Forget about Machakos, The real thing is Makueni County

Much has been said about Machakos County, and rightfully so.

Makueni and Kitui counties, the other two counties in lower eastern have been literally, and almost certainly, forgotten.

While Kitui county can be forgiven for having its share of headlines, matters minerals, Makueni county has had a topsy-turvy start to the devolved system of governance. From the witch doctor story, MCA 'problems' with the governor to court rulings, the journey has been painful, on the downside.

However, there is enough reason to be rosy about our beloved county. We might not be hosting the CECAFA, having delegates from the middle east or hosting the president, but still we have plenty to celebrate. Fast forward to the reasons why i think we are still a top top county.

Brains
I remember years ago when the KNEC used to rank districts in Kenya. Makueni district, then, was exactly the today Makueni County. Year in year out, the district topped the list in the country. This happened so much so many times till the ranking was scrapped, even making some of us think that it was malice towards our district.

A rough survey on the top leadership in Kenya will confirm the above sentiments. I can arguably say Makueni has the best brains, relatively, in the country. But what use are we making of the brains? Why are we electing MCA members who can't see past black and white?

Konza Techno City

There has been much talk about where this city is situated. The fact that Dr Alfred chose to start a brand new city in Machakos should be a clear answer to where is Konza Techno City.

Come on, we have our own silicon valley, boosted by the fact that it is quoted and cemented in vision 2030. The city will sit on a 5000 acre land, an equal to any mega project in the world.

Konza city

Despite the fact that Konza is a national project, the semi-skilled jobs, and i mean, semi skilled, will fall to residents of Makueni county, and acceptedly, Machakos County.

The question will linger, what are we doing about Konza? Are we co-operating with the national government well enough?

Tourism

Makueni County is home to the Tsavo east national park and Chyulu hills game reserve. Tsavo East is a very hot-spot for bio-diversity and natural 'experience'.

Chyulu hills National Park

Tapping into tourism can create many jobs as well as open investment opportunities for the visitors.

Other tourism sites yet to be exploited include the stone with human steps atop the Mbooni hills, the scenery and stone-climbing experiences of Mbooni and even unique missionary projects still in place.

Thus far, it seems, we are well sitting on potential!

Agriculture
 R.Athi cuts across the county. Note that the Egypt, entirely, depends on the Nile. While it will be intellectual ignorance and poverty to compare the two rivers, it is worth a note that comparatively, R. Athi can be utilized to irrigate nearly half of Makueni county.

Lucky we, the county has plenty of fallow land which can be utilized through modern farming methods.

The climate, also, favours a venture into horticulture, cotton farming and plants such as millet and wheat. Forgive me for not stating fruits, we are already known for that.

I cannot exhaust the Makueni county potential, not on paper.

I must, painfully, note that we lead in poverty levels in the entire Ukambani region, closely beating Kitui county by a point. At 64.2% poverty level, we can't afford a slumber, even for a second.

The challenge is leadership. I am not sure it is misleadership or lack of leadership or inadequate leadership. Majority may be thinking about the county leadership, but i challenge you to check your personal 'leadership', how do you make your choices, why and what is the impact?