TAITA TAVETANewsletter

Transforming theBoosting Education To Achieve CountyVision 2020 Goals

The Governor Taita Taveta County Eng. John Mtuta Mruttu has instructed all the secondary education Heads to implement all the recommendations touching on how to improve education standards by various task forces.Speaking when ofcially opening a one Day Conference for the Secondary School Heads, Youth polytechnic Managers ,Boards of Management and PTA members the Governor said there is no need of wasting resources putting in place task forces to investigate only for the schools heads to put the reports in their school shelves without them implementing what the report says...Continued

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Pg 6 Education

Pg 13 Agriculture

Pg 7 Livestock

Pg 4 Tourism

Pg 11&12 The Governor’s interviewPg 10 Health

Pg 5 Development

Pg 8&9 Events in Pictures

The First World War broke out in the Balkans in late July 1914 and therefore this year is the 100th anniversary. During the campaign for East Africa of the war, most ba?les within the region were fought in Taita Taveta County. Due to this, Taita Taveta County is leading the na?on in commemora?ng 100 years since the First World War by hos?ng several events. This series of events are being held worldwide and are referred to as The First World War Centenary Commemora?ons.100 Taita Taveta is a program formed by the County Government of Taita Taveta to commemorate the First World War Centenary through a series of events. The First World War Centenary Commemora�ons in Kenya were launched officially

thon 8 May, 2014 by the Bri?sh High Commissioner in Kenya, His Excellency Dr. Chris Turner and the Governor, Taita Taveta County, His Excellency Eng. John Mru�u . Our mission is to strengthen the importance of apprecia?ng, honoring and remembering how the ba?les of the First World War affected our county in par?cular and the na?on in general and to claim our county's place in the world history

of the First World War.

Benets of the WW1 Commemoration

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How the County will benet from TheFirst World War Centenary Celebrations.

The First World War Centenary Commemoration brought together the global family in acknowledging that the people of Kenya are proud to have fought alongside the Britons, Germans, Australians, and Indians....and that they proudly share in this historical fact. It was an opportunity to appreciate those who lost their lives and also illuminate the lessons we bitterly learnt from The War. This Commemoration was thus geared towards promotion of global solidarity and a diversified tourism which is vital for attainment of Kenya's socio-economic blueprint, The Vision 2030. Despite the recent past security challenges and the advisories that ensued, this event will proved that we are one universal family which must remain intact at all costs. As it is, the British High Commissioner to Kenya Dr. Chris Turner is led a team of his fellow diplomats and iconic business personalities in supporting and exploiting the economic, academic and diplomatic benefits that a r e s y n o n y m o u s w i t h T a i t a T a v e t a C o u n t y .

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ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL BENEFITS OF THE EVENTECONOMICThe event generated/spurred international business leads which include: Salaita World War 1 memorial leadership instituteWW1 Railway museumLt. William Dartnell memorial hospital, MwakitauErection of hostels at the Taita Taveta University CollegeRevival of Voi- Taveta railway line.The Taita Taveta University College under the umbrella of the secretariat initiated investment program through the Transform Taita Taveta 2020 initiative which targeted:Hospitality ProjectsLivestock IndustryEnergy ProjectsSocial support projects i.e. maternal health, ECD and HIV/AIDsThese were presented to the prospective investors during the dinner at

ththe Voi Wildlife lodge on 28 August, 2014SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL BENEFITSThe county government created links with the International governments which promised to market Taita Taveta in their respective countries.Britain would partner with Kenya and the county government to raise the living standards of Kenyans.The UK government promised to revive the Taveta-Voi railway lineAustralia offered to be one of the greatest development partners of the county government and will build strong trade links with the county for the benefit of the community. Also thousands of tourists from Australia will be visiting Kenya next year.The Taita Taveta communities got the platform to showcase their products both nationally and internationally during the event. Regional representation during the event ensured that the county achieved promotion of its culture, arts, heritage and history which offer an opportunity for excellence on its diversity.

