Author: Coast Times Digital

By Alloys Musyoka Kwale health department gets lion’s share of Sh10.9 billion budget estimate 2023-2024 Kwale county government has allocated Sh2.9 billion lion share for the Department of Health in its 2023-2024 budget estimates of Sh10.9 billion. The budget that was approved by the county assembly of Kwale last month has seen the county education fund kitty increase from Sh400 to Sh500 million. Governor Fatuma Achani while reading the budget to the public said that her administration is focused on ensuring that Kwale residents get services. She said that matters of health have been given priority to ensure that locals…

By Flora Awinja Kwale County is set to hold the biggest beach rugby tournament in Diani this weekend. A total of 28 teams will be participating in the tournament dubbed South Coast Fives Beach Touch Rugby. The participating teams are drawn from the Coast region, Nairobi, and the neighbouring countries. According to the organizers, the tournament is geared towards boosting sports tourism on the sandy beaches of Diani. They say the event will give an amazing experience to the visiting teams and guests as they explore what Diani has to offer. The tournament will kick off on 14th July and…

By William Abala A group of women can be seen cultivating the ground as the sun rises over the Mporoko swamp. They labor for long hours to support their families and are the backbone of this community. Many of these women have inadvertently contributed to the destruction of the wetlands because they are unaware of the advantages associated with safeguarding them. Cross-sectional view of Mporoko swamp/credit:William Abala Kinyaa in Kenya would agree. She relies on farming wetland areas like the Mporoko swamp for her livelihood. The use of rivers as a main source of water has reduced due to the…

By Johnson Chengo Residents of Ganze, Kilifi County have threatened to kill marauding elephants that have been destroying their crops. Led by their area MP Kenneth Kazungu, the community said that they have persevered for a long but can’t take it anymore. The MP said locals had planted a bit of their acreage of maize as food security after the rains but that has all been destroyed by the beasts from Tsavo East National Park who escaped from the park to the villages. “We had good rains this season and everyone went to the farm to plant maize as a…

By reporter  Kwale County residents have been urged to embrace a saving culture through savings and credit cooperatives to improve lives and fight poverty. Speaking while celebrating the 101 International Cooperative Day in Matuga, Governor Fatuma Achani said many people are unable to progress because of unnecessary spending caused by poor saving mechanisms. Achani said forming and joining Saccos will promote shared growth and prosperity and a better economy. “Embrace cooperative societies in a bid to improve socio-economically and living standards,” she said. The governor said cooperatives play a crucial role in fostering national unity besides their invaluable contribution to…

By Caroline Katana Six hundred and thirty girls and young women from Kwale County have benefited from the She Leads project implemented by the Network for Adolescents and Youth in Africa organization (NAYA). The project commenced in 2021 and works with groups of girls from three sub-counties of Matuga ,Msambweni and Lungalunga. NAYA project officer Esther Ndinya said the project is meant to build the capacity of the girls to understand their rights and fight for leadership positions. “We have strengthened the ability of these groups through leadership and assisting them to register their groups to enable them to work…

By Caroline Katana SambaSports Youth Agenda organization in Kwale County is implementing a project dubbed “Kumekucha Quest” to create awareness of mental health as a way of preventing suicide in society. According to a WHO report it is estimated that 14.3 percent of deaths globally or approximately 8 million deaths each year are attributed to mental disorders. Kenya stands at 4 deaths per day caused by suicidal behavior, a common mental health condition, according to the Ministry of Health Report in 2022. Speaking during a mental health wellness bash at Kombani social hall grounds in Matuga constituency, Kumekucha Quest project…

By Alloys Musyoka A 23-year-old Mwanalima Mohamed is among hundreds of young girls from Kwale County who have benefitted from the She Leads project carried out by the Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa. After doing her class eight exam, she says her parents abandoned her, shutting her dream to join secondary school. “My parents did not want me to go to school, especially my father. Instead, he wanted to marry me off. My appeal for joining form one was ignored,” she told Coast Times Digital. Was it not for NAYA and the She Leads project that focuses on…

By REPORTER Human Rights Agenda has launched a three-month civic education program for special interest groups in Kwale County. The program targets youth, women and persons living with disabilities. The group is being trained on governance, electoral process and political party registration. The project is being sponsored by USAID through Act (Act Change Transform). It is being rolled out across the county. HURIA Public Complaint Response officer Mwinyihaji Chamosi said the forum seeks to strengthen marginalized groups’ knowledge on matters of forms and stages of impactful civic participation in governance as well as the importance of political participation with a…

By Johnson Chengo A grade four pupil in Ganze Constituency, Kilifi County was Wednesday electrocuted by a falling electricity pole. The twelve-year-old Kennedy Kalume Iha of Bamba Primary School was returning home from school when the incident happened. He is receiving treatment at Kilifi County Referral Hospital after the 4:30 pm incident, the family said. According to his father Karisa Iha, said the boy mate the incident with his friends when they were returning home from school. “The electricity poll was almost falling for some months and the live wires were loosely hanging. When they reached the area of the…