Waiguru says her administration is on course in delivering election pledges

Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru says her administration is on course in delivering her election campaign pledges as her major flagship projects near completion.

The governor, who was addressing the congregation of St. Thomas ACK Church, Kerugoya, enumerated some of the key projects that her government has implemented within the three years that she has been in office.

Waiguru said that Kerugoya is considered as the capital City of Kirinyaga County and therefore many of the transformational development projects that have been implemented there are geared towards raising its standards to that of a city.

She said one of her flagship projects has been the upgrading of Kerugoya County Hospital from a Level Four to a Level five hospital. This, she said, is about to be achieved through construction of a five-storey modern medical complex at the hospital which is expected to be completed by July this year.

The governor said that upon completion, the hospital will have a fully equipped ICU and a HDU with a capacity of at least 15 beds, among other amenities available in any high-end medical facility.

“This will enable us offer the required medical services to our residents and we will no longer have to refer them for services in neighboring counties such as Embu and Nyeri,” she said.

In Kirinyaga County’s development blue print that is dubbed the “The Mountain Cities”, Kirinyaga Central Constituency in which Kerogoya hospital lies, has been captured as the county’s ‘Wellness City’ in which the county residents can access specialised medical care services.

Governor Waiguru thanked President Uhuru Kenyatta and the National Government for the support given to the county’s health sector. She said that the money given for Covid-19 management has been put in to accelerate the completion of the medical complex in which one wing will be set aside as an isolation center.

“Instead of putting up temporary isolation centers such as tents, we decided to invest in a more comprehensive and sustainable arrangement that includes equipping of the new upcoming hospital. We already have 300 beds and ventilator machines ready for the complex,” said the governor, adding that the hospital will be a game changer in the level of medical services the county offers.

She added that the medical complex will also have a special mother’s unit which will enhance mother and childcare services in the county.

The governor also said that the ongoing facelift projects witnessed in Kerugoya Town which include construction of modern car parks, pedestrian walkways and cabro paving of town’s streets and beautification projects were meant to provide a conducive environment to the town residents and traders and attract investors as well.

At the same time, the governor said that through ‘Wezesha Kirinyaga’ economic empowerment program, her government has implemented life-changing programs which are leading to improved livelihoods among residents by way on increasing their agricultural productivity.

She noted that her government has Ksh. 300 million at hand that will go into construction of value addition factories which include an avocado pack house and a tomato processing factory.

The tomato factory, she said, will help farmers from loses that they incur from their tomatoes whenever there is excess production adding that Kirinyaga is the leading tomato producer with an annual production of about 50,000 tons. She added that the avocado pack house will enable avocado farmers to process their avocado for export market.

The governor reiterated her administration’s commitment in implementing equitable development in all the regions in the county.