P A R T I C I P A T I O NIn attendance was the international community represented by high commissioners and ambassadors from different countries and the national and county officials together with the local community members' representative of all the four sub counties of the Taita Taveta County.

Cover Story

The Commemoration accorded the participants an opportunity to savour what the county has to offer in the realms of Battlefield Tourism in addition to the Traditional Wildlife Tourism which has awarded Taita Taveta a global recognition. Moreover the event was an opportunity for local, regional, national and international communities to appreciate the cultural diversity of our world. All in all, the commemorations achieved the following:

The Benets

1. Introduction of a new tourism product BATTLEFIELD TOURISM under the umbrella of heritage t o u r i s m .The County is now famous for its new tourism product, WW1 Battlefield sites tourism. This is evident from the fact that Kenya Tourism Board supported the commemorations by sponsoring a 3 days FAM trip to the battlefield sites with International and local prominent journalists. The Board is also marketing the battlefields through its hashtag, why I love Kenya on twitter and has also promoted all the other online assets of the battlefields in the County. KTB acknowledged that the German tourist market was stirred after the main event in Salaita and is now in the process of developing a Battlefield Sites Tourism Bronchure which will be distributed to all its Marketing Development Representatives around the Globe.

Governer with some of the visitors during the event.

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The Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Phylis Kandie also singled out our County as the one special place where tourism is now diversified and argued that was the way to go for the future of tourism in Kenya. To drive her point home, the Cabinet Secretary went ahead to name our Governor, H.E John Mruttu as the only Governor to sit in the special taskforce to revive tourism in Kenya.Moreover, the Australian High Commission to Kenya has indicated that many Australians wish to visit the County next year during the ANZAC. ANZAC stands for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealanders during the First World War. This will open the County to a new tourism market. The event therefore succeeded in marketing the County i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y a n d d o m e s t i c a l l y .

2. The event succeeded to appreciate, honor and remember how the battle of WW1 affected our County and claim our County's place in the world h i s t o r y o f W W 1 .History is not valued in monetary terms but contrary on periods. The Taita Taveta County's First World War History is now 100 hundred years old. Thanks to the able leadership in our County, we have now claimed our rightful place in the history of the world in so far as the First World War is concerned. Taita Taveta County is proud of several assets in its Fact Box of the F i r s t W o r l d W a r n a m e l y ;

1.The First shot which triggered the East African thCampaign of the First World War was fired on 15

August, 1914 by Mr. Hugh la Fontaine, the then Government Agent for Britain fatally shot at an advancing German's Schutztruppe Leading Officer Mr. Herr F. Broecker. This shooting was outside former DC's office in Taveta which is now recommended to be preserved and later to be turned into a museum.

2. The First Airstrip from which a plane ever ew from in East Africa was at Maktau. The plane was used by the British East Africa Forces who had a very big camp a t M a k t a u .

3. The First Newspaper to be published in East Africa was the Taveta Chronicle which was published from 1 8 9 5 .

4. The Voi Taveta Railway was built as a military line w h i c h e n d e d f o r m a n y y e a r s a t M a k t a u .5. The Snipers Baobab tree could simply be the most s h o t a t t r e e i n t h e W o r l d .

6. The only motor able road from Mombasa to Nairobi was through Taita and Taveta, then Moshi, Arusha and N a i r o b i d u r i n g t h a t p e r i o d .These assets will now be used to profile the County.

3. The Event was used to market the investment opportunities within Taita Taveta County. The event was used successfully to showcase the investment opportunities available in the County. The event boosted the investor's confidence on the County as no one can invest in the County if there is no investor confidence. In the Investors dinner, H.E Governor John Mruttu, presented the Transform Taita Taveta 2020 vision which shows Flagship projects to be undertaken in 5 key sectors that form the foundation of County's sustainable socio-political and economic growth. In this colorful presentation, the Governor named the Flagship projects to be undertaken in five key sectors that form the foundation of TTC's sustainable socio-political and economic growth as WaterLandMiningTourismEducation, R&D/UniversityThe event was therefore used as an investor's forum to successfully launch the TTT 2020. In addition, The British High Commissioner introduced some business firms which are eager to do business in the County. Some of the areas in which the investors showed interest in the development of hostel facilities around the Taita Taveta University College.

