Administration, Co-ordination of Decentralization & Management

The County Government of Narok is committed to ensuring that public offices are well managed and are cost effective in delivering quality service to the public in line with provisions of the Constitution of Kenya.

The department purposes to establish the basis for ensuring that efficient and effective services are delivered to the people of Narok County in line with the provisions of the Constitution and by requiring Departments to adapt systems that enable innovativeness and adaptability of public services to the needs of users.

The vision of the department is to be a leading department in public policy formulation, coordination, supervision and prudent resource management.

Its mission is to provide overall leadership and policy direction in resource mobilization, management and accountability for quality public service delivery.

The department works with the following objectives:

• To mold an efficient and effective human resource for the county.
• Provide for institutions, systems and mechanism for human resource utilization and development in a manner that best enhances service delivery by the County Public service institutions.
• To provide leadership in accordance with articles 174 and 175 of the constitution of Kenya 2010.
• To provide effective public service delivery and resource mobilization.
• To provide overall policy framework on the core mandates of the department.

Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries is responsible for crop and animal husbandry; livestock sale yards; county abattoirs; plant and animal disease control and fisheries.

The department offers the following services

• Crop husbandry and plant disease control.
• Land resources management, agri-business and market development and in agricultural engineering.
• Agricultural land use planning, environmental management, promotion of agro-forestry and soil conservation.
• Construction of dams, terraces, farm roads and ridging.
• Enforcement of quality standards for agro-processing, maintenance of agricultural machines and equipment, survey and design of conservation structures and providing advice to farmers on appropriate machinery and equipment.
• Providing advice to farmers on farming as a business.
• Providing data and information on farm inputs.
• Create mechanisms for increased access to affordable agricultural inputs.
• Disseminate information on market prices.

The main crops grown in the county are wheat, barley, maize, beans, irish potatoes and horticultural crops. These crops are grown under rain fed, micro irrigation and sprinkle and drip irrigation. Maize, wheat, barley and sugarcane are grown as cash crops. Maize and wheat are the highest income earning cash crops in the county. Sugarcane production has increased due to the construction of a new sugar factory in Transmara West. On average the county produces 3.5 to 4 million 90 Kgs bags of maize and wheat each year. However, the produce has been fluctuating as a result of erratic rains. On average, about 400,000 bags are produced annually

Crops Acreage
The area under agriculture is approximately 5,821 Km2. There are three categories of farmers in the county: small, medium and large scale owning 1-30 acres, 30 – 100 acres and above 100 acres respectively. Medium and large scale is capital intensive (about 40 per cent) as opposed to small scale which is labour intensive (approximately 60 per cent).

Average Farm Sizes
The average farm size under small scale is 6.1 Hectares and that of large scale is 26.3 Hectares with barley, tea, sugarcane and wheat being grown as the major cash crops. There has been sub-division of land into uneconomic units in some parts of the county while some large scale farms remain unutilized.

Livestock Types
Livestock rearing is a major economic activity in the county. The activity is concentrated in the lowland areas. Zebu is the main breed of cow reared in the county. According to livestock production summaries for 2012, there were 1,227,879 cattle, 1,134,049 sheep, 752,477 goats, 68,789 donkeys, 670,898 poultry, 299 pigs, 5,643 rabbits and 8 camels. In addition, the county had a total of 54,823 bee hives.

Number of Ranches

The county has 156 ranches, which are all classified as group ranches. In the recent past the number has been decreasing as result of increased demarcation. The most common livestock kept in large-scale commercial farms are dairy and beef cattle, goat and sheep, with milk, meat, hide and skin, wool and mutton as the main products.

Main Fishing Activities
Fish farming in the county is done through fish ponds. This is mostly carried out in Transmara West and East sub-counties. There are 320 fish ponds in the county. The main species of fish reared are tilapia, catfish, trout and claris. In both Narok North and Narok South, fish farming is very minimal. Fishing activities are not practiced in any of the rivers. On average, 28,800 Kgs of fish are produced per year. In general, the County has a nascent fisheries industry. Fish farming in the county is an emerging enterprise. Aquaculture is the main fishery activity in the county. Fish farming is mostly carried out in Transmara West and East sub-counties under semi-intensive levels of management. There are about 400 fish ponds and about 10 fully stocked dams/pans in the County. The species cultured here include the warm water fish mainly the Nile Tilapia and the African Catfish. Fishing activities in the rivers and dams remain largely uncontrolled. The County consumes approximately 1000 MT of fish annually against an estimated annual production of a paltry 41MT.

