Saturday, 23 November 2019

#ICBNXCLUSIVE: AFREESA BLOGGERS 'LOCKED AND LOADED' FOR A TERRIFIC SHOWDOWN WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT

Isiolo Governor Dr. Mohamed Abdi Kuti addressing the public at a past event.

A battery of bloggers who were part of Governor Kuti's campaign in 2017 that refer to themselves as 'Afreesa Bloggers' have now vowed to 'break ranks' with their former candidate of choice who they say has left their fate in the hands of his 'heartless' cohorts whom they say are responsible for their deplorable conditions even despite their rooting for the incumbent with the hope that things will change forthwith much to their disappointment. 'We believed in Governor Kuti's cause and agenda especially for the youth as was clearly outlined in his ambitious manifesto back in 2017 and it was for that reason that we vowed to ensure that he captures the seat and end the deplorable conditions that the local are youth have been faced with for ages, its almost three years now and none of that seems to be happening and a change of heart is inevitable especially for those of us that went about the entire populace to convince them that our candidate(kuti) was the right man for the job. We are disappointed beyond words!', says a visibly agitated blogger who was a key member in the now defunct 'Afreesa Digital Team'. They have also lamented the fact that the governor's team  have never appreciated their service adding that 'while mundane, was offered with the best of intentions and goodwill for the candidacy of Governor Kuti and that they feel shortchanged by how things have turned out in the past few years even after the cake was secured'.

The bloggers who contacted us on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the powerful clique that surrounds the governor have however maintained that they shall soon come out with their stories as repeated appeals to their 'masters' have fallen on deaf ears all through leaving them with no option but to 'extricate' themselves from what they call a 'toxic relationship' between themselves and the county administration which they say is 'one-sided' and has made them the laughing stock of the 2017 general elections.

Segregation
The bloggers further accuse the top aides of Governor Kuti of employing what they(bloggers) perceive as a 'system of segregation' where 'their friends and hangers-on are favoured with regards to the county projects while the majority of those that laid down everything to ensure 'Afreesa is achieved are kept in the dark with promises that are never honoured'.
They have lamented that those who have 'benefitted' from the administration so far are those who have done 'little or nothing at all' for the current administration, currently and during the heated campaign period which

 Handshake Disoriented Us
They also opine that the adminstration has neglected them after the famous 'handshake' between Governor Kuti and his arch rival Abdul Bahari who is now a Cabinet Administrative Secretary in the ministry of Labour which was thought to be a 'token' achieved through the incumbent's lobby.
They have maintained that while they supported the handshake wholeheartedly, the administration now behaves as though they 'owe them nothing' which they say is 'a classical case of betrayal'. They say the handshake has severely disoriented them as they feel their services and unequivocal support have been traded for a political clout'.

They also intimated to us that they have been unable to get a rendezvous with the Governor even after raising the issue with a senior county official who also happened to be a key coordinator during the Afreesa campaigns to state their case and since 'talks with his(governor) aides have collapsed', they are prepared to join their brothers and sisters 'on the the other side of the aisle(alluding to opposition) to agitate for better service delivery from the administration- A duty which they say they 'selfishly relinquished' with the hope that things shall improve eventually while the opposite has been the case.

What perturbs them most according to one of the bloggers is the fact that the adminstration has 'rewarded and empowered their rivals while those that lay down their life and everything to ensure the incumbent successfully captures the top seat in the county have been neglected and completely 'left out of the binge'.

The bloggers say they are now  emboldened to come out with their individual stories sooner rather than later and to make an unequivocal statement with regards to their political future.

ICBN, being the unyielding advocate of the underdogs shall support the bloggers in their quest for 'justice and equality' in Isiolo county.

#KeepItICBN

Thursday, 14 November 2019

ICBN: Governor Kuti Reveals 'Major Plans To Combat Malnutrition In Partnership With USAID-Kenya'

Governor Kuti giving his keynote address at a consultative conference organized by the USAID-Kenya.

