NEMA, Nairobi City Council and CocaCola need to deal with issue of pollution in Embakasi

Photos can also tell a story, in this case neglect by government is solving pollution issue in Nairobi's Embakasi Estate. This is one story representing many other cases....................                                  

All Photos taken by Sammy Mburu. 

 

                                         A Sewer flowing under a railway line. Photo/Sammy Mburu
                                         

                                          A Pool of wastes that emit odour smell to nearby Simba Villa Estate in 
                                           Embakasi

                                         A river of sewage and wastes from Bottlers Company flowing in                                                            to the estate

                                          Stagnant sewer near Simba Villa Estate

                                          Reeds and grass that grow due to the Sewer 

                                           The Simba Villa Estate in Embakasi, few metres from Nairobi Bottlers
                                             Company and KQ

Family planning campaign intensified to reduce high birth rate in slums as health wagon is launched

                                          Participant of a past health workshop at KICC making preparations

                                           Photo/ Sammy Mburu

Family planning campaign on month of September gained boost as the government and non-governmental organizations came together and pledged support for the program aimed reducing the birth rate among slum dwellers.

The campaign is aimed at reducing the birth rate which according to health experts has been on the rise in Kenya especially in urban slums.

The ministry of health and public sanitation through partnership with Jhpiego and Merck Sharp  Dohme (MSD) launched a health wagon which will be used to offer various services such as drugs and counseling to Nairobi slums residents on family planning.

The wagon will also be used to create awareness and sensitise married couples on the need to adopt family planning methods available.

Among the family planning methods and services that the wagon will be offering  are pills, cervical cancer screening, consultations  and Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT).

According to health officials, the wagon which has modern facilities such as  couch, water reservoir, intra uterine contraceptive device (iucd) and drawers will be effective in accessing slum population which has over the years been left out in the campaign.

According Dagoretti district medical officer Dr Jackson Muunda who represented the Health ministry said the government will use the wagon to preach on the advantages of family planning.

He also said the wagon will be used as a means of reaching out to the people and providing information on all alternative modern methods of family planning.

Speaking during the launch of the health wagon at ACK church in Gatina Village, Kawangware in Nairobi to mark the world contraceptive day, Dr Muunda said the wagon will be visiting city slums among them Kibera, Kawangware, Korogocho, Mathare and Kayole.

Project director at Jhpiego, Nelson Keyonzo called on other organizations and the government to join efforts in improving lives of Kenyans through such initiatives.

He said there is need to provide people with meaningful information that will change positively on their lives.

Mr Keyonzo further urged health officials to ensure citizens across the country have access to family planning services among them contraceptives, pills and implant insertion.

MSD Sub-Saharan Africa manager, Frans Van Birgelen said it was also necessary to involve men in the family planning campaigns.

He said that men have in most campaigns been left out and this has partially led to failure of such initiatives.

He said MSD which supplies wide range of contraceptives was ready to work with like-minded organizations in a bid to control the high rate of birth in Kenya which could pose a challenge if ignored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The government has been urged to give more attention to non-communicable diseases to avert further deaths resulting from the disease.

The health stakeholders want the government to increase its commitment in the fight against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease, stroke, obesity) and chronic respiratory diseases.

They claim that the government has over the years directed its efforts in advocating for communicable diseases like Hiv/Aids, Ebola, tuberculosis and flu while neglecting the NCDs.

The health stakeholders who met this September during the Non-Communicable Disease Research Program (NCDPR) consultative forum held in Nairobi, further called for thorough research on NCDs to enable design of policies to help curb the diseases.

NCDPR chairman, Mr Samuel  Gathera said that currently in Kenya around 80% of NCDs deaths are preventable hence the need for advocacy and strategies to avail information to the people.

He said that this could only be achieved if the government was willing to engage with health stakeholders through research and funding to halt further deaths that could be prevented.

“Today non-communicable diseases like cancer are turning to be a major killer than communicable diseases like Hiv/Aids, government should be aware of this phenomenon and from now hence forth should start giving attention to the NCDs” Mr Gathera said.

He further noted that NCDs are caused by behaviours such as smoking, alcoholism, sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diets that can be changed through fostered collaborative partnerships.

Non-communicable diseases refer to those diseases that cannot be spread from one person to the other.

According to Researcher Lydia Kaduka, it is worrying because most of the affected people by the NCDs are the youths.

She attributed this to “high levels of junk food intake, excessive consumption and smoking which result in raised blood pressure, overweight and raised blood cholesterol.”

Charles Mwandawiro, Deputy Director of Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) said that the country should deal with the increasing cases of NCDs if it is to achieve vision 2030.

“We need to start deal with the rising cases of NCDs, we cannot achieve vision 2030 if the diseases continue claiming lives especially the young, the 10% growth cannot be achieved at this rate,” Mr Mwandawiro said.

He further called on the government to provide funds for research and prioritize on supporting NCDs.

