Machakos County

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Machakos County
Machakos-Kenia Rd.jpg
Road in Machakos County showing the landscape
Flag of Machakos County.png
Motto: 
"the Place to be"
Machakos County in Kenya.svg
Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 01°14′S37°23′E / 1.233°S 37.383°E / -1.233; 37.383
CountryFlag of Kenya.svg Kenya
Formed4 March 2013
Capital Machakos
Other towns
Government
   Governor Wavinya Ndeti
Area
   County
6,043 km2 (2,333 sq mi)
Elevation
1,138 m (3,734 ft)
Population
 (2019)
   County
1,421,932
  Density240/km2 (610/sq mi)
   Metro
150,041
GDP (PPP)
   GDP Increase2.svg $8.809 billion (6th)(2022) [1]
   Per Capita Increase2.svg $5,985 (2022) (7th)
GDP (NOMINAL)
  GDPIncrease2.svg $3.235 billion (2022) (6th)
  Per CapitaIncrease2.svg $2,197 (2022) (7th)
Time zone UTC+3 (EAT)
  Summer (DST) UTC+3
Website

Machakos County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya, which came into being as part of the devolved system of governance occasioned by the 2010 constitution of Kenya. The county's administrative headquarters are in Machakos Town, which is the largest town in the county. The county had a population of 1,421,932 as of 2019. The county borders Nairobi and Kiambu counties to the west, Embu to the north, Kitui to the east, Makueni to the south, Kajiado to the south west, and Murang'a and Kirinyaga to the north west.

Contents

Religion

Religion in Machakos County [2]

Religion (2019 Census)Number
Catholicism 500,115
Protestant 582,456
Evangelical Churches 217,122
African instituted Churches 55,175
Orthodox 2,405
Other Christian 23,935
Islam 12,984
Hindu 976
Traditionists987
Other6900
No Religion/Atheist 9,384
Don't Know1,377
Not Stated166

Government

Machakos County Enforcement Vehicle Inspectorate Vehicle Machakos County.jpg
Machakos County Enforcement Vehicle

The Machakos County Government is composed of two arms, the County Executive and the County Assembly. County Executive is headed by a governor. The office of the Governor of Machakos was created on 27 March 2013. Alfred Mutua, served as the inaugural holder of the office. following his election in 2012. He was re-elected in the 2017 general elections. [3] The Machakos County Assembly is headed by a Speaker elected by its members. The incumbent Speaker is Mrs. Ann Kiusya.

Hon Wavinya Ndeti was in 2022 elected as the second governor of Machakos County, becoming the first female governor in the county and also among the 8 female governors that were historically elected in the 2022 elections, an historic rise from the 3 that were elected in the 2017 elections.

Office of the Governor is located at White House along Peoples Park road, Miwani area in Machakos town environs. The first Director of Administration and Special Programmes and White House Administrator was Dr. Dominic Musembi PhD.

Education

There are many primary schools in Machakos County, including Machakos Primary School, Kathiini primary School and Machakos Academy.

Machakos County has giant secondary schools such as Machakos School (boys), Machakos Girls' School, Mumbuni Boys' Secondary School, Mumbuni Girls' Secondary School, Masii Boys' Secondary School, Tala Girls' School, Matungulu Girls' High School, Mwala School, ST. Teresa Mwala Girls, Kitulu Day Secondary School and Kabaa High School (boys), which boasts of a castle which was left behind by Christian missionaries. This castle is now a museum.

Kwanthanze Secondary School, which is also found in Machakos County, is famous for its volleyball championship in the country.

Universities and colleges within Machakos County include Machakos University, [4] Scott Christian University, South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU), St. Paul's University, Kenya Institute of Management, African Training Center for Research and Technology, [5] Century Park College, Machakos Institute of Technology, Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Machakos campus and Machakos Technical Training Institute for the Blind.

Climate

The local climate is semi-arid with hilly terrain and an altitude of 1000 to 2100 metres above sea level.

Tourist-related activities include camping, hiking safaris, ecotourism and cultural tourism, dance and music festivals. [3]

Economy

Machakos County is the 6th largest economy in Kenya with a gdp PPP of $8.3B . Its also the 7th Richest County in Kenya by gdp per Capita

Subsistence agriculture is mostly practiced with maize and drought-resistant crops such as sorghum and millet being grown due to the area's semi-arid state. The county also plays host to the open air market concept with major market days where large amounts of produce are traded. Fruits, vegetables and other food stuffs like maize and beans are sold in these markets. [3]

Future

The county is banking on projects such as the Konza Technology City, a new Machakos City [6] and its proximity to Nairobi County to boost output in the economy.

Services

Stats for Machakos County
County
Stats for the county (per cent)
Literacy
88
Attending school (15-18 Yrs)
75.9
Paved roads
6.9
Good roads
26.9
Electricity access
17

Stats for the county

Source: USAid Kenya

Subdivisions

Local authorities (councils)
AuthorityTypePopulation*Urban pop.*
Machakos Municipality144,10928,891
Mavoko (Athi River) Municipality48,26022,167
Kangundo Town187,3899,122
Matuu Town44,9225,321
Masaku County481,9649,088
* 1999 census. Source: [7]
Administrative divisions
DivisionPopulation*Urban pop.*Headquarters
Kalama41,0000
Kangundo91,2383,786 Kangundo
Kathiani95,0962,929Mitaboni
Machakos Central14327426,438 Machakos
Masinga74,478654Masinga
Matungulu 99,7314,734 Tala
Mavoko48,93619,177 Athi River
Mwala89,2112,708
Ndithini32,3580
Yathui65,567481Wamunyu
Yatta125,7554913 Matuu
* 1999 census. Sources: [8] [9]

The county has eight constituencies:

Nairobi metro

Northern regions of Machakos County are within Greater Nairobi which consists of 4 out of 47 counties in Kenya, but the area generates about 60% of the nation's wealth. [10] [11]

Statistics

Nairobi Metro

Urbanisation

Urbanisation in Nairobi Metro
County
Urbanisation in Nairobi Metro (per cent)
Nairobi County
100
Kiambu County
60.8
Machakos County
52
Kajiado County
41.4
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya average
32.3

Urbanisation by county within Nairobi Metro

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/poverty level

Wealth/poverty Level in Nairobi Metro
County
Poverty level in Nairobi Metro (per cent)
Kajiado County
11.6
Kiambu County
21.8
Nairobi County
22
Machakos County
59.6
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya average
45.9

Poverty level by county

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

South Eastern Kenya Region

Urbanisation

Urbanisation in South Eastern Kenya
County
Urbanisation in South Eastern Kenya (per cent)
Machakos County
52
Kitui County
13.8
Makueni County
11.8
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya average
32.3

Urbanisation by county in South Eastern Kenya

Source: OpenDataKenya

Wealth/poverty level

Wealth/poverty Level in South Eastern Kenya
County
Poverty Level in South Eastern Kenya (per cent)
Machakos County
59.6
Kitui County
63.1
Makueni County
64.1
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya average
45.9

Poverty level by county

Source: OpenDataKenya Worldbank

Notable people

See also

References

  1. "GCP" . Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  2. "2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census Volume IV: Distribution of Population by Socio-Economic Characteristics" (PDF). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Official Website". Machakos Government. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. Machakos University. "Contact Us". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. "African Training Center for Research and Technology". Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  6. "Machakos City" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  7. [ dead link ]
  8. Archived 16 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Archived 28 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  10. [ dead link ]
  11. [ dead link ]

1°30′S37°15′E / 1.500°S 37.250°E / -1.500; 37.250