Laikipia county news Archives

Laikipia County and Co-op Bank in a joint venture to fund over 7000 entrepreneurs through the Laikipia Entreprise Fund

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Kibaki Muthamia

The Laikipia County Government and the Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank) have today launched the Laikipia Enterprise Fund with an initial kitty of Ksh 300 million, to offer affordable financing and business support to co-operatives and entrepreneurs in Laikipia County.

To kick-off the Fund, the bank and the county government have entered into an Interest-Sharing and Guarantee Arrangement. This is aimed at supporting two key segments;

First, to empower co-operatives in Laikipia County through affordable financing and Consultancy Services, to enable them have sufficient liquidity for lending to members, and strengthen their management structures, and

Second, to support over 7,000 entrepreneurs in Laikipia County recover from the challenges of the Covid-19 Pandemic by way of affordable financing and training.

Borrowers will pay single-digit interest rates, which makes this arrangement perhaps the most affordable lending program in Kenya today. The low interest rate has been made possible by the interest-sharing arrangement, whereby the Laikipia County Government will be offering an interest subsidy of 5 per cent, thereby reducing the bank lending rate from 12.1 per cent to 7.1 per cent per annum for all borrowers.

Co-op Group Managing Director Gideon Muriuki

In addition, borrowers will enjoy a reduced appraisal fee at 1.5 per cent of the approved loan amount.

Co-op Bank will match three times the amount that the County Government will place in the Enterprise Fund, to ensure as many borrowers benefit from the opportunity. In addition to financing, the bank will make available the full basket of services that include digital banking tools, workshops for business training, and capacity-building consultancy services for co-operatives.

Repayment period for the loans will be upto 12 months for SMEs and upto 18 months for co-operatives.

The county government shall undertake initial vetting of loan applicants as provided for in the Laikipia County Enterprise Fund Regulations 2020. Co-op Bank will further appraise for qualification.

The Laikipia Enterprise Fund commences operations immediately.

US medical experts train doctors in Laikipia in a bid to boost health sector

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Pauline Syombua

Medics at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital were this week taken through routine continuous medical education by professors from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut USA.

Dr Robert Crusio, a specialist in internal medicine and intensivist works in critical care at St Vincent’s Medical Centre of the University of Quinnipiac, was among the specialists from US who have pitched camp in Laikipia.

Laikipia governor Ndiritu Muriithi welcomes Dr David Hill to Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital

The US team is led by Dr David Hill who is a professor at the Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. The team made a briefing on sepsis, a serious medical condition that is associated with body overreaction to (mostly) bacterial infections.

30 million cases

The presentation was meant to update the medical personnel at the county hospital on the recommended standard practice of returning the patient from a severe stage of septic shock to a safer state, a time-critical action that could save a patient’s live.

Approximately 30 million cases of sepsis are recorded per year worldwide, with five million lives lost to the disease per year. The condition, though rare, is fatal and almost irreversible if timely actions are not taken.

The weekly exercise is an internal initiative meant to keep the medical personnel at the facility abreast with the dynamics in the field medicine. This week will have an additional session on Friday, where the visiting team will make presentations on the antibiotic-resistant TB, condition medics at NTRH say is a growing concern.

The visiting medics also presented medical equipment and books to the health staff. Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, assured the medical fraternity of full support on research efforts that will better the health delivery to the people.

Retired president Kibaki’s cousin and Abdi Kuti become first independent candidates to win governor seat

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Martin Oduor

Laikipia and Isiolo counties are the only two counties in Kenya that have elected independent candidates as their next governors for the period 2017-2022.

Retired president Mwai Kibaki’s cousin has trounced the incumbent with a slight margin of over 1,800 votes to carry the day in Laikipia County.

Interim IEBC results shows that Ndiritu Muriithi is leading with 100,109 votes (50.47%) while the incumbent Joshua Wakahora Irungu of Jubilee is second with 98233 (49.53%). The results are from 530 out of 531 polling stations.

In Isiolo, Senator Mohamed Abdi Kuti who sought governor seat as an independent candidate is leading the incumbent Godana Doyo Adhi of Party for Development and Reforms (PDR) with over 6,700 votes.

IEBC provisional result for Isiolo County indicates that Abdi Kuti is ahead with 20,348 (41.81%) while Godana Doyo follows second with 13,640 (28.02%) in 178 out of 195 polling stations.