Nyandarua County Youth Enterprise Development and Innovations Fund Bill

The proposed Nyandarua County Youth Enterprise Development and Innovations Fund Bill, 2015 aims at stimulating the economy of Nyandarua County by creating a Fund that will help youth develop innovations, start new businesses and grow existing ones. It aims to create an environment where youths can generate wealth, create the much needed job opportunities and improving the living standards of thousands in Nyandarua County.

What is the purpose of the Fund?

v Providing access to capital and financing facilities to micro and small enterprises owned by the youth resident in the County.

v Attracting and facilitating investment in micro and small enterprises oriented commercial infrastructure.

v Supporting youth oriented micro and small enterprises to develop linkages with large enterprises.

v Facilitating marketing of products and services of micro and small enterprises owned by youth resident in the County in both domestic and international markets.

v Facilitating employment of youth resident in the County and  in the international lab our market.

v Promote the development of technological innovations within the country

v Establish awards in recognition of exemplary performance by youths in the field of technological innovations and business

Create events such as festivals and exhibitions to promote youth owned business and innovations throughout the County

22 Billion Golf Course and an Airstrip for Nyandarua county

Nyandarua is to get its first private golf resort that is expected to employ up to 1,500 residents.

Officially giving the Mt Kipipiri Golf Resort the green light on Tuesday, Governor Daniel Waithaka said his government would work with the Chinese investors to ensure it is completed in time.

Governor Waithaka praised the investors for choosing the location, which is at the foot of the Aberdare Mountains, and falls under the tourist circuit connecting Nairobi and the northern circuit of Isiolo, Marsabit and Laikipia.

The Sh22 billion resort is being built on a 1,400-acre farm previously owned by former spy chief James Kanyotu.

Construction equipment is already on the site and the resort is expected to be completed in five years.

It will comprise an airstrip, 600 villas and an 18-hole golf course under the management of Chief Executive Young Moon Choi, Managing Director Harish Ramji Patel and Director Robert Njoroge.

Mr Njoroge said an existing airstrip would be modernised and part of the farm not taken up by buildings will be used to grow crops like strawberries that are not available from farmers in the area.

Nyandarua MCAs Sh30m recreation centre

According to the assembly’s strategic plan, the recreation facility would help improve the social interaction and health of its members and enable the House have a vibrant membership. However residents termed the move improper saying the money would be better spent on basic needs such as water, food and electricity which a number of Nyandarua’s residents go without.
The protests over the recreation facility ensued just as the dust settled over the Sh5 million the Nyandarua MCAs awarded themselves each as car and house loans.

The citizen’s group ‘Nyandarua Tuko Macho Forum’ has since threatened to move to court to oppose the move.
The chairman of the forum Macharia Mukua said that the actions of the MCAs went contrary to the expectations of the residents who were struggling to make ends meet.
“We will do everything possible to stop the assembly from misusing these funds which would be otherwise useful to the residents. This money is enough to put up murram roads for two wards and we will move to court to block the assembly from going on with the project,” he told the press in Nyahururu town.
The chairman expressed regret at the County Assemblies way of conducting business and demanded greater public participation.
“The law is very clear that there should have been public participation before any penny is spent and we wonder who they consulted before approving the spending of this kind of money,” he posed.
Fellow protester Faith Gitau condemned the move vowed to mobilize the public to take part in protests.
“I will personally lead the public protests as we cannot allow the money to be used to benefit just a few people. This is contrary to what we expected,” she said.

Amos Kimunya in Court

Former Cabinet minister Amos Kimunya and a company to which he is accused of fraudulently transferring a 25-acre piece of land Wednesday suffered a blow when the High Court ruled that the criminal trial against him should proceed.

Justice Weldon Korir declined for the second time to stop Mr Kimunya’s prosecution.

Mr Kimunya first moved to court a year ago after filing two suits seeking to stop the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from proceeding with the criminal trial against him.

Even though Mr Kimunya had argued that the offences which he is alleged to have committed are believed to have been done in 2005, he feared that charges against him in 2014 were malicious and discriminatory since there was a pending civil case in Nakuru on the land in question with Midlands Limited.

