East African entrepreneurs have been granted an international platform to showcase their products with their entry into the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. In the East African edition, the prestigious business awards are open to applicants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. - According to Ernst & Young (E&Y) the awards encourages entrepreneurial spirit among those with prospective and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. In an interview with Africa News, Ms. Hannah Njoroge the E&Y Business Development Coordinator in Kenya said the awards had been running for over 24 years and…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. A group of women from the Ilchamus indigenous community are seeking help from Kenya's Rift Valley provincial administration citing security threats from neighboring communities. Yesterday, the group of about 16 women went to seek help from Rift Valley provincial commissioner Osman Warfa in a bid to save their community. According to the women, the Ilchamus communities living in Marigat are subjected to harsh living conditions due to raids from Pokot people. Speaking to journalists, one of the representatives Ms Caroline Tenges said that several deaths have occurred in the community while schools have been shut due to attacks from Pokots. “Our children are n…

- WANJIRU NYAGA For Peter Mutheki the project manager at the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru Water Quality (CDN WQ), bones are a life saving and lucrative business. Mr Mutheki collects bones on large scale for water purification purposes to serve the fluoride doomed residents of Nakuru and other communities within and outside the country. The project uses the bones to make bone char or bone charcoal which is then used in the defluoridation process in the water which is rich in fluoride. According to him, the project has assisted in lessening the side effects of high fluoride concentration in water found within areas of the Rift Valley. “The project offers water defluoridation service…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. High Fluoride concentration within the Rift Valley Province and other parts of the country has over the years caused adverse and irreversible effects on Kenyans who consume it without knowing its hazards. Fluoride is a soluble salt that occurs naturally in ground water and is also found in, foods, soil, and several minerals. Locally, it is consumed in water, a basic commodity with high local demand. On its part, fluoride has no color, taste or smell and can only be detected in a laboratory. In Nakuru and other parts within the Rift Valley, cases of dental and skeletal fluorosis are evident with many having browned teeth and weak bones. Some boreholes have been shut due…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. Tree farmers in the Rift valley are counting heavy losses after intensely investing in tree farming with the hope of reaping benefits from conserving the Mau Complex. The farmers claim to have blindly fallen for the intense campaigns on the rehabilitation and conservation of the Mau Complex that the government and media had made from 2006. The farmers who had acted on government as well as corporate incentives are claiming that they have over grown trees in their farms which have no ready market by alleging that the government is not buying the perishable commodity from them. Farmer Eric Ng’eno from Molo who had taken up a loan totaling to Sh 500,000 claims that th…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. The health sector in the country is expected to improve after the launching of a revised and harmonized Bachelor’s of Science (BScN) syllabus. The Nursing Council of Kenya and other stakeholders have launched a revised. The new curriculum is an improvement of the BScN core syllabus and is set to take effect as early as March of this year. Speaking to the Africa News, Mr David Maingi the head of education at the Nursing Council of Kenya, the previous BScN core syllabus had been in use for over 10 years and the stakeholders recognized the former to be deficient in addressing new developments. “The core syllabus was prescribed to only 3 universities offering…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. Residents of Baringo County in Kenya's Rift Valley Province continue to experience the side effects of the Mathenge plant that has brought many challenges to the area for decades. The plant whose scientific name prosopis juliflora is said to have been introduced to Kenya 20 years ago, it was supposed to stop the deserts in their track. However, 20 years later, Mathenge has become a nightmare for inhabitants of Kenya’s dry lands, who say the wild plant has overrun the local landscape and persists to multiply at an alarming rate. The tree grows to a height of up to 12 meters (39 ft) and has a stem with a diameter of up to 1.2 meters (3.9 ft). Mathenge is known…

- WANJIRU NYAGA. The Pyrethrum Board of Kenya (PBK) is betting on prompt payment and issuance of free seedlings and transports services to encourage farmers to boost output and curb falling supplies. The board is now paying Sh100 of the Sh375 per kilogram for the best quality of dry pyrethrum flowers on delivery to encourage farmers to grow the crop after they uprooted it on low and delayed pay, says the firm’s managing director Dr Isaac Mulagoli. “Our intention is to have adequate flowers that would help Kenya reclaim its lost market share,” said Dr Isaac Mulagoli the firm’s managing director, arguing that the free services would also boost the farmers take home p…

- WANJIRU NYAGA All the five tributaries that feed Lake Nakuru with water have become seasonal despite the heavy rains pounding the area for the last three weeks. Kenya Wildlife Service is attributing this to continued degradation of the Mau Forest complex. The tributaries include River Nderit which flows from the Enderit area in Mau East, River Ngosur, River Njoro and Makalia, which also originate from the Mau. KWS, director Mr Julius Kipng’etich told the Africa News in an interview yesterday that the problem will have a negative impact on the Lake Nakuru National Park, which is home to millions of famous flaming birds and several wildlife species. Already flamingoes at the park…