Author: Coast Times Digital

BY FLORA AWINJA Mchekwisha Mangale, 42, holds the hands of her two young daughters as they head to a stone mine on a sunny morning in Shikamana village, in Diani, Kwale County. The mother of 10 will spend the whole day extracting ballast from the mine with the help of her children. With a chisel and a hummer the minors sit on the ground under scorching sun hitting pieces of boulders and crashing them into ballast. The struggle is in a bid to make ends meet for the large family. As the sole breadwinner, Mangale, who lives in a grass…

BY FLORA AWINJA. Following the countrywide demonstrations called by Azimio leader Raila Odinga that were held on Monday 20th March 2023, the coastal region was still at peace with residents going about their daily activities. Contrary to the expectations of many that the coastal region would be on the frontline to participate in the mass action since it was considered one of Raila Odinga’s strongholds, there were no demonstrations reported in the six counties. Residents who we spoke to said that they did not get involved in the demonstrations because they wanted peace, adding that the protests would not help…

Johnson Chengo Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro has ordered all County Executive Committee Members and their chief officers to leave their offices and work in the field as a way of ensuring service delivery to the people is achieved. Mr. Mung’aro made the announcement, dubbed “County Mashinani at the county headquarters during the unveiling of new appointees to his government. The program, he said, seeks to improve service delivery and will see the CECMs and Chief Officers move across the county to access ongoing projects, launch new projects, and conduct public participation so as to ensure the needs of the people…

Diani walkers explore the best beaches in Africa in their walking experience along the precious Diani beaches. Walking along the sandy beaches of Diani is one of the attractive things that have made the majority of tourists flock to the area. Diani has the best beaches that have received international awards severally, it is because of how stakeholders in the tourism sector in collaboration with county and national government have put efforts into placing it in the international arena. This has also attracted the attention of Diani Walkers, a group of enthusiasts who have come together to walk for one…

By reporter Kwale woman rep Fatuma Masito has launched fresh campaigns against teen pregnancies, drugs and substance abuse in the county. The campaigns in schools are to sensitize girls and youth against the vices. The program is dubbed ‘Mama county breaks the barriers in Kwale’. Cases of drugs and teen pregnancies have been rampant and ravaged the region for many years. Masito said the campaigns are to ensure drugs and teen pregnancies are completely eradicated. The previous county security report indicated that the increase in indiscipline cases in schools were due to the rise of drug abuse by students. The…

BY reporter Kwale governor Fatuma Achani now wants the government to dissolve the Coast Water board. Achani has accused the board of being unable to fairly serve the needs of the coastal people. She blamed it for the frequent water shortage, unfair billing and paralyzation of good water services in Kwale. “Mr. President Coast water is making the lives of Kwale people unbearable,” she said. Achani alleged that the board is overbilling them for water they didn’t use. She said water from Marere springs and Tiwi boreholes is pumped to Mombasa yet Kwale is paying for the bills. The governor…

By FLORA AWINJA. A project to restore degraded forests and destroyed trees has been launched in Kwale county. Restore Africa is an environmental conservation project being implemented by World Vision and Conservation Alive Kenya (CoAKe). The project is aimed at benefiting 65,000 farmers from LungaLunga, Msambweni, Matuga and Kinango sub-counties. The farmers will earn an income for conserving trees and forests through Carbon credits. Farmers who will be involved in the project will be planting indigenous and fruit trees. According to CoAKe director Salim Mohammed, 60% of the trees will be newly planted while 40% will be regeneration of the…

By Johnson Chengo Pupils in drought hit areas of Kwale and Kilifi are breathing a sigh of relief following introduction of feeding program in the areas by the Devki Group of companies. According to the group chairman Dr Narendra Rawal, the group also donated food items to vulnerable families in those areas. Adversity affected areas of the drought include Kinango, sub county in Kwale and Rabai sub county in Kilifi. Mr Peter Paul who was supervising food donation exercise at Kanagoni primary school in Kwale, said the company has plans to embark on free fresh water delivery service to communities…

By Johnson Chengo Plans are underway to rehabilitate the Ndigiria water pan to a mega water project, Kilifi County executive committee member for water and environment Omar Said has said. Currently, the water pan serves more than 4500 residents of Ganze despite the area being hardly hit by drought. Addressing journalists after inspecting the water pan to assess its status, Omar said a team of  technical experts will be sent to the area and come up  with ways of revamping it. The team will work closely with the local residents. “I’m  sure this water pan has a greater chance of…

By FLORA AWINJA Lack of national identity cards and birth certificates has been termed as the major hindrance to register people with disabilities in Kwale County. The National Council of People With Disabilities (NCPWD) is targeting to register over five thousand people in the county by the end of this year in its migration to new generation cards exercise. The council had captured eight thousand people in the old generation cards. According to Kwale county coordinator for NCPWD Koima Chimera, many of those who were captured in the previous database either do not have ID cards or birth certificates. “This…