Ongoing Tharaka Nithi County Government Investors Forum. Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with utmost pleasure that I join you and indeed welcome you to our Investors Conference. A forum I believe will not only enlighten you more on Tharaka Nithi County but will confirm to you that this is the place to put up that great business idea for both individual and our larger county prosperity. Many have and will be asking why it had to be Mombasa and nowhere else, Well, I will gladly tell you the reason and probably prove to you that this will be one of our many great decisions we ever made in regards to development of our county. When planning for this investments forum we had two main departments or ministries in mind: • The Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Water Services and Natural Resources • The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Co-operative development. To achieve our target in these two departments, we shall need to boost and improve all the other seven sectors which include: • Health, • Education, Youth, Culture and Social Services • Finance • Roads, Infrastructure, Public Works and Legal Affairs • Lands, Energy, and ICT • Urban Development, Labour and Disaster Management • Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Many may not know that Mombasa shares a similar climate condition with part of our county that is the lower regions which are Tharaka Constituencies and lower Chuka-Igamba Ng’ombe and Lower Maara Constituencies. We may not have the Indian Ocean to have a beach for the ever present sunny day, but you will be surprised that all the rivers in our Meru region flow down to Tharaka and make up the Tana River. We have enough water to support various investment projects that we are encouraging you to put up be it the Hotel industry, Housing, Agriculture and even sports like swimming, Boat Riding and canoeing. Our hot and dry climate favours growth of various cereals and fruits that do well in this areas and it is not a wonder many of these products have major markets in Mombasa like the Tamarines (Commonly known as Ukwaju) and the Amarula fruits not to mention cereals like green grams, cowpeas just to mention a few. Mombasa also serves as an exit or export point for the cereals and fruits and we expect to produce quite a number of them. As you attend this forum I assure you will get to learn more opportunities that will give you value for your money. Our able Executive and Chief Officers will in details present several issues that will motivate both local and outsiders to invest in the county. These include:-improvement of infrastructure, creating awareness on the available investment opportunities, developing simple and clear strategy on how to attract investors in each sub county by profiling investments opportunities available. Ministry of Education, Youth, Gender, Culture and Social Services has areas like entertainment that attracts participation of most youth, support the famous Chuka Drummers, youth Training Institutes including Technical/Commerce related colleges. Institute to train youth on sports due to high altitude facility in the upper parts of the county, Talent Academy and also investors to collaborate with other institutions to offer Tourism related training. Investment in enhancing innovation in producing/making of improved baskets/mats. Investment opportunities in bee keeping including innovations on how to improve processing of the famous Tharaka honey, exploitation investments opportunities in natural products including expanding production of the famous Meru herbs and other medicinal value plants. Meru herbs is a private entity located in Kithino area of Tharaka South Sub County and members agreed that it is important to profile potential in this sub-sector and find ways of motivation other investors to invest in similar facilities . Value addition of the famous Tharaka green grams, sorghum and millet among others present lucrative investment opportunity in agriculture sector while as present large livestock in the area present potential investment opportunities. The establishment of fish processing facility at Kibuka area of Tunyai Location would motivate investors in fish farming. The county Government is keen to support key industries in the county such as the recent established Tharaka Nithi Coffee Mills and offer support to investors in the agricultural sector including tea and horticulture sub sectors. Energy Related Investments Since Kathwana was accepted as Tharaka Nithi County Headquarters a number of buildings have come up. This development may lead to high demand of power in the town; this may also be common in other parts of the county considering that the national and county government has been undertaking development projects in almost all part of the county. It is therefore important to review energy requirements for each area including energy for industrial use and develop a strategy of encouraging investors to take the available opportunities including investing in alternative source of energy such as windmills and solar considering that parts of the county favours such investment. Establishment of a power substation at Kathwana Market would be a worth investment by Kenya Power and other investors in this sector. Upgrading of power line especially those to designated industrial areas is key to establishment of agriculture based industries in Kathwana and other parts of the county in line with Vision 2030 the developmental blue print for the country. Development of the proposed Mutonga High Dam along Tana River and exploitation of Iron Ore deposits in Kithiori area near Marimanti town will presents huge investment opportunities in the county. There exist investment opportunities in every sector of the county and as earlier said, each department will profile the available opportunities. Infrastructural development that support industrial growth in rural area, urban and towns including physical plans; road networks, sewerage and sanitation systems and ICT networks is key in order to achieve major economic growth that will lead to creation of employment in the county. In the Tourism Sector we have so many opportunities that we believe are going to make Tharaka Nithi a Tourism Destination County, We have plans for construction of a 5 Star Hotel In Kinondoni Lodge and we already have 5 Acres of Land available and Chuka Eco Lodge Hotel/ Golf Course at Kiang’ondu Forest : 80Acres of Land Available an Altitude of 1.80 Meters and Tharaka Nithi Cultural Centre : 12 acres of land available at Chiakariga Town. To enhance the success of these investments there must be good road network and infrastructure. The county Government is undertaking major roads rehabilitation which is expected to ease transportation of products from the interior of the county considering that the county is committing alot of resources into irrigation projects in the lower parts. We are also keen in rehabilitating all roads leading to our various tourism attraction sites including our tourism circuit that begins from Thuci to Echo Lodge, Kiang’ondu then to Kinondoni in Chogoria before proceeding down to Meru National Park through Ura Gate. These, ladies and gentlemen, are just but a few of our great plans that will lead us to wealth creation and improved employment opportunity especially for our youth and vulnerable groups. With this we are assured of sustainable economic growth and we are welcoming you to be part of this great dream. Thank you, God bless you and God bless Tharaka Nithi County. H.E THE Governor S.M Ragwa
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:13:59 +0000
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