The County directorate of gender together with its stakeholders held the first public participation towards engaging Kisumu residents to have meaningful input into the Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV)draft policy framework.
The public participation held at YWCA in Kisumu central brought together stakeholders and partners in gender issues to deliberate on the Kisumu County draft SGBV policy framework and provide an opportunity for communication between county government, gender partners and the public.
This follows a series of discussions and workshops between partners in gender issues to deliberate on the draft. According to the gender directorates, state department headed by Mr. Joel Okumu and County government, led by Adah Omedi, the Kisumu County SGBV framework policy will give effect to the various principles that prohibit SGBV, promote the rights to freedom and security as well as empower women by transforming them from survivors of gender-based violence into key drivers of the county’s structural transformation.
The policy formulation process was spearheaded by the County directorate of gender, County state department of gender together with members of the civil society and private partners in gender issues.
By Matilda Atieno
Grace Akech of Gender Based Violence Recovery Center (GBVRC)- JOOTRH, giving input towards Kisumu county sexual gender-based violence draft policy framework during the public participation
Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO) held the 41st Annual General Meeting on the 26th of October 2019 at Acacia Premier Hotel Kisumu.
The event brought together over 100 tour operators and tourism stakeholders from different parts of a cross the country.
The objective of the meeting was to ensure that Kenya Tour Operators maintain the highest possible standards of service and integrity. To provide information to members, clients and agents towards beneficial relations and to create business opportunities for members.
Having won the bid to host the 9th edition of the Africities Summit in November 2021, Kisumu County Minister for Tourism, Sports and Culture Achie Alai shared with participants some of the plans that are underway to ensure that the event is successful.
In addition, she welcomed onboard the stakeholders to share their views that will shape up the preparation of the summit that will attract over 10,000 guests from Kenya and beyond.
Kenya Tourism Board CEO Dr. Betty Radier encouraged the tour operators and players in the tourism space mainly from Western Kenya to share their signature products and experiences with KTB so that they can be marketed.
The We ‘Western initiative team also shared some of the measures undertaken in establishing Western Kenya on the global map in relation to Tourism and Culture.
From left) KATO head of Secretariat Peter Kaigwa County minister for Tourism, Sports and Culture Achie Alai, Acacia GM Dancun Mwangi and KTB CEO Betty
Rice farmers in Ahero irrigation scheme can breathe a sigh of relief now that they are ready to take home a bumper harvest from the rice fields of block A.
This was manifested during the official launch of the harvest by the CEC Member Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock and Fisheries Mr Gilchrist Okuom on Friday.
Block A has a total acreage of 285 and the farmers from this block have garnered averagely 30 bags per acre an increase from the previous harvests where they have been getting 20 bags per acre.
This exercise comes after their crops were affected by the hailstorm which caused a major blow to the farmers rendering them unproductive.
In a bid to meet one of the big 4 agenda on food security, The County government partnered with the National Irrigation Authority formerly NIB, to bring back to production the farmers of bocks A, F and G.
The County government pumped in a total of 14million of which 1.5million covers the cost of bailing rice straws and 12.5million to cover the cost of rotavation, transplanting, weeding, fertilizers and harvesting.
The NIB wrote off 5 million loaned to the farmers for seeds, Operations and maintence (O&M) and allowed them back to production in the next crop 66 without upfront payment of O&M and also provided them with seeds.
Speaking to the farmers during the launch of the harvest, the County Director for Agriculture, Mr. Okech noted that inadequate water and hailstorm are challenges likely to reoccur hence insurance was key for sustainable production and that planting a variety that meets the needs of the local market was not optional.
The same sentiments were echoed by the NIB Ahero branch Manager, Mr Joel Tanui who stated that “We can’t afford to go back to what we faced recently” hence it was clear that insurance was the way to go. He also assured them of a ready market for the Basmati variety that would be bought by the lake Basin Development Authority.