4. The event was used to portray County's continuing support and commitment to International Corporation, peace and the World security. The event was a commemoration and not a celebration. It is said that war is good for absolutely nothing. Yet man has for eternity waged war over resources, over freedom and over justice. World war one which began in Europe spilled over into Africa and drew many African soldiers, the so called Askaris who fought on both sides of the divide. The event made us to reect in our memories and ask where the international diplomacy went wrong to warrant the break out of this war which shook up the world peace and security order.

5. Developed and improved bilateral relations with the international Community.The event succeeded in improving the bilateralrelationship with Australia, Britain, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Nigeria and many other countries which sent their representatives to the commemorations. The County can now cooperate with most of this countries on a very friendly way. These countries representatives pledged their continued support to the County.

...Benefits Continued..

Cover Story NOV. 2014

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A Technical University of Mombasa student is the 2014 Miss Taita Taveta. Soa Mwagogo, 19, the youngest daughter of Voi MP Jones Mlolwa, competed against 10 other ladies at the event at Voi Wildlife Lodge on Saturday night.

Miss Mwagogo is studying business administration at the TUM University. Sophy Gerald from Taveta and Mary Nyambura from Voi were the rst and second runners-up, respectively.

The winner was crowned by Taita Taveta women's representative Joyce Lay. The ceremony was attended by Tourism executive Stephen Masamo and Voi district education ofcer Kennedy Machora.

Tourism

Ta i t a Ta v e t a G o v e r n o r w a s p r i v i l e g e d to host the World Elephant Day last recently. Out of the 12,800 Elephants in Kenya, the largest percentage is found in Tsavo Na�onal Park This park covers over 60% of the total land of Taita Taveta County hence by extension, most of the Elephants are found in our County.

H . E t h e G o v e r n o r s p e a k i n g d u r i n g t h eceremony, said that the county constantly faced Human Wi ld l i fe conflic t , he requested the KWS Officials, who included the Director, to fasten the opera�on allega�on of the wildlife A c t 2 0 1 3 . T h i s w i l l s e e s o m e o f t h e l o ca l people compensated whatever they incur l o s s e s a s a r e s u l t o f w i l d a n i m a l ' s e n c ro a c h i n g t o s e �l e d a re a s . I n a d d i �o n ,w e h a v e t r a i n e d 2 0 t r a i n e r s a s p e r t h e r e c e n t l y e n a c t e d W i l d l i fe A c t 2 0 1 3 . T h e Governor said, these are expected to carry o u t c i v i l e d u c a �o n o f t h e s a m e a c r o s s t h e f o u r s u b c o u n �e s .

Eng. Mru�u thanked the KWS for rea l i z ing h o w i m p o r t a n t i t i s t o i n c l u d e t h e y o u t h a n d t h e C o u n c i l E l d e rs i n e ffo r t t o r e d u c e p o a c h i n g a n d t h e H u m a n A n i m a l C o n fli c t a t l a r g e . T h e s e w i l l a l o n g w a y In c a r i n g o u t w i l d l i f e c o n s e r v a �o n .O n t h e s a m e p l a �o r m , C a p t a i n R o b e r t O b r i a n a c k n o w l e d g e d t h e p o a c h i n g h a s b e e n r e d u c e d b y 9 0 % . A c c o r d i n g t o h i m t h e few p o a c h e rs ( 1 0 % ) ca mfle d ge has headers yet they have an hidden agenda. H e r e q u e s t e d t h e i l l e g a l g r a z e r s i n t h e p a r k t o r e f r a i n f r o m t h e i l l m o �v e poaching ac�vi�es while they massacred a Rancher.