Education, Sports, Culture and Social Services

This sector is responsible for socio-economic development within Narok County Government. The sector is mandated to address the promotion and exploitation of the county’s diverse culture and to foster peaceful co-existence; promotion of pre-primary education and development of youth polytechnics; development and promotion of sports; cultural and sports tourism; regulation, development and promotion of the film industry; research and preservation of music in the county.

The department has six (6) units:

• Education
• Social services
• Sports
• Culture
• Gender and Youth Affairs.

The vision of the department is to achieve a globally competitive quality education, sport and cultural services inclined towards training and research for sustainable development in the County.

Its mission is to create an enabling environment through participatory engagements in the provision of quality education, youth and women empowerment, sports, cultural and social services.

It offers the following services

1. General Administration and support services
2. Providing overall management and central administrative support services to the sector.
3. Manpower development services
4. Expanding access, equity and improving the quality of ECDE, vocational and Training services.
5. Sports development
6. Promoting and developing sports facilities and sports talent.
7. Culture and Arts Development

Pre-school Education
The county has approximately 689 ECD centres with over 52,384 children. The gross enrolment in the county is 46 per cent. The ratio of teachers to pupils is 1:46. The average years of attendance are 3. Out of the total enrolment in the ECD centres, 82 per cent proceed to join the lower primary school. This implies that 18 per cent of pupils who complete pre-primary school education do not proceed to primary school.

Primary Education
There are 624 primary schools in the county. The teacher to pupil ratio is 1:51 on average. The gross enrolment rate is approximately 89 per cent while the net enrolment rate is approximately 79.5 per cent. Dropout rate is a serious concern mainly due to nomadic pastoralist way of life particularly with the Masaai community who are pre-dominant in the area. At 8 per cent, it implies that 17,072 pupils drop out of school.

Secondary Education
The total number of secondary schools in the county is 77. The ratio of teachers to students is 1:62. The average age of attendance is 14 years. Completion rate at this level is 72 per cent. The county had only two provincial secondary schools which have now been upgraded to national schools, Ole Tipis girls and Kilgoris high school. Due to the vastness of the region and less number of the schools most of the schools are boarding. For day schools, sixty five per cent of students travel an average of 3km to reach school.

Tertiary Education
The county has only one institution of higher learning, Maasai Mara University which attained its charter status in February 12th, 2013. On the same day, the university changed named from Narok University College to Maasai Mara University. There are a total of 9 vocational training centres (youth polytechnics), 1 institute of science and technology and 1 private accredited private college. With the high level of population growth rate of 4.7 per cent, there is need for more tertiary institutions, so as to nurture the youth. Youth polytechnics should be increased in order to tap the majority of youth in the informal sector.

Culture

The department successfully organized the UNESCO workshop on safeguarding intangible and tangible heritage. The department also organized ceremonies on rites of passage which has been critical in preservation of indigenous culture. 60 cultural groups were registered including herbal actioners, musicians and dramatists , which has enabled smooth operations of the groups.

Social Services:

Key achievement includes bursary allocation to people with disabilities (PWDs) and children with humble background which has increased access to education;
and provision of assistive devices to PWDs to improve their mobility and remove stigma.

Gender and Youth affairs:

The department trained 1,000 youth on Boda Boda riding safety; Trained 6,040 Women on Income Generating Activities (IGAS) which is critical in improving living standards. The department also created FGM awareness in Narok East and West aimed at reducing FGM prevalence and early child marriages.

Finance, Economic Planning, ICT & E-Government

The vision of the department is to be an institution of excellence in development planning and public financial management with a mission to provide leadership and coordination of development planning and financial management through ICT integrated formulation, implementation, and monitoring of prudent economic and financial policy for economic transformation and sustainable development in Narok County.

The department offers the following services

• Provision of internet to the County offices through theNational Optic Fibre (NOFBI).
• Provision of LAN at the County Headquarters and some selected departments, County Assembly and County Public Service Board.
• Revenue collection through the Single Business Permit automation supported by the World Bank.
• Support services for the IFMIS system.
• Support services for the payroll management through IPPD.
• Training and upskilling Narok youth through the Ajira Digital Programme.
• Capacity building and upskilling county government staff through the ICDL programme.
• Website development and maintenance.
• ICT policy development and implementation.

Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)

With a vision of providing efficient ICT systems that provide excellent citizen service delivery for increased productivity in the County, the department of ICT aims to develop Narok County into a World-Class County by encouraging the use of ICT infrastructure and systems to effectively manage county resources for increased growth. The guiding principles for the ICT directorate include: Efficiency, Accountability, Sustainability, Cooperation, Trust and Integrity.

Health and Sanitation

The department of Health and Sanitation undertakes the provision of promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative health services. The department envisions ensuring optimal community awareness and provision of equitable, quality, acceptable and affordable health care services meeting population needs for sustainable development with an aim of being a responsive and efficient people-centered Narok County health care system. The objective of the Department is to ensure universal access to quality health services consisting of promotive, preventive, curative and rehabilitative services to all people in the county.

The objectives of the department include:

• Eliminate communicable conditions.
• Halt and reverse the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
• Reduce the burden of violence and injuries.
• Provide essential medical services.
• Minimize exposure to health risk factors.
• Strengthen collaboration with health-related sectors.

The Narok County Referral Hospital,situated in Narok Town, is the lead health facility in the County.

Department manages the County’s health facilities comprising 8 level four Hospitals, 36 Health centers and 132 dispensaries. The department also manages the county’s fleet of 11 ambulances in partnership with the Kenya Red Cross. The department has a workforce of 977 comprising 755 technical staff from all cadres, 45 administrative staff and 177 support staff. The department also has 192 Master Facility List (MFL) registered which are Public, Private, Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) Health facilities, comprising 8 level four Hospitals, 36 Health centers 132 dispensaries. The existence of Procured Red Cross ambulance services has enhanced emergency evacuation and referral systems in the County.

It offers the following services

• Monitoring the health status of the communities across the county.
• Public education and community empowerment on health issues.
• Mobilization of communities and stakeholders in combating emerging health incidences.

The county has one county referral hospital (Narok county referral hospitaland three sub-county referral hospitals namely; Kilgoris, Lolgorian and Ololulunga. The fifth referral facility is a missionary hospital (St Joseph) located in Kilgoris township. In addition, there are 30 health centres, 84 dispensaries and 40 private clinics in the county.

Immunization Coverage
Immunization coverage in the county is relatively low with fully immunised children at 55%. BCG is at 93.3per cent, OPV at birth 30% Polio1 (85%), Polio 2(80%), Polio 3(75%), penta 1(87%), penta 2(81%), penta 3(76%), Measles- 64 per cent. The dropout rate between penta1 and 3 is relatively high as compared to acceptable level of below 10%, while the drop out rate between penta 1 and measle is at 26%.

Lands, Housing & Urban Development

Land ownership categories/ classification

Land ownership in Narok can be categorized into three main categories namely; community land, trust land and private land. Figure 1.2 shows map with different land categories in the county. Community land refers the proportion of land held communally and registered as a group ranch. Due to population growth, this type of land ownership is rapidly diminishing. Group members are championing the subdivision of these group ranches resulting into individual land ownership – free hold titles. The areas, which are under communal land ownership, are parts of Loita and Olokurto wards.

Mean holding size

The average land holding size in the county is approximately 16 acres. This is not uniform throughout the county. There are individuals who own thousands of acres, especially in the wheat producing areas. Land within the conservancies which is owned by members of the
conservancies has bigger acreages. This is basically because these areas are conservation
zones.

Settlement patterns (Urban centers, informal settlement, etc.)

Settlement patterns in Narok are not evenly distributed. Human settlement pattern in the county is influenced by among other things; agricultural potential, development, land ownership tenure and the ecosystem. This can be explained by the fact that some areas are densely populated while some others are not. The densely populated areas are the major towns (Narok, Kilgoris, Lolgorian, Ololulunga etc) and areas with high agricultural productivity including Mau, Parts of Transmara East and West. Areas with high agricultural

Type and size of land

Land in the county can be classified into four broad categories based on land use. These are:

Urban land, Conservancies, Maasai Mara Game reserve and Arable.
Urban land is spread across several urban areas in six sub-counties including; Narok Town, Kilgoris Town, Lolgorian, Nairegie Enkare, Ololulunga.

