Tharaka Nithi County Government will not condone any encroachment into land that belongs to public amenities.
Speaking during the Jamuhuri Day celebrations held at Picnic Grounds in Chuka town on Tuesday, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki disclosed that some unscrupulous civil servants have continued to occupy government residences even after they left service.
“The government cannot rent land to extend public utilities while some people continue to illegally occupy its land. The government does not give out its land to any person, and anyone who is occupying such land should vacate before they are evicted,” said the governor.
Njuki further revealed that his government is committed to the war on illicit liquor and called on the judiciary to support this cause by desisting from ordering the police to release the exhibits to the illicit traders once they are acquitted.
“It does not make sense to release an exhibit to those prosecuted for selling alcohol on unlicensed premises. Where are they expected to continue selling their alcoholic drinks if they were arrested for selling in unauthorised outlets?” the governor asked.
He said the county government has employed the services of experienced alcoholic drink tasters who are able to tell whether the brand being sold is genuine, and the days of those selling counterfeit brands are numbered.
“We have further heightened the war on alcoholism by reducing the bar’s operating hours to between 5pm to 11pm on weekdays and from 2pm to 11pm on weekends. This will ensure our youth spend more time working than drinking,” Governor Njuki added.
The County Commissioner (CC), Wesley Koech, said the government is committed to empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and will fully utilise their services in the Affordable Housing Project.
“The government has allocated 200 units of the housing project to each constituency and will utilise the services of SMEs to help them grow,” said the CC.
He further disclosed that the government is committed to reviving cooperatives to shield coffee farmers from exploitive cartels, a sentiment that was also echoed by the county governor, who encouraged farmers to revive their coffee farming as its future is very bright.
“I have sought a coffee market in America that, although it consumes 19 per cent of the coffee produced globally, does not produce any coffee at all. We should go back to our former economic backbone, as the future for the crop is very bright,” stressed the governor.
By David Mutwiri