WORLD ELEPHANT DAYHOSTED IN THE COUNTY

KWS Director Mr. William Kiprono requested the local to feel proud of hos�ng “Jumbo” (Elephant). To him it was God's plan to have the Elephants in Taita Taveta County. Therefore people should peacefully co exist with the wild animals. He condemned the poaching vice as he also requested the Wananchi to report those who are involved in such.

MISS WORLD TAITA TAVETA IS CROWNED

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H.E the Governor of Taita Taveta County, Engineer John Mruttu ofcially received four graders purchased by the County Government at a total cost of shillings s i x m i l l i o n .

It’s through the current visionary leadership that our county is to own graders that will be used to maintain mailnly our rural roads. This will ensure faster movement of farmer’s inputs and outputs hence saving them the loss incurred during transportation of t h e i r p r o d u c e d u e t o b a d r o a d s .

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In addition many area will be accessible “saving man hours “, patients will get to hospital faster as well as opening up areas that were formerly not accessible.

Each Sub County (Wundanyi, Mwatate,Voi and Taveta) will get one grader that will be supervised by a selected committee. The committee will give guidance on how the grader will be used as well as being an “eye“ to the community. The Governor cautioned against any misuse of this machinery as he concluded.

Each Sub County to get a road grader to improve infrastructure and protability

KSH.

6Million

Total Cost of the Road Graders

The Governor and other county leaders ag off

the road graders to their various Sub Counties

Right: Members of the public applause the governor as he tries to operate the gradersLeft: The four graders displayed at Dawson Mwanyumba Stadium Wundanyi.

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Governor Launches Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Feeding Programme in the County

Governor Eng. John Mruttu present flour and sugar to one of the

ECDE supervisors

Governor Mruttu and CEC, Education Hon. Tuja

distributes packets of milk to ECDE kids

Workers loading floor and sugar in a lorry ready for distribution to the

designated ECDE centers.

Education

Joyful ECDE kids with Governor Mruttu, CEC Education Hon. Tuja and

other education stakeholders celebrate the feeding programme.

The Governor, Eng. John Mtuta Mruttu led the CECs in launching the Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) Feeding programme in Taita Taveta County. The feeding programme that begins with 40 ECDE centers, (10 per sub county) is part of the Rapid Result Initiative programme initiated by the governor to see each county ministry start and complete at least ve projects within 100 days. This is meant to see pupils be in class through out the day and also encourage concentration in class.

Speaking during the launching ceremony, the Governor said that, unless education was in the right path, then the rest of the Departments were as good as dead hence need to give it precedence. “This is the reason the county government employed over 500 ECDE Teachers and twelve Supervisors. The aim is to have a good e d u c a t i o n f o u n d a t i o n , ” h e s a i d

The CEC for Education, Hon. Jemima Tuja directed the ECDE Supervisors to ensure the feeding programme succeeds. She also noted that by the year 2017, all ECDE Centers in the County will be covered in this feeding programme.

40 ECDE Centresto initially benetfrom programme

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LIST OF RANCHES IN TAITA TAVETA

NAME OF RANCHAREA

(ACRES)

Livestock & Fisheries

Hon. Dr. Masawi, Ministryof Livestock & Fisheries

Firstly, our ranches are a big asset in our county and have the poten�al to turn around the fortunes of Taita Taveta. However, through overstocking and overgrazing the ranches are lacking pastures, and a lot of soil erosion has taken place. The security opera�on in June 2013 moved out thousands of animals by illegal herders from ranchers. This has given a chance for the ranches to rest and also be rehabilitated.

I have asked the ranchers through the c h a i r m a n o f Ta i t a Tav e t a R a n c h e rs Associa�on (TTRA) for each ranch to set aside 50 acres of land for plan�ng nutri�ous perennial grass (such as buffalo grass and foxtail grass) and also set up nurseries at watering points and water pans for trees like acacia which have been cleared as a result of charcoal burning. This will enable ranches to have seed stocks thereby increase plan�ng of pastures to use during dry seasons within the ranch and also for baling so that they can sell to other people outside the ranches.