Housing: Types

Housing types in the county are influenced mainly by culture. In the rural areas where there are higher incidences of poverty, the houses are mainly temporary structures made of mud and cow dug. According to the 2009 housing and population census only less than 10 percent of residents have permanent houses (stone and bricks). Majority of the brick and stone wall houses are found mainly in urban centres. This is because of enforcement of the building code and other regulations which provide a framework on the type of houses that should be built within urban centres.

The department offers the following services

• Implementing national policies relating to physical planning and housing development.
• Providing shelter and slums upgrading services.
• Developing and promoting low cost rental housing.
• Providing building and construction technologies.
• Managing government housing.
• Leasing of public office accommodation as well as construction and financing of housing.
• Land planning including provision of physical planning services in urban and rural areas.
• Providing land transaction and land adjudication services including provision of valuation services and management of the land information system.
• Providing boundaries and fencing services, managing land conflict resolutions and supporting land boards.
• Provide interface with the National Land Commission.

Public Works, Roads & Transport

The sector comprises three sub-sectors whose mandates include provision of efficient, affordable and reliable infrastructure and services.

The development and provision of efficient transport, Infrastructure and services are critical for socio-economic transformation of Narok County in the medium and long term. The three sub-sectors are: Roads, Transport and Public works.

The vastness of Narok County requires that there be an elaborate road construction programme to open up inaccessible areas to the main road grid.

The improvement of infrastructure is essential in order to continue reaping from tourism which is a leading revenue earner for the County.

The sector mission and vision entails being a countrywide provider of cost-effective public utility infrastructure facilities and services in the areas of public works, roads and transport as well as providing efficient, affordable and reliable infrastructure for sustainable economic growth and development.

The department offers the following services

• Implementation of policies construction of government buildings.
• Award and supervise construction works for government buildings.
• Implementation of policies and guidelines in the maintenance and rehabilitation of government buildings.
• Implementation of policies and guidelines in the provision of mechanical and electrical building services for government buildings in the county.
• Implementation of policies and guidelines in the provision of construction and maintenance of other public works in the county.
• Implementation of policies on road works, quality standards, materials, mechanical and transport services for county roads.
• Undertake performance and technical audit on road construction and maintenance for county roads.
• Implement findings on material research and testing to ensure compliance both for Government and Private sector construction and industry on county road works.

Roads and Rail Network

Narok County has a road network of 4,602 KM out of which the national government is in charge of 1,348km and the county government takes 3,254 Km. From the network, approximately 185 Km is tarmacked, 1,510 KM is graveled and 2, 907 KM is earth road. The main challenge has been that during the rainy season some of the murram roads are rendered impassable. This has hindered most of highly agricultural areas from
reaching their potential.

The county has four air strips located at the Maasai Mara game reserve: – Serena, Keekorok, Olkiombo and Musiara and all of them are murramed. The air strips play a crucial role in tourism sector by increasing mobility of the tourist visiting the Maasai Mara game reserve. Phase 2B of the Standard Gauge Railway traversing Naivasha- Narok- Bomet- Nyamira -Kisumu (262 KM) is expected to ease pressure on Mai- Mahiu Narok road. The standard gauge railway will be critical in increasing productivity in the county by enhancing access to markets and easing mobility.

Tourism And Wildlife

The Narok County Tourism and Wildlife sector is compromised of two sub-secotrs namely Tourism and Wildlife Heritage. The scetors are crucial for the County sustainable economic development, job creation, and poverty reduction.

The sector envisions being a premier tourism destination in Africa with a mission to develop and promote unique and diverse tourism products within a sustainable framework and to facilitate tourism investment by championing enabling legal and policy framework for domestic and export business to thrive.

The sector envisions being a premier tourism destination in Africa with a mission to develop and promote unique and diverse tourism products within a sustainable framework and to facilitate tourism investment by championing enabling legal and policy framework for domestic and export business to thrive.

It offers the following services

• Developing tourism policy standards.
• Development and promotion of tourism.
• Tourism research and monitoring.
• Protection of tourism regulation.
• Training of tourism services and marketing for local and international tourists.
• Promotion of cultural tourism and women empowerment through the Ushanga initiative.

Main Tourist Attractions, National Parks/Reserves

The County has several tourist attraction sites. Among them is the world‘s famous Maasai Mara game reserve featuring the breathtaking view of the annual wildebeests migration where over 1.5 million white bearded wildebeest and 250,000 zebra cross the crocodile infested Mara River. The animals cross into Maasai Mara game reserve from Serengeti National Park in July and depart in November. In November 2006, a jury of experts polled by ABC Television – a leading American broadcaster, affirmed the annual migration as one of the ―New Seven Wonders of the World.

