Kirinyaga County Governor, Anne Waiguru, has said that Kirinyaga will continue working closely with the national government for the sake of the county’s development.
Speaking during Madaraka Day celebrations held at Mutitu Polytechnic grounds in Kirinyaga Central constituency, Waiguru enumerated multibillion development projects that have been realized from collaboration between the two governments.
She said that among the five counties selected for funding to establish an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), Kirinyaga is among them and the only in the central region. She said that Ruto’s government has allocated Sh1 billion for the project while the county government will contribute Sh250 million for the same.
The EPZ will be hosted at the Sagana Industrial City which sits on a 144 acres of land. The city will also be a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which will host the County Aggregation and Industrial Park (CAIP). This development will enable agro-processing to the benefit of farmers who will earn extra income from value addition. The park will also provide employment opportunities for thousands of county residents.
She added that coffee farmers in the county will be major beneficiaries of the billions of shillings that President Ruto has set aside for waiving debts owed by the coffee cooperatives.
In collaboration to fight snails and quelea birds that have been detrimental to rice production in Mwea, the governor said that the National Government has set aside a budget to enable a successful multi-agency operation to rid the rice plantations of the menace.
“These collaborations have enabled the County Government to propel its development agenda by investing in major projects such as the development of County Aggregation and Industrial Park, affordable housing projects in Kerugoya and Kianyaga, Wang’uru Stadium, construction of dams, ESP markets, among other projects. All these labour-intensive projects have become a major source of employment for our youth,” said the governor.
He further urged the county residents to continue supporting the both governments as they work hard towards delivering the promise of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) for a better Kenya.
The governor assured the residents that the county government is on course as far as delivering its mandate was concerned, enumerating many projects that she has achieved in agriculture, trade, health, and roads among others. She particularly noted that agricultural production has tremendously improved following the implementation of Wezesha Kirinyaga economic empowerment program that aims at supporting farmers to increase production and productivity of various agricultural value chains.
By Mutai Kipngetich