Isiolo County Governor Dr. Mohamed Abdi Kuti has revealed plans to roll out major plans to roll out a program that targets to eradicate malnutrition in four(4) counties namely Isiolo,Marsabit,Samburu and Turkana.

He revealed the plans while attending a consultative meeting organized by the USAID-Kenya on the development of food security and nutrition.
USAID-Kenya official addressing the delegates where he detailed plans to eradicate malnutrition and strengthen food security in four(4) counties.

The program is set to be funded to a tune of Kes 18 Billion by the USAID-Kenya over a period of time which ICBN is yet establish.

Food security has been a challenge particularly to Isiolo which spends millions of Kenyan shillings on relief food whenever drought or other natural calamities hit. Only a couple of weeks ago, the county spent a total of Kes 160M to facilitate relief food to locals who were hit by floods in Iresaboru and other areas where the effect of the prolonged drought was taking a toll on the human population residing there with near-starvation cases have been reported.
Delegates following the proceedings during a consultative meeting organized by the USAID-Kenya.

It is not yet known what the nittygritties of the plans are as the details are yet to be released to the public. However, implementation is expected to start in earnest  according to information we have received from reliable sources.

For Isiolo county, the program is mainly believed to fund agricultural projects and irrigation along the Waso Nyiro river with an aim to establish a sustainable food supply chain. 
As nomadic pastoralism is becoming increasingly unsustainable with the onset of climate change making most rangelands barren and unable to sustain the herds of livestock in the capacity it used to before, it is expected that the program will attempt to woo pastoralists to choose a sedentary lifestyle and (perhaps) transition to farming while offering them(pastoralists) the relevant start up support needed for such a venture.

Another scenario our pundits have been able to deduce is that a part of the funds will target a school feeding program targeting schools in the four counties 'which has been the ''go-to'' plan for most sponsors targeting malnutrition eradication',quips one of our pundits when we reached out to him over USAID-Kenya's ambitious plans.

Pundits further reiterated that they hope the program 'shall be implemented accordingly and for the targeted population to be involved fully in every step of the way as failure to do so has been a key recipe for failure judging from past undertakings of the same nature that haven't borne fruit because the implementing authorities overlooked the importance of involving the primary subjects of the program'.

ICBN shall keep you in the loop regarding any development(s) that may come of the above publication.

#KeepItICBN


#ICBNXCLUSIVE: ISIOLO AMONG THE 8 PILOT COUNTIES CHOSEN FOR DONALD TRUMP's 'PROSPER AFRICA INITIATIVE'


Governor Kuti and other delegates following the proceedings of the 2019 Edition of The AMCHAM Business Summit.

Isiolo county has been chosen alongside 7 other counties for the pilot stage of Donald Trump's Prosper Africa Initiative which is supposesly aimed at empowering small and media enterprises(SME and youth enterprises with a vision to create youth employment and boost local industries.
Donald J Trump: The 45th President of the United States whose first official blueprint on the continent, Prosper Africa, is bein implemented in 8 Counties in Kenya including Isiolo County.
The project was officially launched on the 4th of November as duly organized by the American Chamber Of Commerce(AMCHAM) for the annual AMCHAM Business Summit and was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta and the 8 governors whose respective counties became the initial beneficiaries of Donald Trump's maiden project in Africa including Isiolo's Governor Mohamed Kuti.
President Kenyatta giving a speech during the annual AMCHAM Business Summit. Trump administration has rolled out the Prosper Africa Initiative which is aimed at creating youth employment.

The Prosper Africa Initiative is also expected to facilitate the formation of  County Business Association which will link SMEs and local businesses to the markets in the United States.
The project is further aimed at attracting American investors to the respective counties.

Following the launch,Governor Kuti promised to 'quickly take advantage of the initiative and set up Special Economic Zones(SEZ) aimed at attracting American manufacturing investors which bears the potential to create youth employment in the long run'.
Isiolo County Governor Dr. Mohamed Kuti(pictured above) says he will take an early initiative to set up Special Economic Zones(S.E.Z.s) to attract American Manufacturing Investors.