“Hiv/Aids campaigns get billions of shillings hence we urge the government and the stakeholders to fund NCDs  campaigns,” Mr Mwandawiro said.

Waihenya Mwangi who represented the Ministry of Health and Public Sanitation said that the ministry is experiencing burden of diseases but assured government’s commitment in addressing the issue.

He called on the health stakeholders to provide the government with information to approve funding.

“Ministry of Health will undertake measures to deal with NCDs, we have so far put legislative measures like Cancer Prevention and Control Act 2012,” said Mr Mwangi.

He continued: “we encourage and support research in best preventive and curative practices, the ministry requires to see evidence in order to allocate funds for a particular campaign.”

 

 

 

 

 

THE LOUNGE GIG IS BACK AT PETMA RESTAURANT

                                                                                     

The Friday night gospel gig ‘The Lounge’ is back fresh and reloaded after one month break and its promising entertainment galore to gospel music lovers.

The Lounge is hosted by K-crew’s Djs Soxxy and Johni celeb every Friday night at Petma restaurant, Kimathi Street from 8pm till late.

The lounge dubbed ‘The coolest Christian hang out joint in town’ according to the event organisers targets gospel music lovers as well as young mature persons who prefer ‘cool music and cool dancing’.

Speaking to the ‘Sammy’ during the re-launch of the Lounge at Petma on Friday, Dj soxxy said that after a month of consultations and review of their strengths and weakness, fans can now expect a better and energy filled show from the k-crew                                                                                      Photo/courtesy                                                             

 The gig had taken a break    after one of the crew member travelled abroad. Dj Johnie Celeb had been way from Kenya travelling abroad for the whole of last month.

According to Dj Soxxy, The Lounge is an alcohol-free event that changes up the theme with each edition.

The event will be featuring editions such as karaoke, poetry, salsa, acoustic, dance and band every Friday night.

Also good news to the event revelers as the gate charges have been reduced to kshs 200 from Kshs 300 after the re-launch.

Dj Gach, one of the Lounge organiser said the reduction of the fee will help in attracting more young guys to the gig as they seek to increase the space to accommodate more people because there are few such events to accommodate the high number of non-drinkers in town.

A cross check reveals that there are very gospel music joints in Nairobi, other similar events include Club 316 hosted by Dj Sadic’s Genius  entertainment crew at Charter Hall every last Friday of the month.

Similar event called Extreme Worship at Nairobi happens also last Friday of month at Nairobi Cinema.

Government should stop forced demolitions and evictions of innocent kenyans

City slum residents hold demonstrations against illegal and forceful night evictions by the Nairobi City council Askaris which has left them homeless.

The residents from Kiamaiko slums in Huruma last month camped outside the City Hall building for the better part of the day demanding explanation over illegal evections and also harassment by the city council officers.                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                      Photos/ Sammy Mburu

According to the residents, the City council did not serve them with any legal notice before demolishing their informal settlements on the dawn of 17^th August, 2012.

Further the residents expressed their anger on the way the evictions were carried out, they claimed that they were woken up by rowdy city council officers and the police who forcefully evicted them.

“It was around four in the morning on Friday 17^th August when we were awakened by bulldozers sound, when we came out were            surprised by the number of council askaris with the help of both regular police and the G.SU (General Service Unit)who collaborated in harassing and ensuring we don’t resist the eviction plan,” said Kiamaiko resident Stanley Mwangi.

Mr Mwangi said the day before evictions; the residents had held a meeting with the Starehe District Commissioner who assured them there were no court orders or legal notices to eject them following rumours of planned demolitions in the area.

According to the residents, in 1993, Nairobi city council issued them with allotment letters approving them as legal owners of the land.

“The council issued us with allotment documents in 1993, this meant that we legally own the land, we do not understand which criterion was used to evict us because we were never served with any notice or explanation for the evictions,” Mr Mwangi said.

David Mwaniki housing rights activists and head of Rapid Response Team questioned the manner the evictions claiming that the council did not follow the law in which around 70 homes were reduced to a heap of rubble.

He further said the action showed total disregard to rule of law by the city council and efforts to establish who ordered the demolitions have been futile.

According to Mr Mwaniki, the residents contacted Deputy officer commanding police division from Pangani police station who coordinated the operation and said “that they were not served with an official order to evict but received a phone call for reinforcement of security for the operation”

“This shows evection was carried out of contrary to any legal procedures, the demolishers had no court order that authorized them to demolish the area,” said Mr Mwaniki.

Naomi Barasa of the Amnesty International however appealed to City council and the government to provide the residents of humanitarian assistance who are now leaving without shelter, food, water and access to sanitation facilities.

Ms Barasa said this is contrary to the spirit of law as it denies residents their rights guaranteed in the constitution.

Citing Article 43 (b) of the constitution she continued: “the constitution guarantees that all Kenyans have the right to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation; the demolitions do not reflect respect of law, no one is above law.”