Main Wildlife

There are about 95 species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles and over 420 birds species recorded on the reserve. The main wild animals in the park are the big five (buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion, and rhino). Other game include wildebeests, hippopotamus, cheetah, impala, topi, coke‘s hartebeest, giraffe, roan antelope, zebras, spotted hyenas, waterbucks, thompson‘s and grants gazelles. The main birdlife include the vulture, marabou stork, secretary bird, hornbill, crowned crane, ostrich, long-crested eagle, and pygmy falcon. Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant than in Maasai

Mara Game Reserve.

Trade, Industrialization & Cooperative Development

The County of Narok Department Trade and Industrialization undertakes measures to enhance and expand trade and industrialization in the county. The measures include policy formulation, partnership with the private sector to make capital and credit facilities more accessible and facilitation of relevant licenses and permits. The department focuses on Economic Empowerment, Social Empowerment, Women and Youth Empowerment through enhanced education and social welfare; and Increase/improve agricultural produce marketing infrastructure. The Department is also engaged in ensuring Consumer Protection and Fair Trade practices. The department’s vision is to be a national leader in promoting trade and investment by championing an enabling business environment.

It offers the following services

• Single Business Permit. Assessment of business and invoicing, visiting new businesses, signing and issuance of licenses.
• Creating linkages between prevailing industrial human resource needs and county vocational training curriculum.
• Oversight of the revolving fund Joint Loans Board in liaison with the National Government.
• Market infrastructure development and support services.
• Formulation of friendly policy and legislative measures.
• Promotion and branding Narok County as an investment destination.
• Enhancing market access through participation in local and other Trade Fairs, exhibition and exchange programmes.
• Establishing affordable information sharing platforms for traders.
• Provision of support for the construction of modern abattoirs and tanneries.

Water, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources

The Department of Environment, Energy, Water and Natural Resources is responsible for the conservation and protection of natural resources in Narok County. The department does this through promoting environmental best practices and increasing access to renewable energy.

The Department is also responsible for the formulation and implementation of sector policies and strategies in Environment and Natural Resources and Water and Irrigation and approval of sector plans and projects. The Department’s vision is to ensure environmental conservation for sustainable development.

The mission of the department is to ensure a harmonized, streamlined and coordinated approach to interventions of the many players and address the necessary cross section issues and enhance sector performance.

It offers the following services

• Promoting energy conservation and developing relevant alternative renewable energy technologies such as energy saving jikos stoves, biogas, and solar.
• Training on energy efficiency strategies.
• Sensitize, develop and disseminate appropriate Agro- forestry technologies.
• Increase and improve accessibility of trees seeds/ seedlings in the community.
• Produce and distribute seedlings and seed of appropriate Agro forestry/ wood fuels species.
• Waste management.
• Control of air pollution.
• Controlling noise pollution and other public nuisance and outdoor advertising.
• Issuing license to emit excessive noise and vibrations to business community.
• Regulating noise emission during market days in our town centres.
• Regulating noise emission by religious organizations.

Water Resources and Quality

The county has permanent and seasonal rivers which originate from major highlands. Rivers and streams are the major sources of water for domestic use. Dams and water pans are on the other hand used for livestock drinking. In the lowlands, such as Suswa and Osupuko, which are semi-arid, there is scarcity of water. Major rivers are Mara and Ewaso Nyiro. Ewaso Nyiro drains into Lake Natron while Mara River which passes through Maasai Mara Game Reserve drains into Lake Victoria. There are also some shallow wells, protected springs, dams, water pans, boreholes, and un-protected springs which serves as water sources for the communities.

Water Sources

It is estimated that the county has about 1,436 ground water sources. These include dams, rivers, water pans and springs. In 2009 there were about 1,224 households with roof catchments systems for trapping rain water. The boards that supply water are inefficient thus leading to unreliable water supply services. The average distance people travel in search of water is approximately 3Km in wet seasons. The distance increases to 10 Km during the dry seasons. The most affected are the people living in rural areas where only 5,661 households had access to piped water. In the whole county only an estimated seven per cent of households were benefitting from piped water (Census 2009).