Nyandarua County Donate Milk Cooling Plant to Karati Famers Society

Nyandarua Governor H.E. Daniel Waithaka Mwangi has challenged farmers in Kinangop sub-county to stand firm and kick out brokers from potato industry.
He said it was inconceivable that brokers were making up to 200 per cent from the sale of potatoes and other horticultural products, leaving farmers exploited and poor.
“From now hence, you should stand firm and make proper consultations among yourselves before determining the price of your products. Don’t allow the brokers to determine the price for your crop,” he told farmers during a public gathering at Heni playgrounds.
The Governor spoke after he commissioned a Sh3.8 million milk cooling plant his administration donated to members of Karati Farmers’ Society.
The Governor was accompanied by County Ministers Hon. Judy Nyambura Mwangi (Co-operatives), Hon. George Kimani (Attorney and ICT), Hon. Peter Mwangi Gathimba (Tourism and Sports), as well Members of the County Assembly Hon. Githinji Ngumba (Magumu) and Hon. Peter Njoroge Kariru (Githabai).
The Governor advised farmers to join the co-operative movement to enable them market their produce directly to consumers and manufacturers instead of selling such products through the middlemen.
He commended the co-operative movement saying it was the answer to farmers’ woes, noting that some societies had started to sell farmers’ produce directly to manufacturers.
He said Nyandarua had a total of 126 co-operative societies, 26 of which were registered during the past year alone while 13 others were revived by his administration.
The Governor expressed satisfaction that Karati Farmers’ Society earned over Sh80 million from milk sales alone last year and was currently producing milk worth Sh8 million on monthly basis.
He said the society had registered a savings and credit society (sacco) for members and a total number of 457 had so far deposited savings to the tune of Sh4.6 million.
H.E. Waithaka said farmers in Nyandarua County have ventured into the sacco movement which accounted for Sh3.9 billion in savings. He said members had taken loans to the tune of Sh3.2 billion.
The governor said his administration had continued to assist the movement, noting that the department of co-operatives had donated another milk cooling plant to Umoja Nyahururu Farmers Society with a capacity of 3,000 litres.
His administration had also injected direct capital to other societies such as Zimamwa, Geta , New Visionary bodaboda housing co-operative, Bodabioda Njabini society, Turasha Farmers’ society and Gikara Farmers’ society.
While referring to the proposed Sh13 billion-Kinangop Wind-Mill Project, the Governor announced he will convene a stakeholders meeting to discuss contentious issues.

“We have to solve problems affecting us by sitting down together. My administration will call such a meeting so that all contentious issues will be resolved, “ the Governor said

Miss Nyandarua Search Photos

Nyandarua Wind Power Project

The US$145m wind power project in Nyandarua County has received a green light from the political class and area residents to have it go ahead. The project is expected to add 61MW of electricity to the national grid.

Funded by various foreign investors, the project is being undertaken by Kinangop Wind Park Ltd which is a Kenyan energy company. It had initially stalled as investors, politicians and land owners had disagreed on its continuation. In a meeting held by stakeholders, it was concluded that investor’s leasehold the affected land be reduced from 60 years to 25 years.

Kinangop Wind Park is the first independent large-scale wind power farm in East Africa and a landmark transaction for both the African power sector and the wind power project finance market. Kinangop Wind Park Ltd has appointed Aurecon South Africa Pty Ltd as owner’s engineer for the project, which is majority owned by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). General Electric will provide 38 wind turbines for the project.

Locals have demanded for 100% of all unskilled labor and 70% of skilled workforce in the new deal that is yet to be signed. Apart from the job opportunities to come by with the new wind power project, the economy of this region will also be elevated, and more power will be added to the national grid.

Wind power/energy is a new alternative source of energy being harnessed in the country. Various projects are in the pipeline where more energy will be added into the national supply. This is due to the unreliable nature of hydroelectric power, especially during spells of draught. The effect of this is high cost of electricity, which in the recent past, has made some of major companies that had set base in Nairobi to shut down.