Residents of Burguret village in Gakawa ward, Kieni East have every reason to smile after the County Government of Nyeri commissioned a new borehole in the area.
Speaking after the commissioning of the new water point, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the borehole was a game changer for area residents who had to travel long distances in search of water both for domestic use and for their animals.
The county boss said the new borehole which can produce 8,000 litres of water every single hour, will provide residents of the surrounding villages not only with enough water for their daily consumption but also for irrigation purposes.
“The borehole is serving over 500 households of Burguret village, Burguret area. The water is being used for irrigation and domestic use. The project consists of a 3 km pipeline, two 10,000-litre, 10-metre overhead tanks, solar panels, a borehole pump and motor. This borehole will address water scarcity in the area. Being a semi-arid region, the project will enhance both water and food security for residents,” said Kahiga during the commissioning ceremony.
The borehole can produce approximately 8,000 litres of water every hour and has been installed through the Department of Water, Irrigation, Environment and Climate Change.
Kieni is considered one of the driest areas in Nyeri County, with the area experiencing erratic rains during the two rainy seasons.
To cushion residents against the frequent dry spells that are synonymous with the area, the government had proposed the construction of two mega water reservoirs in the area: the Karemenu and Naromoru dams.
Both dams were to help boost irrigation for some 5,200 hectares of land besides providing water for domestic use.
While Karemenu Dam was expected to have a water storage capacity of 4 million cubic metres and irrigate about 1,000 hectares, Naromoru Dam was expected to hold 10.5 million cubic metres of water capable of irrigating some 2,900 hectares of agricultural land.
Both projects were to cost the taxpayer some Sh 13 billion which included piping
However, construction work for the two dams was yet to start.
Meanwhile, a total of 250 youth drawn from five informal sectors in Nyeri are expected to undergo a 45-day social emotions development skills training under the Second Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Support Programme (KISIP II).
A total of 50 youths have been selected from each of the informal sectors to undergo the training under the National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) programme.
The eligibility criteria targeted 50 beneficiaries per settlement, prioritising current or former KISIP II Labour-Intensive Public Works (LIPW) workers aged between 18 and 35 years, residents of the respective settlements, and individuals available for the full duration of the training.
Additional priority is accorded to persons of low economic status, individuals exposed to drugs and harmful substances, persons with disabilities, and those with low levels of formal education.
The successful candidates have been drawn from Kiamwathi and Chorong’i in Ruring’u Ward, Kiawara in Rware Ward, Mweiga in Mweiga Ward, and Ihwagi in Iria-ini Ward.
The training will be implemented within the framework of the NYOTA programme, a transformative five-year Government of Kenya initiative funded by the World Bank.
The programme will also integrate Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) through the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), enabling participants without formal education but with demonstrable skills and experience to be assessed and awarded nationally recognised certificates.
In addition, the county government will link the trainees with a number of government agencies, including the National Employment Authority (NEA) for digital job intermediation, the State Department for Labour (SDL) for labour market information, the Micro and Small Enterprise Authority (MSEA) to support job creation initiatives.
During the launch of the NYOTA startup capital forum in Kabiruini grounds on January 12 this year, Kahiga had pledged to support the beneficiaries through business support training and capacity building to ensure the youth are well equipped to run their businesses.
Among interventions promised by Kahiga the beneficiaries included a one-year waiver on trade licences to improve the survival rate of their enterprises.
“As a county, our first task will be to avail space for these youth to operate their businesses. The second step will be to waive the business license for one year for all the NYOTA programme beneficiaries so that they can hit the ground running,” said Dr Kahiga during the event presided over by President Dr William Ruto.
A total of 6,000 youth drawn from Nyeri, Nyandarua, Kirinyaga and Murang’a received Sh.25,000 each under the NYOTA Business Support segment.
The President termed the programme an ideal game changer in addressing the plight of unemployed young people in the country as it offers them alternative ways of earning a livelihood.
He said a country’s growth was evaluated on how it empowers its citizenry to become self-reliant and insisted that Kenya’s road to greatness can only be attained by tapping on the potential of her human capital.
“Kenya must tap into its human capital for us to join the league of developed nations. The largest asset we have as a country is our human capital. It is more important than gold or currency. The only resource we have in Kenya are the Kenyans themselves. We must invest in them,” he pointed out.
He stated that the NYOTA programme remains one of the broad-based strategies the government is employing in addressing the challenges affecting young people besides the Affordable Housing Program, Hustler Fund, Digital Superhighway and Creative Economy.
Dr Ruto said the government is targeting a total of 820,000 young people under the NYOTA programme and urged young people to take advantage of the opportunity as one way of building a solid economic base for their future.
In addition, the President said the Government is planning to enlist 110,000 young Kenyans who do not possess formal education and enrol them in craft courses that can empower them in setting up their own businesses.
By Samuel Maina
