CANDLE NEWS KENYA

Tenri Mission fraternity clean up Embu town on Saturday May 26, 2018.  A ward rep has advised the Embu County Government executive to privatise garbage collection to improve overall cleanliness of towns and estates. Kirimari ward MCA Morris Collo Nyaga said most of the county garbage vehicles had stalled and there were heaps of garbage in Embu town and several estates leading to an outcry by the business community who feel the county administration has failed in its mandate to keep the environment towns clean. Speaking in Embu town during a clean up exercise sponsored by Tenrikyo Mission as it marked its 20 th  anniversary, Nyaga told the county government to give tenders to unemployed youths who will be entrusted with cleaning towns. “The County Government should come up with proper waste management methods. It should provide customised garbage collection trucks with covered refuse compartments to avoid littering when transporting refuse to dumpsites. More du...

Participants show sanitary pads as a symbol of breaking silence during World Menstrual Hygiene Management Day at Kairuri Stadium Embu First Lady Theresia Wambora has advised men that they have a role to play in preparing their daughters for the arrival of menstruation and its management. Ms Wambora said as a departure from the past when only women bought pads, men today should buy sanitary towels for their wives and daughters with no shame attached to it. The First Lady, in a speech read on her behalf by nominated MCA Rose Kinyua during World Menstrual Hygiene Management Day celebrations at Kairuri stadium, urged parents to discuss menstruation at home so that girls can be well informed about the changes that happen in their bodies. She told parents not to abdicate the duty of preparing their daughter to menses to teachers alone, noting that breaking the silence on menstruation management should form part of the discourse at home, school, church and other public forums. ...

A water firm has appealed to the national government to fund the construction of a mega-dam in Embu County for sustainable provision of water to residents at all time. Embu Water and Sanitation Company (Ewasco) projects that a dam constructed in upper parts of the county to store rain water would replenish the flow from its current intakes such that during dry seasons there would be no rationing. Ewasco managing director Hamilton Karugendo said such a dam is costly and would cost not less than Sh5 billion, a project that the company or the county government cannot afford to fund. Speaking when Ewasco employees planted 1,000 indigenous trees at Njukiri forest to conserve the environment, Karugendo said most of the rain water pounding the county flows downstream to the Indian Ocean since Embu does not have a single dam. “We need a dam so that we can continue supplying water sustainably even during dry seasons. Currently owing to the heavy rains we have adequate water and ex...

A procession to mark National Donkey Day in Mwea town Donkey owners in Kirinyaga and Embu Counties have expressed fears that they risk losing their source of livelihood, unless the government curbs theft of donkeys and stops licensing of more slaughterhouses. They said the population of donkeys was on a steady decline as the demand for its meat and skin had risen to supply the abattoirs, while theft of donkeys at night was frequent. Speaking during National Donkey Celebrations for the region in Mwea town, Kirinyaga County, the owners said the donkeys decimated through slaughtering could not be easily replenished as females produce just one foal a year and are prone to miscarriages under stressful conditions. Mwea donkey owners association chairman Cyrus Gitonga said a recent survey found the number of donkeys had declined from 4000 to 2500 in Mwea in the last two years. The grim statistics are not any different nationally as according to a Kenya Network for Dissemination...

If Kenya Power were to start selling tea, their billing for a glass of tea would be as follows: 1. Tea. 10.00 2. Sitting fees when being served 30.00 3. Milk in the tea. 20.00 4. Water in the tea 15.00 5. Tea leaves. 18.50 6. Cooking gas. 9.00 7. Salary for cook 5.00 8. Rent. 5.50 9. County licence 13.00 10. Others. 15.00 TOTAL PER GLASS 141.00 TOTAL OUTSTANDING FEES 223.00 Please pay before being served

Embu Governor Martin Wambora has announced that he is in talks with his political rivals geared to ending political wrangles that have plagued the county for the past five years. Wambora expressed confidence that by July the talks will have yielded fruits and they will publicly have a "handshake". While supporting the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga, Wambora said the political and business environment in the country had improved greatly. He said political insecurity chased away investors and hurt its growth and that time was ripe to bury the hatchet. The Govenor said that he wants to leave a legacy of a united county as he serves his second term adding that he was reaching out to his political adversaries to sell them his agenda. Wambora pointed out his twin impeachment in 2014 chased away investors who were willing to put up Sh440billion worth of investments and that he was not ready to let another Sh390billion wo...

Residents living along the Kathageri-Kigumo-Kanyuambora road in Runyenjes constituency, Embu County spent the Labour Day repairing the 10km road after it was rendered impassable by the heavy rains for the last two months The more than 100 residents, mainly youths, filled up gaping potholes, levelled uneven surfaces, unclogged culverts and cut overgrown bushes spreading to the road to make it motorable. They said the road is Class C and consequently under the national government, but they resorted to rehabilitating it themselves after suffering for long waiting for the state to act. Njiru wa Jesse, a farmer, said they were depressed seeing their fresh farm produce rotting as they could not deliver them to the market. He said farmers had incurred heavy losses and the area risked lagging behind in development thus decided not to wait for the government to act any longer. “The road passes through fertile areas that produce plenty of banana, mangoes, maize, beans, co...