I am Mrs. Jane Kitundu running for Makueni County Womens Representative. As your Womens Representative, I have a clear and firm vision for Makueni County.
Poverty, water problems, food shortages, are some of the issues the Makueni County people are going through. We don't have enough hospitals or dispensaries to accommodate Makueni people. Hospitals are full, people are sleeping two or three in one bed or sleeping on the floor. We need new medical facilities, equipments and access to medicine at lower prices. School dropouts are high from nursery to form four due to lack of school fees; We need free education.
The old and disabled people are not being given their money from government to assist them in medical bills or food and are very neglected. Some need wheelchairs, crutches etc, but they have none. I saw that Makueni leaders were not treating people right and lots of unfairness. An example is with bursaries, they are given to friends and family and not to the orphans or the poor who need it the most.
I want
My Mission is to empower Makueni women and their families to achieve their dreams of a healthy, prosperous and well educated family, whom resides in a secure , harassment free , poverty free , disease free ,crime and corruption free society by representing them in the Kenyan government as their voice.
My Core Values are that all men and women are created Equal by GOD, and are given the will to decide on how they live on this earth. Including that no one should be oppressed, discriminated , belittled or treated unfairly because of their race, origin, tribe or clan, physical disability, social and religious values or any other stereotypes or stigmas given.
My Short term plan is that all Makueni women and their families will have easy access to clean water and abundant food as well as as access to high quality schools with new technology. As a woman and Registered Nurse in the United States, I know the importance of safe and high quality medical care. I will push for increased clinics in our county , ensure that all our children receive childhood immunizations, and that all pregnant women will have free prenatal care, including prenatal vitamins through our government clinics and hospitals. I will also push that the government increases lending of low interest loans to those who wish to start a business in Makueni County.
My Long term goal is to reduce the the mortality rate of children 0 - 5 yrs, which is still at an alarmingly high rate in our County. This is due to lack of clean water, enough food for both mothers and babies, lack of prenatal care, and early immunizations being administered to children.
Makueni County can have zero tolerance to crime, bribery and corruption, which will help us grow and live happier, healthier, and longer lives, by working together in the spirit of HARAMBEE.
Makueni is one of the 47 counties recognised in the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya. It is located in Lower Eastern part of the country and lies between Latitude 1º 35´ south and Longitude 37º10´ east and 38º 30´. The County covers an area of 7,965.8km².
There are five constituencies in Makueni County namely:
- Kibwezi West Constituency - Kibwezi East Constituency - Makueni Constituency - Kilome Constituency - Kaiti Constituency - Mbooni ConstituencyMakueni County Population Analysis as per the 2009 Cencus. Population:884,527 (Male – 49 %, Female – 51 %) Population Density: 110.4 people per Km 2 Annual Growth Rate: 2.8 % Age Distribution: 0-14 years (43.7 %), 15-64 years (51.1 %), 65+ years (5.2%)
The County experiences two rainy seasons, the long rains occurring in March and April while the short rains occur in November and December. The hilly parts of Mbooni and Kilungu receive 800-1200mm of rainfall per year with temperatures ranging from 20.20C to 24.60C. The low lying areas receive 150mm to 650mm of rainfall per annum and high temperatures of 35.80C typical of ASALs in Kenya.
Only 14% of the road network in Makueni is bitumen, 18% gravel and 68% earth surface meaning that most of the roads are impassable during the rainy season. The County has a total road network of 3,203.5Km of which 453.8Kms is bitumen, 555.2Kms gravel, and 2,198.6Kms surface roads. The main roads in the county are Katumani-Wote-Makindu road, Masii-Mbumbuni road, Salama-Kikoko and Mombasa road. The bitumen roads are in fairly good condition but most of the gravel and surface roads are in poor state which makes them impassable during rain seasons.
The county is traversed by a railway line which covers 140 kms. Major railway stations are Makindu, Kibwezi, Mtito-Andei and Emali. It also have has one airstrip situated in Makindu and it is operational.
The County has 1,510 Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres with a total enrolment of 41,820 composed of 21,922 boys and 19,898 girls and 1315 teachers. The teacher pupil ratio is 1:25. There is a high retention rate of 94.4 per cent and average of two years of attendance. It has 982 primary schools out of which 914 are government owned while 68 are private owned. The total enrolment is 269,752 pupils and 7,242 teachers which translate into a teacher pupil ratio of 1:37.
By the year 2012 there were 339 secondary schools with a total enrolment of 75,985 and a retention rate of 86 per cent. With a total of 2300 teachers, the county has a teacher pupil ratio of 1:33. The transition rate from primary to secondary school is 60% while Gross Enrolment rate stands at 76.6%. There are Twenty Eight (28) Public Registered Youth Polytechnics in Makueni County, 7 tertiary institutions and two university satellite campuses.
There are five commercial banks in the county. The banks are in turn supported by bank agents and mobile money transfer agents spread across the major towns of the county. There are four Microfinance-institutions operating also in the major towns and one village bank (KWFT). There are limited SACCOS in the county due to limited formal employment with the teachers SACCO being the largest.
There are a total of 152 health facilities spread across the county. There is Makueni level five hospital in Wote town, six level four hospitals at Kilungu, Makindu, Mbooni, Kibwezi, Mukaa and Nzaui. The county also has 21 level three, 113 dispensaries and eleven private clinics in the county. The bed capacity in the county stands at 616 and doctor population ratio is 1:22,712. There are nine VCTs and 138 counsellors in the county. The average household distance to health facility is six Kilometres. Prevalent Diseases: Malaria, flu, stomach-ache, upper and lower respiratory diseases, diarrhoea and HIV/Aids.
