My Score Card 2013 - 2017

Introduction

 Our Kenya Constitution, in the very first article explains that all sovereign power belong to the people of Kenya. In Article 2, it further explains that the people can exercise that power either directly or through democratically elected persons. the leaders are elected for a period of five years after which they are either re-elected or replaced. (The Constitution of Kenya 2010 chapter 7).

I Martin Njoroge was elected in March 2013 as the meber of county Assembly representing Karuri Ward. Before this electtion, I used to work towards fulfilling my liferlong ambition of positively changing the lives of the less fortunate and especially the orphaned and vulnerable children. It is in doing so that I recognized various gaps in the leadership of Karuri and whcich were causing more suffering to not only the less fortunate but the people of Karuri in general. This was what drove me to seek political leadership. I take this opportunity to thank God and the people of Karuri for electing me.

Now that my term of 5 years is coming to and end, as the constitution demands that every leader should be accountable to the electorate, (Article 78), I hereby bring the report of my achievements and the fulfillment of the promises that I made.

I made 4 key promises to the people of Karuri.

1.  That if they elect me I shall do all I can to return Karuri Market to its original place

2.  I told the youth that, if they elected me, their many years agitation for a social Hall in Karuri Ward shall come to an end.

3.  I promised that the bad relationship between the community, especially jobless youth and the security forces will be a thing of the past.

4.  I promised the community that, unlike past leaders who disappeared from the Ward after being elected, that I will remain in Karuri and will be available when the people seek to see me. I will also offer real and true leadership to all without discrimination.

I kept the Karuri Market promise

Karuri residents had been complaining for many years about Karuri market which had been relocated from Karuri to a private plot in Banana town so that the market can be upgraded in 2006. 

The upgrade stalled as a result of corruption and mismanagement as the traders continued to suffer in the flood prone private plot which had no toilets, any form of sanitation and was highly insecure as it lied adjacent to a bushy abandoned garden.

The once vibrant business premises in Karuri shopping center collapsed leaving hundreds of people jobless and without any source of livelihoods. 

For 10 years, the cries and complains by Karuri market traders to the leaders and government fell on deaf years.

I promised the people of Karuri that if they elected me, I shall work hard to bring our Karuri Market back to its original home.

I kept the promise as today the traders are back to Karuri in a new market build by the county government. 

 

 

 The Karuri Market during construction in March of 2016

 

 

 

 

 Although the Market was not properly finished, the traders are happy that they don't sell their wares on mud and in an insecure place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kept the Social Hall promise

For years on end, the young people of Karuri Ward have pleaded, lobbied and even staged demonstrations in agitation for a Social Hall. Many talented youth have watched as their talents went to waste due to lack of a place to train and showcase their talents.

In 2004, as a young person, I joined fellow youths in a plan to disrupt the yearly Lasdap meetings of Karuri Town Council to force them to allocate funds for the construction of a social Hall. Although we drove our point home the planned demonstrations were foiled by the presence of police.
However, all those efforts did not bear any fruits as the Town council did not allocate any money for a social hall and as usual the voices of young people were generally ignored.

Lack of a social hall has hampered any efforts towards talent building,  drugs rehabilitation, capacity building and many other community development initiatives. A community social hall can host daily activities that attract youths and take them from idleness, alcoholism and drugs. It would help bring people together for seminars and training.

 

It is a major component in my planned youth / community economic empowerment strategy.

I thank our Heavenly Father that, at last, He has answered our prayers.
I can comfortably report that this most important goal which have eluded the people of Karuri Ward for over 50 years is at an advanced stage of construction. And more good news.             Not only are we going to have a social hall, but the construction has been designed to host the following.
1. A Library
2. A Cyber / Communication center
3’ A Music Studio
4. A Film Studio
5. 3 offices, each for the Youth, Women and Council of elders.
6. A social Hall on the top floor.When complete, these buildings which are all housed in a plot in Karuri will mark the beginning of my planned community socioeconomic transformation for Karuri ward. Its my promise and like all other promises I have made and kept, this one will be my record breaker.