He said that out of the 14 million invested in the production by the County government, a return of 56million is expected after the harvest, and that as NIB they plan to expand irrigation within the County to a tune of 150 million especially considering to change the mindset of farmers in Muhoroni to diversify crop production.
The County Minister for Agriculture on his part called on farmers to learn to do farming differently from what was done in the past. He emphasized the incorporation of three key issues namely: insuring their farms to mitigate unforeseen calamities, forming cooperatives that will give them bargaining power for funds allocation and mechanized farming to boost production and productivity.
Also present were the MCA Awasi Hon. Ngeta standing in for the area MCA, Hon. Vitalis Otura,the Sub county agricultural officer Mr. Arthur Hongo, Ward agricultural officer, Esther Onyango, and agricultural Officer from the County headquarters, Mr Domnic among other guests.
County Minister for Agriculture, Irrigation, Livestock and Fisheries, Mr Gilchrist Okuom officially launching the rice harvesting for block A under Ahero Irrigation Scheme
County Minister, Gilchrist Okuom addressing farmers at the Ahero irrigation scheme
The County Minister receiving a 50kg bag of Basmati rice after the official launch of the harvest
DRAFT FINANCE BILL 2019
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROGRAMpublic participation Notice
Pursuant to Article 10(2). Article 196(i) (f) of the Constitution of Kenya and Section 87 of the County Government Act of 2012, Kisumu County Government invites the members of the Public, Private Sector Organization, Interested Parties and all Stakeholders to submit any presentation they have on the Draft Finance Bill 2019.
The presentation may be made orally or by written memorandum in the following manner:
- A written memorandum may be forwarded to the County Secretary, County Government of Kisumu, P.O Box 2738-40100 Kisumu or Hand delivered to the office of the County Secretary to be received on or before 20th October 2019.
- Public hearing to be held in all the seven Sub-Counties as per the dates, time and venue indicated below;
The proposed bill can be obtained from the County web site; https://www.Kisumu.go.ke
| DATE | SUB-COUNTY | TIME | VENUE |
| TUESDAY
22nd OCT 2019 |
SEME | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M. | KIT MIKAYI |
| WEDNESDAY
23rd OCT 2019 |
KISUMU WEST | 9 A.M.-5 P.M. | OJOLLA HALL |
| THURSDAY
24th OCT 2019 |
KISUMU EAST | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | KIBOS RAILWAY STATION HALL |
| FRIDAY
25th OCT 2019 |
MUHORONI | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | MNARA SDA CHURCH |
| MONDAY
28th OCT 2019 |
MUHORONI | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | NYANGOMA RESOURCE CENTRE |
| TUESDAY
29th OCT 2019 |
NYAKACH | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | PAP ONDITI |
| WEDNESDAY
30th OCT 2019 |
NYANDO | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | AHERO RESOURCE CENTRE |
| THURSDAY
31st OCT 2019 |
KISUMU CENTRAL | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | GOAN INSTITUTE HALL |
| FRIDAY
3rd Nov 2019 |
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TEAM | 9 A.M.- 5 P.M | AGA KHAN HALL |
GODFREY.M. KIGOCHI
COUNTY SECRETARY
Construction of the Impala Dunga road is set to continue following the intervention of the County government and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
Speaking in Kisumu, where he joined Deputy Governor Dr. Mathew Owili in inspecting the construction of Impala -Dunga road, the Kenya Wildlife Service Director-General, Brigadier (Rtd) John Migui Waweru expressed confidence in the government’s ability to expedite the road’s construction in Kisumu.
Once complete the road is set to open up access and increase tourist traffic within the Impala Sanctuary and Dunga beach and it will also boost the economy of Kisumu.
According to the Deputy Governor, the county government is ready to partner the KWS in stepping up conservancy efforts in the region.
The road works is underway and construction is expected to be completed by mid-November 2019.
The improved road network in the County is aimed at spurring socio-economic development among the residents. This is in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030 blueprint and the Governor’s manifesto that pledges to construct and maintain roads within the County.
