including, Baringo Central, Baringo South, Eldama
Ravine, Mogotio, Tiaty and Baringo North. Kabarnet is the administrative capital of the County.
-Area (Km2): 11,015 Km 2
-Climate/Weather: Temperatures range from a minimum of 10 °C to a maximum of 35.0 °C in
different parts of the county.
-The rainfall varies from 1,000 to 1,500mm in the highlands to 600mm per annum in the low-
lands.
-Road Network: Bitumen Surface (269.0 Km), Gravel Surface (387.4 Km), Earth Surface
(1,517.3 Km).
-Key National Monument(s): Lake Bogoria’s Geysers and Hotsprings, the Equator Crossing at
Mogotio.
The major topographical features in the county are river valleys and plains, the Tugen Hills, the
floor of the Rift Valley and the northern plateau. One of the prominent river valleys is the Kerio
valley. It is situated in the Western part of the county and is a fair flat plain. In the eastern part of
the county near lakes Baringo and Bogoria is the Loboi plain covered mainly by the lacustrine
salt-impregnated silt deposits.
The Tugen Hills in the southwestern part of the county form a conspicuous topographical feature
in the county. The altitude varies from 1000m to 2600m above sea level.
The hills occur in a north-south direction and mainly consist of volcanic rocks. The hills have
steep slopes dissected by gullies. On the eastern and western parts of the hills there are escarp-
ments and rivers flowing down these hills pass through very deep gorges.
Economic Activity:
A major economic activity in Baringo County is the rearing of livestock. Fishing also takes part
particularly in Lake Baringo where Catfish and Tilapia provides income for the people who live
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around the area. The lake is a major tourist attraction site and is home to wildlife such as hippo-
potamus, crocodiles and an abundant variety of fish and birds (More than 500 specifies) making
the region an ornithologist’s paradise.The nearby Lake Bogoria National Reserve is home at
times to one of the world's largest populations of lesser flamingoes. The shore of the lake is lined
with spouting geysers, spurting steam and bubbling geothermal pools.
A number of hotels serve to accommodate the many visitors to the area. They offer excellent ac-
commodation. Further investment in the hospitality sector could see a rise in the industry’s ca-
pacity.
Baringo County Wards
Constit-
uency
Wards
Tiaty
Tirioko Kolowa Ribkwo Silale Loiyamorok
Tangul-
gul-
bei/Korossi
Chu-
ro/Amaya
Baringo
North
Barwes
sa
Kabar-
tonjo
Sai-
mo/Kipsaram
an
Saimo/Soi Bartabwa
Baringo
Central
Kabar-
net Sacho Tenges Kapropita
Baringo
South
Muku-
tani Marigat Ilchamus Mochongoi
Mogotio Mogoti
o
Eminin
g Kisanana
Eldama
Ravine
Lem-
bus
Lembus
Kwen Ravine
Mumber-
es/Maji
Mazuri
Lem-
bus/Perkerr
a
Koibatek
Tourism and wildlife in Baringo
The region has picturesque landscapes that include among others;
Waterfalls: – Torok and Kessup in Keiyo county, Arror and Embobut in
Marakwet county.
Cliffs: - Rondinin (Simut) and Kipngochoch in Baringo county and Kamriny in
Keiyo county.
Valleys: - The great rift valley (Kerio valley and Suguta valley)
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Hills/Escapement: – Cherangany hills in Marakwet and West Pokot County,
Elgeyo Escapement in Keiyo County, Seker hills in Westpokot County, Tugen
hills in Baringo County and Mogila hills in Turkana County.
Gorges: - Turkwel gorge in West Pokot county and Chebloch in Baringo and
Keiyo countys border.
Wildlife
The region is home to wide rage of wildlife which is a major tourism attraction. The main re-
serves and sanctuaries are lakes Bogoria, Baringo, Kapnarok, Nasolot, Saiwa swamp, Rimon and
Lake Turkana. The main type of wildlife includes Elephants, Buffaloes, Crocodile, Hippos and
various birds. These are found in national parks and reserves.
The game reserves and other attraction are popular both to local people and foreigners. Average
numbers of annual visitors to game reserves in a typical year are averagely appreciating annually
Other attractions
Besides the above mentioned attractions the County have other attractions like:
Lakes
The region has three natural lakes namely: – Turkana, Baringo and Bogoria. Water sports such as
boat and canoe tours have been introduced in Lakes Turkana and Baringo and attract non-
residents tourists.
Lake Bogoria in Baringo County is a popular tourist attraction site due to its active geyser. The
geysers produce stream reach in sulphur compounds, which are believed to be medicinal. In the
same area are not – which have been harnessed by the local noted industry.
Lake Baringo is, after Lake Turkana, the most northern of the Great Rift Valley lakes of Kenya,
with a surface area of about 130 sq km. The lake is fed by two rivers, El Molo and Ol Arabel and
has no obvious outlet, despite this it being one of the two freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley in
Kenya, the other being Lake Naivasha. It lies off the beaten track in a hot and dusty setting and
over 470 species of birds have been recorded there, occasionally including migrating flamingos.