Poor relationship with the security forces.

 For many years, the relationship between young people of Karuri Ward and the security forces were extremely poor.  Banana town had become infamous for police harassment especially of jobless youths. Cries and many demonstrations failed to get a solution. 

Kangaroo courts, scenes of arrested youths tied together with ropes and frequent marathons when policemen passed by shopping centers and the villages were the order of the day. 

I remember making a personal commitment to a group of mothers who had stormed Karuri Police station to seek the release of their children. Some had been arrested with packets of Unga and cabbages after they were sent to buy supper for the family. 

It was normal to find groups of youth going home at night through forests paths to avoid getting arrested on main roads. It was said that the magistrates of Kiambu Law courts had expressed alarm at the big numbers of young people that were taken to court from Karuri. But this state of affairs was being fueled by the big amounts of money involved as guys paid to avoid being taken to court.   I promised the youths that if they elected me, I shall do all I can to end this antelope,  leopard relationship between the youth and the security forces.

Today, everybody in Karuri does their thing in peace at any time of day or night. There is no more police harassment and the community has taken advantage of the improved relationship to pass information to the police and hence increased security.

I HAVE MADE SOME STRIDES IN SOLVING THE WATER PROBLEM

Karuri Ward has experienced water scarcity for years on end. This is despite the fact that there are many sources of water some of which are boreholes dug using public funds but which remain as white elephants.

The few sources that are operational have been unable to sustain the needs of Karuri growing population. This has resulted in residents staying for days or months without water.

 

To have Karuri overcome the water problem I developed my own long term water management strategy which I have been using to lobby the County minister for water, other relevant departments including Karuri Water Company. 

Among a number of long term objectives included enabling every village to have its own reliable water source. Implementation of the strategy is on course though at a low pace due to availability of funds. 

However I can report I have made good progress towards achieving this goal as Kiambaa village is on its way of having a lasting solution as far as water is concerned. 

With the help of a donor and the county government, the age old Ite Dam will have its water purified using a huge water purification machine. Already the machines have been installed, two big special water tanks have been built including the necessary piping. 

The project is in its final stages of completion.  With Kiambaa having its own water source, now the two bore holes in Kimuga will comfortably serve Kimuga and upper Njiku. (Gituamba, Mara and Mbari yaigi areas). 

Gachorue has its own water source.

Launching the newly build 2 special water tanks

Mombasa borehole can comfortably serve Kiogora and Gathiri. Plans are underway to revive the borehole in Thimbigua primary school which has remained a white elephant for many years. This will stop Thimbigua relying on the Mombasa borehole.
The only village without a water source is Ngungugu and which I have made sure 2 boreholes have already been factored in the 2018/19 budget.
There are also plans by our Member of Parliament to develop the springs at Goldath into a water source for Goldath and Muthurwa areas.
These two proposals might succeed early 2018. After completion of these projects Karuri ward will be water sufficient.

 My Support to Karuri Farmers

About 60% of Karuri ward’s residents rely on farming as their economic mainstay. Although subsistence farming is the widespread practice, efforts towards agribusiness practices are being encouraged. 

1. Part of my efforts to support our farmers includes resurrecting Karuri Market which had been relocated and neglected for 10 years. We now have a newly constructed market at Karuri which has helped revive a ready market for our farmers. 

Although the market was not built to our hopes of a 2 or 3 storey market, but at least it solved a problem that had haunted us for 10 years. Karuri is historically an important center of business. People from across Kiambu county came to trade at Karuri market. 

The Chairman of the farming group in the green house

2. I have facilitated one of the farming groups, the Jiku focal area farmers to benefit from a green house from the county government. They are now producing tomatoes for sale. The organized farming groups have also been benefiting from the subsidized fertilizers and seeds.