Deputy Governor, Dr. Mathew Owili and the Kenya Wildlife Service Director General, Brigadier (Rtd) John Migui Waweru during inspection tour of the Impala Dunga road
To celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, the county government in partnership with Plan International and Nyanza Initiative for Girls’ Education & Empowerment (NIGEE) organized celebrations at Kombewa in an event that brought together girls from Kisumu county.
This year’s Day of the Girl Child themed “GirlForce: Unscripted and unstoppable” marks the annual celebrations as commissioned by the United Nation. October 10th focuses attention on the need to addressed the challenges girls face and to promote girls’ empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights.
The celebration was presided over by County Minister for Education ICT and Human capacity development Dr. John Obiero Ogone, who in his speech recognised education, training, entry into the work force, access to information, communication technology and resources set for the girl child.
The annual event comes in the wake of conversations around gender equity and policy formulation in Kisumu County.
By Matilda Atieno
Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr.Mathew Owili this morning joined Barclays Business Banking Director Elizabeth Wassuna in flagging off the Tuwezeshe Biashara na Barclays SME road show, aimed at creating awareness among Small and Medium Enterprises(SME) in the region.
The county government is already creating economic linkages to promote the SME sector. The Business and Marketing Department has already embarked on the modernization of the Kisumu Innovation &Incubation Centre in it’s quest to boost the sector.
In his address Owili lauded the bank for targeting the SME’s, a sector he described major players in the County’s economy.
Also present were CEC Richard Ogendo,(Barclays) Head of SME Susan Situma, Head of Marketing Peter Waweru, Gunila Ouko, Regional Manager BBK among other officials from the bank and the County government.
By Collins Owuor
Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr.Mathew Owili together with Director Elizabeth Wassuna flagged off the Tuwezeshe Biashara na Barclays SME road show
Kisumu County has partnered with health stakeholders to form a multiparty organization to upgrade equipment to conduct all types of cancer screening.
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Referral and Teaching Hospital (JOORTH), Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET), Blue Cross Kenya, Mp Shah and Duke Hospital have come together to form Cancer Alliance to help fight the cancer menace.
2nd of October, JOOTRH cancer center hosted the launch of the alliance that was kicked off with a walk dubbed “Hope Beyond Cancer walk,” flagged off by Mama Kisumu County, Mrs. Dorothy Nyong’o from the County Headquarters through to JOOTRH.
Mama Kisumu who was the chief guest said that the stakeholders have decided to come together to slay ‘the giant’ by making cancer screening services available everywhere for free, adding that the decision to focus on prevention as the foundation block of cancer, will enable access to treatment and relatively easier and cheaper to contain.
“With the availability of cancer screening services, people from Kisumu County will not need to travel to Nairobi or abroad to get tested and treated, imagine how many lives we can save if we create awareness to everyone,” she said.
Kisumu being one of the piloted counties for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), is determined make health services available to everyone including free screening for all types of cancer and most importantly, sharing information about cancer to help in developing new diagnostic to better treatments that increase survival and improve quality of life for cancer patients.
Mama Kisumu also mentioned that Kisumu has partnered with Harvard University to set up a comprehensive Cancer Center which will bring the best treatment and services to people all over the region. She encouraged residents to embrace Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which is set for mass vaccination, administered to girls aged 10 years old, stating that this will help eliminate cervical cancer.
Residents were also urged to avoid eating genetically modified food which is one of the primary causes of cancer and that exercise, organic food, a clean environment and enough sleep would help kick out cancer.
The objective of the cancer alliance is to accelerate cancer care locally by addressing the multi-level barriers to improving cancer care and to ease the disease burden in the region.
By Wendy Chloe
Mama Kisumu Dorothy Nyong’o together with Executive Director KMET Kenya Ms. Monica Oguttu joined the procession towards the launch of Kisumu County Cancer Alliance
Shortlisting of COs and Directors
Find attached the Shortlisted candidates for the Various positions of Chief Officers and Directors in various directorates.
Click on the Link below to access the document