Principal Secretary (PS), State Department of Co-operatives, Ministry of Co-operatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development, Hon. Patrick Kilemi, has called on farmers and fishermen from Lamu County to come together by forming cooperatives in order to scale up efforts to promote farming and fishing industries in the county.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Issa Timamy EGH, OGW, the PS acknowledged the significant steps being undertaken by County Government of Lamu towards supporting small holder farmers and fisher communities by organizing and emphasizing on them to join cooperatives for collective benefits that come in handy by being a member.

He reassured farmers and fishermen from Lamu that by adopting the cooperative model and working together, they too have a tremendous potential for further growth, particularly in meeting the demand for the county and the country.

On his part, Lamu Governor underscored the significance of cooperatives as a key component of empowering farmers and fishermen and highlighted his administration commitment as a policymaker to implement various interventions that protect farmers/fishermen from extortion by middlemen.

These interventions include infrastructure development to strengthen exisiting cooperatives so as to ensure members benefit from special discounts, training, services, grants, loans and sometimes even a dividend check at the end of each year.

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For more information contact communications office at; communications@lamu.go.ke

ANC Party Leader and Lamu Governor H.E Issa Timamy, hosted H.E President William Ruto in Lamu on Thursday to launch the second phase of KEMFSED grants for community projects grants worth over Sh520 million to improve the livelihoods of coastal communities at Mokowe in Lamu County.

The grants will benefit 471 groups in Lamu and the four other counties participating in the project: Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale and Tana River counties.

President Ruto presented a cheque of Sh63,294,150 for Lamu directly to representatives of the grassroots groups.

The County Government of Lamu has set aside a budget of Ksh. 100 million towards establishing an Aggregation and Industrial Park in the County.

According to Lamu Governor H.E., Issa Timamy EGH, OGW the county will also provide land and infrastructure towards the establishment of the industrial parks and aggregations that will in turn help towards creating employment opportunities and increase value addition on products.

“We are not only going to create employment for those who will be working at the facility but local farmers and their employees,” said Governor Timamy, adding that this will help increase the level of income within the County.

Towards this end, the State Department for Industry on behalf of Lamu and other counties has officially invited bids for the construction of Proposed County Aggregation & Industrial Parks.

The construction of industrial parks will create value addition and aggregation on all farm produce before getting to local and international markets.

The investment has been termed to be a game changer towards unlocking Lamu’s economic potential. Key sectors that Lamu County will prioritize for value addition include; fruits, milk, fish, beef and nuts.

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For further information contact;

Lamu County Government Communication office at

communications@lamu.go.ke

Lamu Governor H.E., Issa Timamy EGH, OGW, has called for prudent utilization of resources by County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) and the Chief Officers (COs), for improved efficiency in service delivery.

Governor Timamy has further asked the County Government Departmental heads to dedicate their work to improving performance in their departments and embrace with transparency and accountability to help the county increase it’s revenue from Sh. 155M to Sh. 350M during this financial year.

The Governor made the remarks while attending a three day Lamu County Performance Review Programme for the 2022/2023 Financial year and in preparedness for the implementation of the 2023/2024 financial year budget that was held in Mpeketoni, Bahari Ward, County.

During the retreat, Executive Committee Members, Chief Officers and Directors put forward clear targets and SMART performance indicators in line with the budget for the FY 2023/24.

“This Performance and Review Programme on our achievements in the last financial year and what we purpose to achieve during the next financial year, is key in generating a culture of result-oriented management within my administration and in the delivery of services to our people” said Governor Timamy.

During this FY 2023/2024 County Government of Lamu seeks to double it’s revenue from Sh. 155M to Sh.350M and this will be achieved through sealing poor systems and leakages, introduction of a digitised revenue collection system and cascading the county’s resolve to seal all the loopholes that interfere with the optimal use of the revenue generated.

The three day retreat was attended by Deputy Governor H.E., Raphael Munyua, County Secretary Amb. Ali Abbas, CEC Members, Chief of Staff Mr. Abdulnasir Issa, Chief Officers and Directors.

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For more information contact communications office at;

communications@lamu.go.ke

Trade and Tourism CECM Hon. Aisha Miraj has graced the official opening of Lamu food bazaar that is being held at Lamu Seafront.

The annual bazaar was introduced by the county government to join a host of other festivals which are intended at promoting tourism and selling the county’s unique culture to the outside world and more.

According to CECM Hon. Aisha the weekend long event combines both cultural and culinary activities such as a street food bazaar, food expo, and competitions.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Trade and Investment remains committed to support festivals that attract hordes of tourists from around the globe who always flock the Lamu Archipelago to witness the unique Swahili cuisines and culinary activities.

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Story by County Communications Office

Contact: communications@lamu.go.ke

HISTORIC!

Lamu Deaf Swimmer Bags 2 Gold Medals and Qualifies to Represent Kenya in the World Deaf Swimming Championships in Argentina

Saddam Yusuf from Lamu has bagged two gold medals in 50 meters and 100 meters freestyle category in the just concluded National Deaf Swimmers Championships in Nairobi.

The national championships attracted deaf swimmers from the country to select a team that will represent Kenya in the upcoming World Deaf Championships slated for August 2023.

Jamal Abdalla from Lamu bagged a silver and a bronze medal in 100 meters and 50 meters breaststroke respectively with Mohamed Lali also from Lamu winning a bronze medal in 100 meters freestyle swimming category.

Through the support of the County Government, Lamu sent a team of five deaf swimmers in the Championships and besides Saddam Yusuf who got a direct ticket for winning a gold medal, the other four also defied the altitude of Nairobi to qualify to join the national training camp where they will be required to meet the World Championships qualifying time before being enlisted in the national team.