This is thought to be Donald Trump administration's major blueprint to be implemented on the African continent especially after he made the hairraising 'sh!thole' comments about certain African countries earlier on in his administration.

Trump is currently facing impeachment inquiry brought forward by the Democrats in the lower house led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Intelligence committee chair Senator Adam Schiff after a whistle blower exposed President Trump's 'erroneous' request in a phone call he had with the Ukrainian President Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky in which he(trump) allegedly 'pressured' his counterpart to investigate Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden which would have given Trump an edge over his democratic competitor and suggests of there being quid pro quo element in the sense that Ukraine stood to lose about $400m in American military aid should they fail to cooperate with Trump's request.
House Intelligence Committee Chair Senator Adam Schiff

House Speaker Ms. Nancy Pelosi who opened an impeachment inquiry against the Donald Trump Presidency after a whistle blower exposed Mr. Trump's apparently 'inappropriate' phone call with Ukrainian President Mr. Zelensky.

Trump has however repeatedly maintained that there was no quid pro quo in his phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart which he(45) has described as 'perfect'. The besieged president has since earned the support of his key fellow GOP bigwigs which include Senator Lindsey Graham who has since voiced support for the president by recently stating that the allegations do not meet the 'impeachment threshold' after earlier criticising the president for 'improper conduct'.  The president also enjoys unwavering support from another GOP bigwig Senator Jim Jordan and current house minority leader Mr. Kevin McCarthy.
Senator Lindsey Graham: A senior GOP member and a key Donald Trump ally.

A number of local pundits we reached out to regarding the Prosper Africa Initiative and whether the Trump administration will outlive the impeachment threats to see to the fruition of the project unanimously agreed that the 'impeachment of a sitting president of the United States is farfetched especially because of the fact that the Republicans still control the congress and despite the obvious fact that the president erred and acted contrary to the ethical code of conduct that comes with his office by asking his possible rival to be investigated by a foreign government, nothing ^catastrophic^ happened and this will give the GOP enough grounds to reject the impeachment motion and this is why Trump will outlive the impeachment to fully implement the Prosper Africa Initiative.' Reads an excerpt of a mail we received from Mr.X.
The 'lucky' governors and other senior Government officials posing for a group photo shortly after putting pen to paper regarding the Prosper Africa initiative.

(Quid Pro Quo - A favour or advantage granted in return for something-google)

#KeepItICBN


Friday, 8 November 2019

ICBN: Gvn Kuti Pushes For The Gazettement Of Grazing Lands As He Meets C.S Karoney

Governor Kuti With Reps Of Pastoralists Communities Living In Isiolo Shortly After Meeting Lands C.S Karoney(Centre).

Isiolo Governor Dr. Mohamed Abdi Kuti met with Land C.S Fridah Karoney earlier today at the Lands Ministry in a bid to present a case to the National Government where he is seeking the gazettement of lands in Isiolo county apparently in a bid to cushion the pastoralists from external threats with regards to the safety of their grazing rangelands and livestock.

The governor was accompanied by the representatives of all the pastoralist communities living in Isiolo where they 'conclusively agreed that the cancellation of the Land adjudication gazettement would deny Isiolo residents Titles which would be a great loss but rather amend the adjudication gazettement' which states-:

1. That all land in Isiolo county is a community land under the jurisdiction of the County Government.

2. That the only areas which fall under the adjudication are the towns within Isiolo County with a specification of square kilometres per hectare.

 Petition Against KDF

Governor Kuti further promised to lead a delegation for an exclusive meeting with Defence and Internal Security C.Ss Mrs. Rachel Omamo and Mr. Fred Matiangi (in that order) where he is expected to table a petition against the KDF camps in which they(KDF) are accused of having encroached on civilian/grazing lands and also push for the cessation of their planned 'illicit' expansion.

ICBN Will Keep You Updated On Any Further Development(s) Concerning The Above Story.

#KeepItICBN

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