By Caroline Katana
Kwale County Commissioner Michael Mwangi Meru has defended the finance bill 2023 saying it will bring affordable housing to citizens and promote their dignity.
Addressing locals at Jomo Kenyatta Primary School grounds in Msambweni, Mwangi said that provision of good service is the responsibility of every leader.
“In that housing program we want to ensure that youths especially the ones with technical know-how from the TVETS and universities can get job opportunities because once the houses are being constructed there are financial implications, there are labour implications, and technology inclusion,” he said.
He said creativity and innovation are going to lead to sustainable development as well as ensure that job opportunities are created at the individual and collective levels.
He called on politicians in the county to work closely with the locals to ensure the provision of better services.
“Let’s make sure that there is a collective and individual responsibility, let’s come together and see that the needs of our people are well served, service delivery is our cardinal duty for all of us, there is nothing else that we can do for them, I will make sure that the national government cooperates fully with the Kwale county government to ensure locals enjoy the required service,” he said.
The commissioner asked locals to provide important crime reports to the security agencies so that immediate measures can be taken and security can be strengthened.
“Information sharing will enable security agencies to move with speed, we want security officers to create an enabling environment so that locals can move on with their businesses without any problem,” he emphasized.
On education, Mwangi ordered chiefs and their assistants to ensure that children who have reached the age of seven years and above are registered in early childhood schools.
“Chiefs and assistant chiefs and the ministry of education will work in a multi-agency strategy so that we ensure increased enrollment and eradicate poverty, a child who has studied even if he does not go to university can make decisions, so we want to identify the challenges in our society, we mitigate those challenges and come up with amicable solutions, we need to have an agenda that is actionable and then we task people, we task the officers to do the job and then give us feedback within a specific time,” he added.
The security boss also sent a stern warning to residents who are involved in illegal logging saying they will face legal action once found.
“We are giving this as a warning, there is no indiscriminate cutting of trees, we want to conserve what we have, but a few people are cutting down indigenous trees that take 100 years to grow” he noted.
Chiefs and assistant chiefs were asked to have at least three nurseries of tree seedlings outside their offices.