The area is little affected by tourism and is situated at the southern end of a region of Kenya in-
habited largely by pastoralist ethnic groups including Chamus, Rendille, Turkana and Kalenjin.
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Fish stocks in the lake are now low and water levels have been reduced by droughts and over-
irrigation. The lake has several small islands, by far the largest being Ol Kokwe Island. The main
town on its shore is Loruk, while smaller settlements include Kampi ya Samaki.
Museum
Artifacts depicting the cultural history of the regions communities have been collected and are
played in museums. Visitors to museums are over 2000 annually. These museums are strategical-
ly located along the northwestern tourist circuit.
Ruko conservancy
Ruko Conservancy is a 19,000 hectare area to the North and East of Lake Baringo, consisting of
bushland and about 10 kms of shoreline.
Education in Baringo
Baringo County has 349 Primary Schools, 34 Secondary Schools and 6 Tertiary training institu-
tions (colleges, Polytechnics etc).
Enrolment of girls in Primary Schools is higher than that of boys while in secondary schools is
lower than that of boys. The primary school going age population is growing fairly rapidly. The
population of this age group was 80,230 in year 2009. The county will therefore need to invest in
the provision of education facilities to cater for the increasing demand bearing in mind that the
gross enrollment rate is 90%.
For the secondary school going age group, the population was estimated at 34,140 by 2009.
However
the gross enrollment rate is low at 25% which means that the facilities are underutilized
either due to high drop out rates or the fact that most students opt to join secondary schools
outside the county. Both the primary and secondary school going age constitute 35.9% of the to-
tal population.
Health in Baringo
Baringo County has 89 health facilities distributed all over the county. Most of them are under-
utilized due to lack of staff and equipment. The average distance to the nearest health centre is
15km.
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The most prevalent diseases in the county are Malaria, upper respiratory tract infection (URTI)
and Pneumonia. Thus programmes of Primary Health Care (PHC); and STI/STD including
HIV/AIDS should be put in place.
The causes of infant deaths are due to respiratory diseases, pneumonia, malaria, worms and diar-
rhoea. In the Valley deaths are mainly due to malaria, while in the Highlands deaths are due to
pneumonia and respiratory diseases. Another cause of mortality is the effect of HIV/AIDS lead-
ing to orphan-hood; single parents; child headed family, child labour and street children.
HIV/AIDs pandemic is not only a health problem but also a development issue as it encompasses
socio-economic and cultural dimensions. As in the rest of the country, prevalence is higher in the
Urban than in the rural areas with 90% of the infections being among the people aged between
15-49 years and 5-10% of the infections occurring in children under five years.
Culture/beliefs is promoting in-faction in salient way in the name of preserving culture. Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM) is also contributing to HIV spread.
OBSERVATIONS
The delegation left Nanyuki on 19th
June 2014 and spent the night at Nakuru town before
proceeding to Baringo in the following day. The delegation arrived in Baringo County on 20th
June 2014 in the morning. The officer in charge of the speaker’s office from the Baringo county
received the delegation and welcomed them after which they were introduced to each and every
department.In the process the delegation learnt from each and every department that;
There is an intership program in Baringo County and in each year they have different
interns.
In the Human Resource department; job evaluation has already been conducted its
awaiting the County Assembly Service Board approval.
There has been a well established welfare scheme for their staff and honourable members,
whereby all are members of LAP Fund.The welfare scheme also pays 50% of tution fees
for all staff enrolled in master programme.
Every chair of a committee has an office and the same office can be used by the members
of the same committee.
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The County during the 2013/2014 financial year purchased heavy earth moving machines
which they used to open up 200KM in the County.
The Committee on Transport during the briefing session
There is a fiscal analyst/principal budget officer in the county who work hand in hand with
the budget committee through offering technical advice whenever required.
The County has 12 sectoral committees.
The plenary hall in this county is well established just like that of the national assembly.
The county has toilet facilities which are friendly to the physically challenged.
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The County has introduced the physically challenged washrooms.
In the legislative department each clerk assistant has a, laptop, ipad, a research officer and
a harddisc.
There is a library which is well equiped with documents such as constitution, Baringo
County interim standing orders, PFM Act etc.
The County has two deputy clerks; one representing the legislative and committee
services and the other one representing the Admnistrative services
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Modern Baringo Assembly Chambers
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The Committee went around the offices including this modern Committee room.
The delegation having been introduced to all offices proceeded to the office of the Speaker Mr.
William Kamket who then welcomed and introduced them to the Transport and public works
Committee members from Baringo County, CEC, for transport, codinator and chief officer of
transport. Mr William Kamket later called upon the Laikipia County to introduce themselves
.The two Counties deliberated and exchanged ideas in the presence of the Baringo CECM, For
transport who informed the committee that his department has done a lot within that one year,
including the purcase of heaving machines, opening of new roads and also renovation of various
buildings within the County. The chairman of Baringo transport and public works committee
Hon.Richard Kambala ended the discussion by informing the delegation that they have identified
work done in this financial year to be visited by the delegation.
