The Mountain Journal
Kirinyaga Governor
Anne Waiguru has said that there will be no turning back on cracking down on
liquor outlets operating in the county without license.
The governor who
emphasized that the crackdown that started a week ago will go on until all
operators are compliant, noted that there have been cartels who have been
misadvising bar owners not to pay taxes.
“We are telling
bar owners that they should not be misadvised by people who do not own any bars
on how to run their business. We have no fight with bar operators but we are
asking them to pay taxes like other businesses,” said the governor.
Speaking in Mwea
where she launched an accelerated roads rehabilitation program for Mwea Rice
Irrigation Scheme, Waiguru noted that since the crackdown began, the county has
collected Ksh. 19 million in unpaid taxes from bar owners.
More than 600 bars
have so far been licensed. She noted that the Commission of Revenue Allocation
(CRA) had previously noted that the county only collected 30% of potential
revenue.
Waiguru noted that
her administration was keen on listening and addressing grievances by traders
with the aim of forging harmony, noting that some of the issues by traders will
be addressed through proposed bills to be tabled soon in the County Assembly.
On Mwea Rice
Irrigation Scheme roads rehabilitation, the governor said that the program aims
at achieving well drained all weather access roads within the scheme through
the murraming of a total of 200 kms of roads before the onset of the oncoming
rains.
She said that the
roads marked for rehabilitation have been identified in collaboration with
Members of the County Assembly and Irrigation Water Users Association.
She said that the
program is a collaboration between the County Executive, the County Assembly,
The National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and the Irrigation Water Users
Association (IWUA).
“To ensure the
smooth execution of the program, the County Government has provided six 20ton
capacity tipper lorries, one grader, one drum roller and one excavator that
will complement the ones provided by NIA,” said the governor.
Some of the roads
earmarked for murraming in this program include Mahiga-ini-Mwathaini,
Kiriko-Kamariandu and Nyamindi-Gathigiriri roads.
Waiguru underscored
the need to carry out routine maintenance of roads within the scheme since many of
them are rendered impassable due to overflow from water canals during the rainy
seasons.
Mwea Irrigation Scheme
comprises 30,600 acres of land under rice with farmers harvesting the
main crop around November and the ratoon harvest mid-February.
“We remain
committed and resolute to the Kirinyaga Rising vision that is aimed at
transforming and uplifting the living standards of every resident in the county”,
the governor said , noting that her administration intends to murram 250 kms of
road this financial year and 1,000kms in the next five years.
She said that
during her last tenure, the county government managed to improve more than 3,000
roads across the county, noting that an improved rural roads network will help the
county attain sustained local social economic development by opening up the
rural areas and enabling farmers to transport their farm produce to the market.
“Good roads also
open up employment opportunities for the youth in the public transport sector,
especially the boda boda operators,” she added.
To improve on
efficiency, the County Government bought road construction equipment that
include five graders, 10 trucks-20tons, two excavators, one low bed/loader, one
backhoe, two roller-compactors and one water bowser.
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