12

12 | NEWSFOCUS October 9, 2018 www.mygov.go.ke THE PRESIDENCY EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT REPUBLIC OF KENYA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE PRESIDENT’S DELIVERY UNIT, KENYA PRESIDENT’S DELIVERY UNIT Financing Agreement reference: GRANT NUMBER 5500155012902 The President’s Delivery Unit (PDU) has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of the Technical Assistance to The PDU, and intends to apply part of the agreed amount of this grant to payments under the contract for individual consultancy services. The services included under this project are: A. This will include: 1. 2. Improving coordination across all relevant stakeholders and the tracking of flagship programs focusing on key enablers and drivers of the selected pillars. Creation of robust data quality and validation mechanisms to enhance transparency and accountability. Key outputs under this outcome will include: • Delivery action plans and trajectories for the Big 4, updated periodically • Clear KPIs for delivery tracking • A revamped executive dashboard for delivery tracking and visualization of complex information in an easily digestible way for decision-making; • Customized tools and templates for data collection, validation and reporting • Training (delivery labs), coaching and mentoring in delivery tracking and in specialized areas of the selected Big 4. • High-level stock-takes to enable speedy decision-making and corrective action in case of any slippages. B. Improve knowledge-sharing and communication: Key outputs under this outcome will include: • Exchange of experiences with other delivery outfits in Africa and beyond • Showcasing the PDU as model to facilitate replication of effective delivery approaches in other RMCs in the region • Regular communication pieces to correct any communication gaps and highlight achievements made under the B4 for accountability and enhancing ownership from key stakeholders and the general public. The grant covers the project period of 20 months, and the services sought shall be primarily based in Nairobi. The PDU now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (curriculum vitae, description of similar assignments, experience in similar assignments, etc) Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Bank’s “Rules and Procedures for the use of Consultants”, which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.afdb.org. Interested consultants may obtain further information on the various criteria of consultancy services sought from www.delivery. go.ke. The PDU is under no obligation to shortlist any consultant who expresses interest. Only consultants shortlisted will be contacted, and any canvassing shall lead to automatic disqualification. Written Expressions of Interest must be delivered to the address below by 24th October, 2018 at 1200hrs. Attn: President’s Delivery Unit Secretary, Presidents Delivery Unit , P.O. Box 40530-00100, Tel: +254 (20) 2217773/4 Relevant laws and policies will lead to the realisation of the aspirations of the Big Four Agenda, says CEO BY JAMES MUCHAI KNA-KWALE T he Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has challenged Parliament to formulate legislation and policies that will spur business and economic growth in the country. KEPSA Chief Executive Officer Carole Kariuki said legislators had an important role of sustaining the country’s economy through relevant laws and policy formulation that will also lead to the realisation of the aspirations of the Big Four Agenda. “Legislators need to put in place laws and policies that will make it easier to do busiChallenges facing farmers in quest for food security Overstocking and overgrazing of livestock have led to serious soil erosion in these counties, leaving the land bare and largely unproductive BY VERONICA BOSIBORI KNA-NAKURU A ccording to the agricultural statistics, the average age of a Kenyan farmer is 60. Most of these farmers still depend on traditional farming methods; they do not apply fertilizer or pesticides and have not mechanised either due to poverty or ignorance. The result is low food yields. Nakuru County Executive member for Agriculture Dr. Immaculate Maina attributes frequent food shortages to poor land-use and agricultural practices. Overstocking and overgrazing of livestock have led to serious soil erosion in these counties, leaving the land bare and largely unproductive. During an interview with KNA, Dr. Maina said adverse weather conditions such as floods and droughts affected food production as it is heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Strengthen the delivery-tracking and advisory support function of the PDU. ness in Kenya,” she said. Ms. Kariuki was speaking on Friday at Leisure Lodge in Kwale County during the first Speaker’s Roundtable of the 12th Parliament to define the role of the National Assembly in the Big Four Agenda. She said members of the alliance consider the legislature as part and parcel of their efforts to improve business in Kenya. The CEO outlined issues that were a drawback to the growth of the local business sector as illicit trade, influx of cheap imports, and delayed payment of government suppliers, among others. Other issues that dominated the meeting included the fight against corruption, reducing over-borrowing and cutting government expenditure. Speaking at the two-day forum, the National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi underscored the need for the private sector to liaise with legislators to revive the business sector. “Legislators are key stakeholders in economic development of any country and contribute majorly to the national development,” said Muturi. He added that the meeting had come at a critical time when Kenya was going through political and socialeconomic transformation. Muturi said the private sector was a critical agent of economic growth and urged Parliamentarians to ensure they support the sector if the country was to realise any meaningful development. During the forum, roles of the National Assembly in ensuring the Big Four Agenda is achieved will clearly come out. Our legislators will also familiarise themselves with laws that will change our economy as a country and attract more investors - Justin Muturi Other natural calamities include locusts and armyworm invasions, and the latest addition of quelea birds, which are currently wreaking havoc on wheat and barley in the Rift Valley. An agronomist based in Nakuru Simon Gachagua said the drying up of formerly arable land has a negative effect on food production. This effect of climate change is likely to cause more clashes than previously anticipated. He attributed recent land clashes at Nessuit to scramble over resources and added that the country was likely to see more of such fights with negative impact on agriculture. He added that the water wars between Murang’a and Nairobi County were just an indication of resource allocation concerns, where communities will demand compensation due to scarcity. Dr. Maina said at independence, the country made a mistake of over-emphasizing on cash crop farming, and many families concentrated on that at the expense of food production. This emphasis goes back to the colonial policy of driving production of raw materials for their industries abroad. She gave an example of the fertile Kericho and Nandi hills land, which is covered by tea. To date, farmers continue to concentrate on cash crops at the expense of food crops. Elsewhere, large farms concentrate on flower farming. Consequently, food farming is largely for subsistence and can only sustain individual households. However, she said, this year, the country was projected to harvest 54 million bags of maize, and yet there was still a lot of maize in the National Cereal Board silos. She attributed the good fortunes to subsidies which have been extended to smallholders since the devolution of agriculture sector. She said many farmers lacked funds to purchase required farm inputs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and to hire labour. Emerging crop diseases and pests are thus poorly controlled and where the land is productive, little is done to improve soil quality. Even at the subsistence level, many people plant what they could easily sell and ignore nutritional crops, in order to meet their pressing needs. She stated that due to the pressing financial needs, many communities have abandoned the indigenous drought-resistant crops such as cassava and millet due to misconceived attitudes towards such crops. In the process, artificial shortages of specific food crops develop. This has led to the saying “Africa eats what she does not grow and grows what she does not eat”. An example of this is the new obsession of herbs farming in Bahati Sub-County, which are exported to the Arabic countries. KEPSA calls for laws that will spur economic growth

13 Publizr Home