Disease control is also a major challenge in our county. Taita Taveta is designated as a Disease Free Zone in Kenya. Two flagship projects (a facility for post mortems and a laboratory) have been completed in Voi and are awai�ng equipment under the Vision 2030 ini�a�ve before formal opening to undertake livestock disease preven�on, survei l lance and diagnosis. Bachuma holding yard is also 99% complete and it will officially be opened soon. This will ensure quaran�nes are undertaken especially onimmigrant animals.

1 Mbale ranch 40,2502 Bura ranch 40,2503 Washumbu ranch 40,3994 Amaka ranch 10,3915 Dawida ranch 11,0196 Kambanga ranch 34,1737 Taita ranch 95,0708 Wangala ranch 5,0009 Bachuma ranch 10,00010 Rukinga ranch 85,60311 Kasighau ranch 52,30512 Maungu ranch 52,00013 Kishamba group ranch 26,00014 Ndara ranch 5,00015 Ndara group ranch 10,00016 Isanga Iwishi group ranch 25,00017 Oza ranch 58,00018 Kishushe ranch 60,00019 Mbulia ranch 28,00020 Lualenyi ranch 106,48821 Sagalla ranch 46,00022 Choke ranch 25,00023 Mkuki ranch 5,12624 Mwasui-Shako ranch 6,14125 Wananchi ranch 21,320

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Pictorial

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1. H.E. Gov. Mruttu with British High Commissioner to Kenya and other dignitaries during The Launch of 100 years of WW1 celebrations

2. The Governor unveils the new County Ambulance service

3. Education gets a boost with the launch of a mobile library service in the county

4. Launch of ECDE Feeding programme in the County with CEC Hon. Tuja and various stakeholders

5. The Governor and Deputy Governor Mary Kibuka with investors at the county headquarters

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6. The Governor and Deputy Governor present title deeds to enthusiastic wananchi in Mbololo

7. The four new County road graders beind agged off

8. The Governor, Deputy Governor, First Lady and other County ofcials during the launch of the Beyond Zero Mobile Clinics Campaign in the county

9. The Governor on a visit to the upgraded Moi District Hospital in Voi where he waivered the hospital bills of some overdue patients who could not raise the cash.

10. The County Government in session at the County headquarters in Wundanyi

11.THe Governor test driving one of the tractors acquiredfor the County.

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Pictorial

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Health

H . E t h e G o v e r n o r E n g . J o h n M r u t t u w e l c o m e s a n y s t r i d e t o w a r d s r e d u c t i o n o f H I V / A I D s s p r e a d , c h i l d m o r t a l i t y a n d d i s e a s e p r e v a l e n c e in general ; in Tai ta Taveta County. Heal th sector is a d e v o l v e d f u n c t i o n h e n c e those who want to partner with the county for instance First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with her Beyond Zero MobileClinic Campaign, are highly w e l c o m e d .

Eng John Mruttu is awake to t h e f a c t t h a t M i n e r s a n d Ranchers are in remote areas hence Mobile Clinic will assist our citizens living in such areas. The Governor thanked H. E. TheFirst Lady for honoring Taita Taveta County by handing over the rst mobile clinic that is fully equipped to Level 4 Hospital and ready for use by Taita Taveta c i t i z e n s .

There is a wise saying that; “Health is wealth”. H.E the G o v e r n o r , E n g . J o h n Mruttu is aware of the correlation between health, people and socio-economic development of Taita Taveta County. Today, the Governor launched Four Ambulances worth 17 million; branded and ready for use by wananchi when need arises. In less than a month, the Governor has launched three Health related projects. That is, M e d i c a l / P h a r m a c e u t i c a l cons ignmen t a t t he same Kamukunji grounds, a Mobile Clinic at Dawson Mwanyumba S t a d i u m - Wu n d a n y i a n d today ' s Four Ambu lances . Indeed, this and many other completed or ongoing projects resonate well with this slogan ' H e a l t h i s W e a l t h '

Speaking during the ceremony, the Governor promised to start two Medical Training Centre's at Voi and Taveta Sub County. Land for construction of the two centre's is ready, hence construction is likely to start soon.

