Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior has said the county is enacting resilience-building strategies that will safeguard the community and ecosystems in the face of climate change.
Mutula said his administration allocated Sh. 66 million for climate action plans during the 2023/2024 financial year.
Mutula spoke while delivering the State of the County address at the Makueni county assembly in Wote town.
“We have also undertaken a Participatory County Climate Risk Assessment through which 900 community members were trained on climate risks and established 30 Ward Climate Change Planning Committees for enhanced coordination, planning, and implementation of locally-led climate actions,” said Mutula.
He said the county has adopted green energy for water pumping through the use of solar energy.
Mutula said the county has established an Energy Centre at Kisingo Vocational Technical Training Institute in Makindu Ward to enhance our renewable energy use and awareness promotion.
“Similarly, an Energy Plan developed with the help of the Water Resources Institute (WRI), Strathmore University and the UK Pact is nearly complete. We will soon forward it for your approval. This plan will not only change the way we use energy to power our facilities but will open doors for funding by several investors who are waiting anxiously to see the approved plan and policy,” noted Mutula.
Mutula said his administration is implementing the Roads for Water (Green Roads) Initiative which aims at harvesting road runoff water for agricultural use as part of climate change adaptation and resilience building
The project is done through youth engagement and manual labor where more than 200,000 cubic meters of water is harvested from the roads every rainy season.
He added that the county is committed to addressing the challenges of rain-fed agriculture and to enhanced food security, by focusing on irrigation.
“To address the challenges of rain-fed agriculture and enhance food security, the government is putting more focus on irrigation. Kikome Irrigation Scheme in Kitise/Kithuki ward we are targeting to put 50 acres under irrigation; Kathambalani in Kitundu/Kithungo targeting 35 acres and Mbavani in Kalawa which is at the feasibility study stage and targeting 500 acres are some of the irrigation schemes we are currently implementing,” noted Mutula.
“The construction of Utini-Yikitaa (UYI) Earth dam in Masongaleni Ward in collaboration with the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) is underway, where it will benefit over 65,000 people and 500,000 livestock,” noted Mutula.
The total cost for the project is Sh. 55 Million with the NDMA contributing Sh. 40 Million, the County Government Sh. 10 Million, and the community Sh. 5 Million in kind.
Also, Mutula noted that through the collaboration with the National Government, the reclamation process of 980 hectares of Kiu Wetland in Makindu Ward, Kibwezi West Constituency as part of Chyulu Water Towers began on Tuesday.
“We have planted 120,000 trees of the county’s target of 344 Million trees by 2032. The catchment requires additional trees and fencing which various partners have offered to do,” added Mutula.
By Ronald Rono