In a rejoinder, the Director of City Planning Tom Odongo held an indoor meeting with the residents and assured them that the City Council will look in to the matter and address their concerns.

Mr Odongo said the council will conduct analysis of the Kiamaiko slum to determine who legally owns the land and after two weeks it will issue a comprehensive report over the matter.

“I assure you that I will order investigations in to the matter, we will conduct a survey in the area under focus to establish the real owners, the process should be complete in two weeks after which I will give full report over the matter,” said the city planning Director.

Mr Odongo however called on the residents to engage with the council in  achieving joint resolutions to address the matter

GMO-Maize destroyed by unknown Virus

                                                         

Government has been urged to act sternly as more than 40,000 acres of maize fields affected by deadly virus according to the Agricultural sector players in the country.

Agriculture players in the country on Thursday 30th August called on the government to take immediate action to avert further and future destruction of maize crop in the country following invasion by a maize virus.                                                                                        Photo/ Courtesy      

The virus identified as Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease has destroyed approximately 40,000 acres of maize across the country.

Speaking during a conference organized by Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa (OFAB) at Lillian Towers in Nairobi, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) Virologist Dr Anne Wangai said that MLN disease had destroyed large portions of maize spread across various parts in Kenya.

“In September 2011, the disease (MLN)was first reported in in the lower parts of Longisa division of Bomet District, in February 2012, it was noted in Bomet Central division, spreading into neighbouring Chepalungu District, Narok  North & South Districts, Naivasha.” Dr Wangai said.

She continued: “by April 2012, the disease had spread into Sotik,, Koinon, Transmara,  Rumuruti, Kisii, Bureti, Kericho, Mathira East, Imenti South and Embu, the rate of transmission is worrying thus the Agriculture Ministry should act immediately.”

According to Dr Wangai, the disease within seven months the MLN disease has been able to spread from the South Rift area to other parts of the country among them western, Eastern Central and Nyanza regions.     

She called on the government to put up measures to curb further spread, she recommended that government should establish maize closed season in all regions, quarantine on movement of maize materials from affected areas, and removal from fields all infected maize crop.

Dr Wangai further urged the government to develop resistant crops and Conducting tests to verify seed transmission of viruses.

“The government should consider Screening of released maize varieties for resistance, inclusion of MLND resistance in maize improvement programs, conducting tests to verify seed transmission of viruses in local cultivars and identify alternate hosts of viruses and vectors” she said.

The group comprised of officials from Agriculture Ministry, OFAB, KARI and KEPHIS (Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service) settled on the essential to create awareness among farmers on the need to plant alternative crops such as potatoes, cassava and vegetables.

They said there is need for the government through Agriculture ministry to form a task force charged with providing information to farmers.

  

BY SAMMY MBURU

Government to Build Industrial Training Institutions in All 47 Counties

                                                    Photo By Sammy Mburu

The government will invest industrial training centers of excellence in all counties in a bid to supply the adequate and skilled man power essential for realization of Vision 2030.

Labour Minister John Munyes on Friday 24th August 2012, said that the government was aimed at providing quality industrial training to the youths in all counties as way of achieving Vision 2030 goal of industrializing Kenya.

Mr Munyes said that the government “appreciates the need to invest in new technology through constant upgrading of industrial equipments” as well training to ensure the country becomes modernized.

“We need to have adequate, efficient and effective supply of skilled labour force, to achieve this we need to provide quality industrial training in all the 47 counties and the government will create centers of excellence in each

county as the country prepares for devolution,” Mr Munyes said.

He further said that the government will mobilize funds to implement the initiative and more so partner with other countries in procuring new technology facilities as well as training.

The Minister expressed optimism that such a move would spur both economic and social growth in the country and he called on stakeholders to come on board and support the industrial institutions.

“Industrializing Kenya requires committed and motivated stakeholders, the governments so far is working together with Canada and Qatar in procurement of updated technological equipments and also in offering quality training to ensure adequate supply of brain-power,” Mr Munyes said.

Mr Munyes was speaking at National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) headquarters at Industrial Area in Nairobi where he stressed that industrial training was important and that it would accelerate industrial development as set out in the social pillar of the Kenya Vision 2030.

Mr Munyes at the same time inaugurated 12 Board members of the NITA led by Chairman Prof Thomas Akbar and acting Director General Elizabeth Kimenyi.

NITA Board vice chair George Muchai who is also Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) deputy secretary general echoed words of the minister and he said the newly appointed Board was equal to the task.

“NITA will work tirelessly to ensure Kenya becomes industrialised in order to attain the Vision 2030 goals which are anchored on the ability of a country to utilize technology to maximize its production,” Mr Muchai said.

Mr Muchai further said that only investment in industrial training would ensure adequate and efficient manpower in the country and also partnerships with developed countries such as “Denmark, Italy, Canada and South Korea” to provide relevant training and expertise.