Nyeri County government has entered into a direct partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) which will see the County receive funding directly from the agency.
The non-binding agreement is meant to support the implementation of some of the development projects which have stalled due to lack of funding. Previously, Nyeri has been relying on the Treasury to wire foreign aid and conditional financial grants to actualize some of the projects in the County Integrated Development Plan.
“We are happy that the USAID is bringing a fresh outlook where counties will work with the agency as partners and not as donors and beneficiaries,” said the Nyeri governor.
The grants will go towards improving Nyeri’s healthcare and agriculture system, supporting urbanization and creating a competitive private sector which will create employment for the youth. It also includes a Sh 25 million health aid from the Centre for Disease Control towards the HIV/AIDS prevention campaign.
This is not the first direct interaction between the two partners. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the county received 11 ventilators from USAID. The agency has also been funding the county’s HIV/AIDS programme through the Aphia plus Kamili.
On his part, Mark Meassick, said that the funding was a gift from the American people and comes without any need for repayment. Meassick said that USAID would be riding on Nyeri’s track record in transparently utilizing donor funds.
“We will use the resources to identify a more robust economic support for the county because the 21st century is about connectivity, networks and partnerships. We are hoping to help Nyeri County build these networks with the private sector and other entities from around the world,” said Meassick.
By Lawrence Munyaka and Wangari Mwangi
