By Eric Wainaina
Kiambu, Kenya: With a myriad of challenges facing the county, Kiambu Governor William Kabogo puts a brave face and says he is ready for the task ahead.
He has already outlined what he intends to do for the about 1.6 million inhabitants of the county.
Job creation, fighting insecurity, fighting alcoholism and initiating massive development projects are top on the list of the issues that Kabogo has pledged to prioritise.
Due to its proximity to Nairobi and its high population, Kiambu County, which is home to President Uhuru Kenyatta, has been subjected to various challenges, which its inhabitants hope the new system of governance will address.
Aware of the residents’ great expectations, Kabogo has rolled up his sleeves, vowing to move the county to greater heights of prosperity.
Since he was elected, Kabogo has been touring various places and inspecting projects he feels need urgent redress. “I promise to work hard to ensure residents get what they want out of this great county,” Kabogo said.
The Governor said he intends to seek support from foreign investors and maximise revenue collection from local economic activities so as to add to the annual Sh6.5 billion the county will get from the government.
“As a Governor, I have the obligation to seek funds from elsewhere by maximising revenue collection, improving our economic activities, seeking partnership with foreign investors and getting friendly donors to ensure projects are executed effectively,” Kabogo noted.
He said that to make a firm foundation for the county’s development, he will first tackle unemployment among the youths, which he said is a major cause of insecurity and alcoholism. He added that alcoholism is a matter his government will not sugar coat with sweet words anymore.
His government, he said, will seek investors to expand the county’s horizons by combining the resources and diversity of major towns across the county and have a great modern city.
The expansion, he said, would create jobs for the youths as well as increase revenue collection for the county which will be channelled to other development courses.
He also intends to foster the revival of collapsed industries as well as open new ones for job creation. Ruiru and Thika are industrial hubs with interests in all products.
Alcohol menace
This, he said, will also address alcohol menace, idleness among the youths as well as insecurity, which has been caused by lack of employment.
Kabogo noted that the county has also suffered immensely in the hands of Mungiki extortion, cold blood murders and criminals activities, which have been driving investors away. He said that he will embark on a mission to deal with the issue.
He also promises to introduce soft loans for women and youth to enable them start small businesses. He noted that the loans would be paid at low interest rates.
Kabogo said he will ensure there is quality and compulsory education for all children until they attain the age of 18 years. “We have the best schools in this country but very few of Kiambu students join them because they don’t attain the required grades. Therefore, I want to improve the quality and standard of primary schools so as to ensure that our children perform well to join the best schools,” he said. For those who will not join high schools, he pledges to equip the existing polytechnics and open new ones to give them skills, adding that he will also revive Jua Kali sector to create job market.
And on health care, Kabogo has pledged to ensure that there is adequate supply of medicine in all public health centres and dispensaries as well as elevating the level of some of the existing hospitals. He said he will achieve this within one year.
Water problem
Within the same period, he promised to ensure there is adequate clean drinking water across the county and improve infrastructure such as roads to ease transportation for farm produce to the markets.
He also wants to ensure that Kiambu gets efficient garbage and wastewater disposal system in all towns, a problem he has already begun addressing.
Kabogo said his government will supply solutions on best farming methods, new plants, research and even design technology that allows farmers to manage small and big farms. “The best solutions to agriculture will sprout from here; we will plant and germinate the seeds of the future. As other counties speak of value addition as a dream, we have tried it here and we will, therefore, be making finished products,” Kabogo said.
He hopes to turn Kiambu into an entertainment capital, promising to invite filmmakers from across the world to shoot their movies in various locations across the county.
Kiambu has a package of recreation centres such as Paradise Lost, Water Falls, forests and other sceneries, which have previously been used as shooting sites, and this will not only earn extra income to the county but also assist in growth of local artists. “We will channel funds to promote the sector as well as nature more talents. We will also revive sports activities by holding constituency and inter-counties tournaments,” he said.
Kabogo said he will dedicate his first few weeks to the people with ideas to write them down.
They will then forward them to his office either via email, hand delivery or place it in special baskets which will be set in various places for evaluation, saying the best ones will be adopted.
‘Golden ideas’
“Kiambu has no oil, coal or gold but we have people with ideas worth more than gold. We have a labour-force larger than any coal,” he said.
“I want people to remember my five years in service since I will make Kiambu the largest service county in Kenya,” he said.
Born in 1964, Kabogo attended St Georges Ruiru Primary School, Thika Technical School for secondary school education in 1975-1978 before joining Punjab University, India for a Bachelor of Commerce course.