Governor launches County Ambulance Service

As The First Lady ofcially launched the Mobile Clinic at Wundanyi Dawson Mwanyumba stadium, the cabinet secretary Mr James Macharia assured the crowd that, the Mobile Clinics Services are to remain in counties f o r u n d e n e d t i m e .

During the event residents were given access to free medical services including HIV Screening, Diabetes ,Cancer and high blood p r e s s u r e t e s t i n g .

H. E. Margaret Kenyatta when handing over the clinic to The Governor she said that no mother or child should die from preventable causes. According to her, the joy of every woman is to deliver their babies safely; thus this Mobile Clinic will go along way in assisting all women, especially the needy mothers living in remote areas of t h i s C o u n t y .

The Governor, First Lady and other county ofcials during

the Beyond Zero Mobile Clinic Campaign launch

Governor Mruttu ofcially releases the ambulances for service to Wananchi

The Governer on a visit to the newly refurbished Moi District Hospital in Voi. He ordered a waiver of hospital bills of several patients who had not been discharged due to non-payment.

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It was history for Taita Taveta to ofcially receive ve farm Tractors worth Ksh. 24 m at a launching ceremony presided over by H.E the Governor, Eng. John Mruttu - held at Mwatunge primary in Mwatate S u b C o u n t y .

During the ceremony, the governor alluded that Taita Taveta County was in the verge of laying down enough and sound structures hence today, we are witnessing the arrival of farm Tractors. The four graders already received many ongoing water and health projects among others are signs of a county ready to take off.

The Tractors were bought with one aim in mind; to boost the Taita Taveta food basket hence alleviate food shortages. This will enable the county realize the paramount need to provide basic needs to its citizens; a fact Mr. Mruttu is a w a k e t o .

Agriculture

COUNTY ACQUIRES TRACTORS TO BOOST FOOD BASKET

To make crop husbandry more viable, the county government is to supply fertilizers whose prices are subsidized, up to the sub county level. This will make this viable farm input accessible to the small farmers.Sub county committees are to be formed to foresee the running of the day to day of the Tractors. Mr. Mruttu cautioned anybody who may have the tendency of using the Trac tors fo r the i r persona l ga ins .

To him, this amounts to corruption which cannot be tolerated at any cost. Eng. Mruttu used the launching ceremony platform to clarify the allegation that Taita Taveta County returned Ksh. 312 m to National T r e a s u r y .

“There is no Taita Taveta money that was returned to the National Treasury. Any money not spent up to now is meant for ongoing projects like the pharmaceutical c o n s i g n m e n t w e l a u n c h e d recently at Voi town, Graders that we received, the acquired Tractors we now have and many other projects. ”Our County policy is that one has to complete the projectwhile the suppliers have to deliver the goods or services before payment is made.As per the law – Act PFM 136 – At the end of nancial year all unspent money are returned to individual county Account and not to the National Treasury.

The Governor Eng John Mtuta Mruttu addressing the crowd at the Event

Close up of the Governor checking and testing one of the tractors

The Governor drives one of the tractors during the launch

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COURTESY CALL BY CHINESE AMBASSADOR TO KENYAIt was a great moment for Governor Mrutu to host H.E the Ambassador of China to Kenya; Eng Liu Xian Fa who paid a courtesy call to his ofce in Wundanyi. In a meeting also attended by Hon. MP, Voi Constituency- Mr Jonness Mlolwa and several MCAs, the Governor briefed the Ambassador and his team on the many structures and programs the county government has laid down as it prepares for economic take off.