3. Karuri Ward has a big percentage of residents who practice dairy farming. Almost all of them are members of Kiambaa Dairy Famers cooperative. In an effort to grow their society, 

I recommended the society to benefit from a Milk Pasteurizer bought by the Kiambu County Government. 

I had previously led delegations of the  Assembly Agricultural committee to visit the Kiambaa Dairy Company to see for themselves the efforts the farmers were making.  

The milk Pasteurizer machine  has a huge capacity to store large amounts of milk. It has already been delivered to be installed at their newly built Kiambaa dairy complex

 My contribution towards Health Services

Health is an important basic need to any community which can hardly be ignored. 

The people of Karuri ward have a level 4 hospital although many of the services it offers are still those of a level 3. 

I have been lobbying for the introduction of the necessary facilities for a level 4 hospital including a fully equipped maternity section, theater and inpatient wards. 

I have endeavored to ensure that, all what is required at Karuri hospital have been reflected in the Kiambu County Fiscal Strategy paper as we wait availability of funds. 

However, a lot of service provision has improved including automation of services and quick responses to community complain and concerns. 

We have benefited from a state of the art dental machine which will make Karuri hospital a main center for comprehensive dental care.

Still on health I have successfully moved a number of motions in the county assembly. 

These include,

1.  A motion to allow hospitals to spend their collections without having to remit them to the county treasury first and then wait for reimbursement. This is allowed by the law in the Public Finance management act 2012. 

Hospitals report delays of up to 6 months as they wait for reimbursement causing untold suffering to patients. The motion was supported unanimously.

2. A motion to stop isolation of HIV clients and their services by having them integrated with other general services in all our health institutions. This has been a serious source of HIV stigma where some hospitals offer HIV services in tents or containers situated in a far corner away from other patients. The motion sailed through unanimously.

3. A motion to abolish the Kshs. 1000 fee charged to assault and rape victims for a P3 form. The inability of orphans and vulnerable children including poor victims of rape and assault to raise this money has been a great challenge for pursuing justice against their offenders. 

The motion was passed by a majority.

Unfortunately, all these and many other important motions from the assembly have never been implemented by the executive for reasons better known to them.

Other achievements

Giving Kiambaa Playground back to the Community

For many years, the young people of Kiambaa village did not have a playing field because the only playground had been taken over by Senior Chief Koinange High school. Foot ball players used to go to neighboring villages of Kibubuti and Karuri to beg for a playing ground.

I knew it was not only unfair but an injustice to the community of Kiambaa. I organized a meeting of key community members, the heads of Senior Chief High School, Kiambaa primary and the St. John Ack church.
I also invited the District education bosses including the local administration. We held very fruitful deliberations which culminated in giving the playground back to its owners, the community.
We also secured the buildings which used to be boys dormitories but which were being turned into teachers residential houses by Senior Chief administrators.
Kiambaa MP later started a secondary school in those buildings.

Others who benefited from the talks included the Kiambaa primary school and Ack St. John when the meeting resolved to open a road that had remained blocked and which cuts through the playground to the church.
Previously church goers and primary kids used to go all the way round to Kirumbi to access the church and school.

Supporting the less fortunate in society

In my promise to continue agitating for the welfare of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), I lobbied for the OVCs of Karuri ward to start receiving the monthly cash transfer funds.
I visited and also wrote letters to the highest offices of the Gender ministry and children departments and I can proudly say that, not only did the children of Karuri benefit but also the aged and those with physical challenges.
For the first time ever, Karuri and its adjacent areas started receiving the monthly cash transfers in the year 2014. Unfortunately, the subsequent years have not seen the addition of more people as expected every year.

Supporting the Matatu sector.

 
The Matatu sector is one of the most important economic sources in our Ward. It offers an economic lifeline to hundreds of our youths. 
The Matatu traders had been complaining for a very long time over the bad state of Banana Buspark.  I lobbied and pleaded with the County Government to rehabilitate the Buspark and it was eventually done and in the process I made sure our taxi operators also benefited with a parking bay beside the Buspark.