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The Committee held a brief meeting with the Hon. Speaker Mr. Koech and the minister in charge of transport
The following areas were identified for visit by the delegation;
Roads
Public works
Foot bridges
Energy
Street Lights
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Roads
In 2013/2014 financial year the county managed to purchase one bull dozer, two tipping trucks,
one drum steel roller, a mechanical excavator and a motor grader which they used to open a 250
km of new roads. According to the Baringo County Tranport and public works chair he informed
the delegation that with the machineries in place it reduced radically the cost of constructing
roads and also they assist in times of emergencies as the county will not be required to incur
much cost and time in procuring for the services of private companies.
In the same financial year they managed to grade and murram 700km using both labour
intensive and machanized method, with labour intensive 75km of new roads were opened where
each casual worker was paid Ksh 250 and the supervisor was paid Ksh 450.
In every ward a road was identified and prioritized by the area MCA for grading and murraming.
The committee was informed that more than 35 construction companies were engaged in
2013/2014 financial year in
The impact of having their own machinaries was confirmed by the Laikipia County transport and
Finance committee when they visited in Ribkwo ward in Tiaty Sub – County where the county
was able to open 75km of new road through community labour.
Public works
The county has modernized its buildings, upgraded Kabarnet stadium, constructed ECD
Classrooms,construction of dispensaries and upgrading of health centres, cattle dips, sale yards,
slaughter houses, Stalls and they ensured that work is done by specification and supervision is
done before payment was made.
The committed was priviledged to visit the following areas;
Governor’s office Modernization of office building
County Assembly Modernization of County Assembly
Health Construction of dispensaries and upgrading of health centres
Education Construction of ECD classrooms at various county primary schools
Youth and Sports Upgrading of Kabarnet stadium
Agriculture and Livestock Construction of slaughter houses
Construction of cattle dips
Construction of sale yards
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Foot bridges
The county has installed 6 Foot Bridge in 6 sub-counties. The aim of this was to reduce travel
distance of the residents accessing important public utilities like markets, hospitals and
schools.An example was the Waseges foot bridge which reduced a distance of more than 200km
to about 15km from Mochongoi to Waseges.
Energy
The county has a clean energy plant (BIOMAS) a fully funded project at Marigat funded and
developed by Cummins Company where they are using prosopis to produce electricity using
steam and pressure. The chairman Transport and Public works Committee from Baringo County
highlighted that this has reduced the destruction of the environment by the invasive plant species
which has caused problem to the community.
Street Lighting
The County has installed street lights in two (2No.) towns one being Kabarnet town and five
(5No.) centres within the county. This will improve the security in the towns and increase busi-
ness hours for our traders.The street mast have an advertising slot which can lease out to busi-
ness owners and thus it boosts revenue in the County. The committee was informed that it costed
the county Ksh 450,000 to purchase one bulb, post and solar panel.
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The joint Committee members examining one of the streetlight along the street.
We noticed that from one post to another is a distance of 40 metres and the county has started the
project in Kabarnet town where the County offices are located.
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The lighting system is designed to accommodate adverts, generating income for the County.
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Recommendations
The committee came up with the following recommendations that;
1. The two committees i.e Baringo and Laikipia County transport and public works as well
as the Finance committee do hold a joint meeting to discuss on the challenges facing
them and have a a way forward.
2. The two committee do a follow up with the National Parliament to ensure that the
Karandi Muchongoi road is tarmacked.
3. A mechanical and transport board be created to maintain and service the County
machineries.
4. The Laikipia County Government set a certain amount of money in its budget for major
flagship projects.
5. The Laikipia County Government initiate the solar street lighting in the major towns like
Nanyuki, Nyahururu,Rumuruti and Doldol so as to boost revenue through 24 hour
business and for security purposes.
6. That all projects be supervised and inspected before payment is done.
7. That all on –going projects be labelled by a project sign board citing the name of the
contractor, the funder of the project and the cost of that project.
8. That the County to put in place measures to purchase its own heavy earth moving
machines like graders , rollers, dozers etc to facilitate grading,murraming ,and digging
of boreholes in the County.
9. That the County Government do upgrade the parking lots with cabro bricks to enhance
revenue collection.
10. The county governmet ought to partner with the non-governmental Organizations and
the sponsors to install clean energy plant (Biomas plant) in the County for public
consumption so as to protect our enviroment.
11. The County government to work closely with Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA) so
as to ease service delivery to the public and also to avoid duplication of work.
12. The public works office should ensure that all projects in the County are done by
specifications, so as to avoid sub-standard projects in the County which result to
mismanagement of County funds.
13. The two Counties continue benchmarking with each other so as continue sharing the
challenges they are facing and come with the way forward.