Governor Mruttu visualizes Taita Taveta County residents being in the middle income earning category by the year 2020. The opportunities to be tapped to realize this goal include: agriculture, mining, tourism, human capital, trade, sheries and small businesses enterprises among many others.

Eng. John Mruttu requested the Standard Railway Gauge (SGR) ofcials present, the Ambassador and Kenya Railway Chief Executive Mr. A. Maina; to hasten the formation of a liaison committee that will resolve the misunderstandings between the investor and the locals. The Governor also directed the SGR ofcials to consider locals rst in any job opportunities and supply of local construction materials such as sand, ballast and cement among others.

The Ambassador witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the county government and the SGR investor on corporate social responsibility. Speaking during the meeting the Ambassador said the SGR investment was the biggest one single project to be funded by the Chinese government in Africa. The Chinese government is also funding Mwatate-Taveta Road Construction at a cost of Ksh11 Billion.

The Ambassador promised to work closely with our county government in areas like tourism, mining and small to medium products with an aim of raising the citizens living standards.

Also in attendance were Hon MP John Mlolwa, Kenya Railway CEO Mr A.K Maina, the SGR General Manager Mr Sun Liqiang, Deputy Governor Madam Mary Kibuka and several MCAs

Captions.

1. Governor John Mruttu & SGR General Manager Mr Sun Liqiamg exchange the signed

2. Govern Mruttu introduces Chinese Ambasador to Kenya Eng Liu Xian Fa to county residents who turned out to witness the signing of the memorandum.

3. Governor John mruttu and SGR General Manager Mr Sun Liqiamg sign a memorenuem between the county government and the SGR investor on corporate social responsibility

4. Governor John Mruttu and Chinese ambassador to Kenya Eng Liu Xian Fa comparing notes.

5. A group photo of the Governor, Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Voi MP, Deputy Governor, CECs, MCA and other county ofcials.

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Taita Taveta County performed very well in this year ’s Mombasa Interna�onal Show that was held two months ago by being awarded seven trophies in the Farm and Dairy categories and two in the livestockc a t e g o r y .

In the Farm and Dairy category the county scooped a trophy for the best sub county overall, the best County in pulses with the best exhibits overall and the best sub county with the emerging crops among others. In l ivestock sec�on, one of the farmers Mr. Gabriel Mghosi was awarded a trophy for the best dairy c o w u n d e r s m a l l s c a l e fa r m e r category, while Mr. Asmand Mla� was awarded a trophy for overall bird of the show in country. In addi�on, several livestock exhibitors from the county earned cash prices of more than shi l l ings 120,000 in al l the sec�ons (dairy ca�le, dairy goats, meat goat, bulls, poultry and rabbits).

More Features

TAITA TAVETA COUNTY EXCELS IN THE MOMBASA A.S.K SHOW.

The county had 48 entries of large stock mainly dairy ca�le, 48 entries of small stock (sheep and goats) ,60 poultry and 63 rabbits at the show.Mr. Mar�ne Oyindo, who is the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Mombasa branch chairman and also Taita Taveta County Deputy Director of Livestock encourages farmers to use Ar�ficial Insemina�on services ( A . I ) b o u g h t b y t h e c o u n t y government to improve quality ofdairy animals to tap the poten�al of d a i r y p r o d u c �v i t y .

He sa id the show is a learning environment where farmers gather and exchange knowledge on new technologies that when harnessed will improved farm incomes at house hold level.

A l s o s p e a k i n g a t t h e s h o w Mr. Jureji Suleiman a farmer from Kitobo farm in Taveta whose grapes f e t c h e d t h e b e s t a w a r d i n hor�culture, encourages farmers to par�cipate in different exhibi�onsin the County as it is the only way where a farmer can get ready m a r k e t f o r t h e i r p r o d u c e . Mr. Suleiman has already found ready market for both, his fruits, seed and seedlings, thanks to him being i n t h e s h o w .

