Kitui County is an economic sleeping giant that can be utilised to eliminate poverty amongst local communities.
East African Community, ASALs, and Regional Development CS Peninah Malonza, while speaking at Kefri Hall in Kitui town during a public sensitization forum on the Fourth Medium Term Plan, underscored that Kitui is endowed with diverse and massive resources that can be harnessed to lift up thousands of the area residents from poverty and deprivation.
According to Malonza, leveraging the programmes and projects outlined in the national government’s Bottom Up Economic Transformation blueprint, local people could easily turn around the fortunes of the county and, as such, improve their livelihoods.
“Despite being semi-arid, Kitui County is blessed with adequate dryland, which can be used for cash crop farming and livestock keeping, mineral deposits, and wildlife parks suitable for tourism. If we exploit all these opportunities, Kitui can be Kenya’s economic powerhouse,” she said.
In addition, the CS noted that a combination of the County Integrated Development Plan and the Fourth Medium Term Plan, which were both anchored in Kenya Vision 2030, would spur faster socio-economic growth for the county and Kenya at large.
Malonza reiterated that the Kenya Kwanza government has delivered numerous projects across Kitui County towards the improvement of citizens’ livelihoods and the enhancement of resilience and adaptation to persistent droughts in the county and the larger Lower Eastern Region.
Among the key development projects initiated by the national government in the county are the injection of Sh250 million for the completion of Umaa Dam in Kitui Central Sub County, Sh80 billion for Thwake Dam, and Sh1 billion for the extension of water from Kiambere Dam to Kyuso Sub County.
Other projects include the Sh1.5 billion water supply extension project from Kindaruma Dam to Mwingi West, the construction of the Sh487 billion High Grand Falls Dam, which will cut across three counties: Kitui, Tharaka Nithi, and Tana-river, and the Sh1 billion electricity extension project to all public schools.
In her speech, the Cs hailed Governor Dr. Julius Malombe’s administration for its unwavering commitment to deliver development projects in all sectors of the economy across the county, noting that cooperation between both the county and national government is key to the implementation of the Fourth Medium-Term Plan of 2023–2027.
Kitui County Deputy Governor Augustus Kanani, who spoke on behalf of the county governor, underscored that the Kitui County Government will deepen and build strong collaborations with the national government and all other stakeholders towards the realisation of the MTP IV outcomes.
“We appreciate this gesture as the constitution envisages collaboration between the two levels of government. A stable macroeconomic environment is a prerequisite for successful implementation of MTP IV priorities,” the deputy governor said.
He said that Kitui County will partner with the national government to ensure the achievement of the above priority areas.
“Our CIDP is aligned with MTV IV as demonstrated by the Kitui County CIDP Conceptual Framework, where we have prioritised six key pillars: food security, water access, health care, and the and the aggregation of our local industrial parks appropriately nurtured and skilled human capital for planned urban development,” Kanani added.
He noted that water is scarce across the county, and the county government will continue to explore possible ways of providing clean water to residents as well as water for irrigation.
Kanani urges the national government to expedite the completion of the Thwake Multipurpose Dam, whose realisation is behind schedule.
He disclosed that the Kitui County Government is in the process of securing land for the camp to be used by the National Government contractor to construct the High Grand Falls Dam, located on the River Tana between Kitui and Tharaka Nithi Counties.
“We appreciate that the national government has allocated funds to revive Umaa Dam in Kitui Central. A contractor has already been procured to complete the dam, which had stalled some years ago,” the deputy governor added.
Kanani further said the Sh 8.5 billion Yatta dam has been identified by the National Government among the dams to be constructed. The investment will spur agricultural activities along the 58-kilometre Yatta Canal, leading to a substantial increase in the acreage under irrigation. Its completion will transform the region’s food security.
On road infrastructure, he said the county government will continue to lobby the national government to support our priority infrastructure projects.
Kanani observed that the three counties, Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni, through the South Eastern Kenya Economic Block (SEKEB) Bloc, are interconnected with key road networks, which include the Mombasa-Nairobi Highway, Kibwezi-Kitui Road, Makindu-Wote-Machakos Road, Machakos-Kitui Road, and Wote-Kanyangi-Wikililye Road in Kitui.
However, he lamented that most regions within the three counties are not interlinked, thus hampering socio-economic development across the bloc.
“The movement of goods and services between Makueni and Kitui, for instance, has been greatly affected by underdeveloped road infrastructure, leading to undertapped potential in agriculture, trade, and other important sectors of the economy,” he decried.
He appreciated the standard gauge rail and metre gauge rail connecting Makueni and Machakos counties. However, Kitui is not connected to rail transport, and there is a need to explore connectivity from Kibwezi-Kitui-Thika.
On health, the deputy governor observed that, as part of the county government’s commitment towards the promotion of healthcare, “We can today confirm that specialised health services in our main hospitals are currently operational. Kitui has established a renal centre, while cancer and trauma centres have been built in Machakos and Makueni counties, respectively.”
He further observed that the Trauma Centre will help alleviate the suffering of the road accident victims along the busy Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.
Kanani called upon the national government to take the necessary steps to address the high road traffic in the country.
He welcomed the move by SEKEB to set up specialised units in our county hospitals to enable people to access specialised services within the vicinity of the Bloc.
The deputy governor appealed for the quick resolution of the doctors’ strike so that patients could access essential services.
On security, Kanani noted that Kitui County, in collaboration with the National Police Service, is currently constructing eight police stations along its historically troubled eastern border, adding that issues of border disputes are being amicably addressed through dialogue and peace forums.
By Denson Mututo and Rose Paul
