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LAUNCH OF THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE THIKA WEBSITE ON AUGUST 11, 2008
EXCERPTS OF SPEECH BY HON. MUSALIA MUDAVADI, EGH, MP,
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT I am pleased to be here today to officially launch the Website for Thika Municipal Council. I am impressed that Thika Municipal Council has taken the initiative to launch a Website which will go a long way in improving the delivery of services not only to the local residents, but also provide information to stakeholders from within country and beyond. Through the Website, Kenyans will access information concerning the programs and projects undertaken by the Municipality. I therefore urge the management of the Council to ensure that the Website is consistently updated so as to enable visitors to the Web to get latest reports on the Council’s activities. Reports on tender awards and other reports should be posted on the Website as a way of exercising transparency in the Local Authority. This Website should serve as a vehicle to advertising business opportunities available within the Municipality. As you all know, this town has great potential for investments especially in the industrial and agricultural sectors. It is a town known for being the pioneer in the establishment of a sisal industry and a host of major coffee and pineapple farms. Today, on the northern side of this town stands Delmonte, the largest pineapple plantation in East and Central Africa. The town is well served by good roads and its proximity to Nairobi gives it an advantage over other towns in the country. I sincerely believe that interactive communications through this Web will open windows to revive the entrepreneur spirit that made Thika christened the Birmingham of Kenya years back.  | |  | Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi delivering the keynote speech at the Website Launch | | Councillors from the Municipal Council of Thika listening to the Deputy Prime Minister's speech | | | |  | |  | Also in attendance were from left: the Chairman of the County Council of Thika, Simon Kimani; the Town Clerk of the Municipal Council of Ruiru, Jane Ndonga; Coun David Ngugi of Thika Municipal and PR Consultant, Jennifer Wanjiru | | Stakeholders from Thika Municipality view the Municipal Council of Thika Website at Blue Post Hotel | ICT has been identified as the driver to achieving targets outlined in the Vision 2030. I want to state here that my Ministry is committed to interlinking all the local authorities through the Website. We want to improve the efficiency and accountability in Local Authorities by making them more answerable to Kenyans. We want to demystify operations of the Local Authorities by creating more channels of communication that will make Council Managers, Councillors, wananchi and other stakeholders share information regarding the activities of the Local Authorities. It is in this endeavor that we have created e-mail accounts for all the 175 Local Authorities so as to ease communication between the tax payers and Local Authority officials. A number of Local Authorities have been interlinked through the Website and I want to urge all other Local Authorities that have not developed Websites to do so before the end of this financial year.  | |  | Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, with Thika Mayor, Johnson Githaiga (left) and Juja MP, George Thuo | | Sammy Kirui, Permanent Secretary, Office of Deputy Prime Minister & Ministry of Local Government addresses the guests | We want people to access information about the use of Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF) and other funds meant to initiate development projects. We want wananchi to access Council By– Laws and Citizens Service Charters for the Councils. We want the citizens to engage Local Authorities in discussions. As a Ministry, we believe that monitoring of the execution of budgets for Local Authorities is both a duty and an obligation for all taxpayers in this country. It is through such vigilance that we can eradicate corrupt tendencies and ensure that our Local Authorities are above board and respond to the wishes of the citizens they serve.
May I once again take this opportunity to congratulate the Municipal Council of Thika for launching a Website which I believe will be comprehensive and informative enough to meet the expectation of all Kenyans and other stakeholders world over. With those few remarks, it is now my pleasure to declare the Website of the Municipal Council of Thika www.thikamunicipal.go.ke officially launched.  | |  | Area MP for Juja, George Thuo welcomes the Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi to the Municipality of Thika | | Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi toasts the launch of the Municipal Council of Thika Website with the Thika Mayor, Johnson Githaiga (left); Juja MP, George Thuo and PS, Office of Deputy Prime MInister & Ministry of Local Government, Sammy Kirui | |
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