Governor Eng. John Mru�u has for a number of �mes encouraged farmers in the area to adopt modern farming technology to improve and increasefarm produce as a way of ensuring food security in the county. To walk t h e t a l k , Ta i t a Tav e t a C o u n t y Government in the last financial year bought four farm tractors aimed at b o o s �n g a g r i c u l t u r e i n e a c h Cons�tuency which is among the best economic game changers of our county.

219Live animals entered

by The County in the Show

The Governor assured the secondary school heads that his government is ready to work with all the stakeholders in the education sector and that his government will provide any kind of support in this i n s t i t u t i o n .Hon Mruttu also warned primary and secondary school teachers who are involving in sexual relationships with students that their days are numbered acknowledging that these are some of the acts hindering good performance in our schools.Also at the conference was the County Chief Ofcer in charge of Education Ms Philomena Kirote who urged the school head to nurture a reading Culture in their Schools especially now with the introduction of the Mobile Library in the County which will be distributing reading books to a l l the p r imary and secondary schools .

She also urged youth in the Villages to enroll in the nearest polytechnic to get technical skills. Taita Taveta County has 75 Public secondary schools and 677 teachers employed by the Teachers Service Commission

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Revision books bought by the County forPrimary students

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Did You Know These County Statistics?1) General Statisticsa. Area (Km 2): 17,084.1 Km 2b. Climate/Weather: The county experiences an annual mean rainfall of 650mm per annum with temperatures averaging 23 0C.c. Road Network: Bitumen Surface (151.8 Km), Gravel Surface (138.2 Km), Earth Surface (663 Km)

2) Population Taita Taveta Countya. Population: 284,657 (Male – 51.1%, Female – 48.9%)b. Population Density: 17 people per Km 2c. National Percentage: 0.7 %d. Annual Growth Rate: 1.74%e. Age Distribution: 0-14 years (37.7 %), 15-64 years (56.9 %), 65+ years (5.4 %)f. Number of Households: 71,060g. Number of Constituencies (2010): 4 (Taveta, Wundanyi, Voi, and Mwatate)h. Registered Voters: 89,089i. National percentage: 0.7 %

3) Economy of Taita Taveta Countya. Poverty Level: 66 % of the population leaves below poverty line (Absolute Poverty – Rural & Urban)b. Age Dependency Ratio: 100:90c. Tourist Attractions: Tsavo Game Reserve, National Parks, Wildlifed. Financial Services: 5 Commercial Banks, 8 Micro-nance Institutions, 5 Village Bankse. Main Economic Activities/industries: Sisal Farming, Horticulture, Livestock Farming

4) Education in Taita Taveta Countya. Number of Institutions (2007): Primary (206), Secondary (53)b. Primary: Enrolment (74,616)c. Teacher to Pupil Ratio: 1:40 (Public Schools)d. Secondary: Enrolment (14,132) Teacher to Pupil Ratio: 1:25 (Public Schools)e. Tertiary: Over 20 Institutions

5) Health in Taita Taveta Countya. Health Facilities: District Hospitals (3), Sub-District Hospitals (1), Dispensaries (47), Health Centres (9), Medical Clinics (11), Nursing Homes (None), Maternity Homes (None), Others (4)b. Doctor to Population Ratio: 1:41,000c. Infant Mortality Rates: 14/1000d. Under Five Mortality Rates: 93/1000e. Prevalent Diseases: Malaria, Upper Respiratory Transmitted Infections, Diarrhoea, HIV/AIDSf. Notable Hospitals: Moi District Hospital in Voi, Wesu and Taveta District Hospitals

Published by:Taita Taveta CountyP.O. Box 1066-80304

Wundanyi.

+254 788186436 / +254 718 988717info@taitataveta.go.kewww.taitataveta.go.ke

Coat Of Arms

County Flag

Urban Centers with population of over 2000 people

Population Density per Km2

16

19

Mwatate

Taveta

Wundanyi

Voi

Mtito Andei

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