Lamu Governor H.E., Issa Timamy EGH, OGH who flagged off the team to take part in the championships, has congratulated all swimmers for the heroic and splendid performance in the just concluded championships. The Governor has also committed to continue supporting sports through identifying, nurturing and promoting talents which is in line with his Sports promotion pillar.

CECM Sports Hon. Owanga who had accompanied the team for the Championships together with Sports Chief Officer Ms. Hafwa Difini and Sports officer Peter Ndichu, celebrated the swimmers for their outstanding performance at the Championships and committed to support them through his department to ensure they all participate in the World Championships.

Recently, Lamu has been claiming it’s space in the world of sports with Farid Mabwana from Kiwayu, currently in Tunisia as the Captain of the Kenya National Beach Soccer team where they are playing against the hosts and Senegal in Africa Beach Championship.

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Story by, County Communications Office

Contact; communications@lamu.go.ke

Lamu County is taking part in the National Deaf Swimming Championships that are currently underway at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

Lamu County is represented by five swimmers;

1. Saddam- Freestyle

2.Jamal- Freestyle and Breaststroke

3. Hamza- Backstroke and Butterfly

4. Lali- Backstroke

5. Mohamed- Freestyle and Butterfly

The swimmers were flagged off last week by Lamu Governor H.E., Issa Timamy to take part in the championships that will be used to select the Kenyan team for the World Deaf Swimming Championships to be held in August in Argentina.

County Government of Lamu wishes the swimmers the best of luck as they represent Lamu in the national trials.

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For more information contact:

Lamu County Government Communications Office at communications@lamu.go.ke

Residents of Hindi town in Lamu West Sub-County are upbeat about the new face of the urban centre as construction of cabro works and driveways take shape. The residents and traders are now attesting to the aesthetic beauty awaiting the entire town once the project is completed in July.

The ongoing cabro paving works which was launched in May this year by H.E., Governor Issa Timamy EGH, OGW will raise the standards of the once dusty town to level other towns that are already fitted with cabro. The project is among Governor Timamy infrastructure flagship projects that seeks to upgrade the town’s infrastructure to enable it to highly contribute to Lamu’s economic growth and attract more investors.

The scope of the work involves upgrading of the 150 meters Migingo Estate- Kim’s Shop road to cabro standard, improvement of storm water drainage on both sides of Migingo – Kim’s shop road and construction of drainage pits at various points within the town center.

According Roads Chief Officer Mr. Alex Jimbi, the cabros will totally change the outlook of the area and create a conducive trading environment to the locals as well as outsiders.

Traders have lauded Governor Timamy for upgrading the road noting that the area would be rendered impassable during the rainy seasons while it would be extremely dusty during the sunny seasons, a situation that kept away customers and negatively impacted on businesses. Governor Timamy’s administration has been committed to ensuring that there is equitable development in all parts of the county and therefore the Hindi cabro project was a timely response to the growing needs of urbanization in the county.

During this financial year 2022/2023 the Department of Roads, Public Works, Infrastructure and Energy, has managed to construct Lamu sea wall and stairs from donkey sacturary to Huduma center, routine maintance of 21 roads across the county, cabro pavings in Faza, Pate, Hindi, Siyu, Mkomani and Lamu as well as installation of street lighting.

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For further information contact; Lamu County Government office at communications@lamu.go.ke

The county Government of Lamu is developing SOPs(Standard Operating Procedures) for the operation of EOC (Emergency Operation Centre) that is coming up at Command centre in Mokowe.

The SOP will guarantee that a standardized and uniform set of procedures is applied within the entire system of EOC Multi-agency that will effectively support DRM(Disaster Risk Management) activities, clearly define the roles and responsibilities at different multi agency engagement level and facilitate the coordination and collaboration with relevant agencies manning the Centre.

The workshop that brought together relevant stakeholders in the disaster and security sector was concluded on the 17th June.

The document will enable all the disaster and security stakeholders to work together to respond any emergencies in Lamu.

The drafting workshop brought onboard experts from Kenya Coast guard led by Colonel Boru-Director Maritime Ops, Lieutenant Commander Mr. Kimondo, KMA SAR(search and rescue) incharge, Mr. Aziz Amanda-head of joint operations (multi agency) Mombasa County Disaster Coordinator, Kilifi County NDMA, SFCG representative, Lamu County Chief of Staff Mr. Abdulnassir Issa.

The program was facilitated by USAID kuza.,and coordinated by the Director for Peace Building and Disaster Management, Mr. Shee Kupi.

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For further information contact; Lamu County Government office at communications@lamu.go.ke

A team of five deaf swimmers, and an amputee footballer have this afternoon been flagged off by Lamu Governor H.E. Issa Timamy EGH, EGH to take part in the Kenya national team selection in Nairobi and Eldoret respectively.

Led by their captain Jamal Abdallah, the team of professional deaf swimmers will take part in the national trials at Moi Sports Center, Kasarani.

Jamal Abdalla, Lali Mohamed, Saddam Yusuf, Hamza Ahmed, Mohamed Hassan will be representing Lamu in the race to join the national team that will represent the country in the World Deaf Swimming Championships slatted for August in Argentina later this year.

Amputee footballer Lucky Hinzano who plays for Coast Amputee soccer team will join other amputee footballers in Eldoret for the trials of the national team selection.

While flagging off the teams at Mokowe Headquarters, Governor Timamy wished the athletes well during the trials and committed to continue supporting sports through identifying, nurturing and promoting talents.

In attendance was CECM Sports Hon. Sebastian Owanga, Sports Chief Officer Ms. Hafswa Difini, Sports Officer Mr. Peter Ndichu among others.

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For further information contact; Lamu County Government office at communications@lamu.go.ke