Wajir County Commissioner Jacob Narengo has called on residents to remain vigilant in the fight against insecurity in the county.
Addressing the media in his office on Thursday, the Commissioner called for vigilance and sharing of information between security apparatus and area residents.
“We encourage locals to volunteer accurate information at the grassroots level by informing elders, sub chiefs and chiefs who should in turn upscale the information to Assistant County Commissioners and Deputy County Commissioners at the sub county level,” said Narengo, adding that the information so received would then be forwarded to the County Security committee for further action.
The administrator revealed that ground security teams are on high alert and conduct foot patrol especially at border points with the aim of identifying and engaging possible terror suspects.
However, he noted that area residents were best placed to report sightings of criminal elements since they were usually the first point of contact with suspected security threats.
Addressing the issue of locust invasion in the County, Narengo noted that pesticide spraying was ongoing in various parts of the County where the pests have been reported.
“The first step in locust eradication is surveillance which is carried out by both agriculture department staff and National Government staff spearheaded by Deputy County Commissioners in the respective Sub counties,” explained Narengo.
“Specific coordinates pinpointing where the insects are roosting are reported to the spraying team in the evening. Spraying is usually carried out early in the morning before the locusts take to wing,” noted Narengo.
Currently, spraying of pesticides using a Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) plane is ongoing in Wajir South between Qoqar and Erib and in Buna in Wajir North.
Other measures put in place to fight the swarms who have originated from the horn of Africa region and entered Kenya through Somalia is the traditional method of literally chasing away the insects by making loud noises.
The latest update on the locust situation indicated that a swarm which had earlier been spotted at Waradey in Eldas Sub County has settled between Malkagufu and Fullo in Buna Division, Wajir North Sub County by Thursday evening.
Staff from the agriculture department and DCC’s office have been asked to mobilize the community to chase them away as they await aerial spraying of chemicals.
By Donald Ngala
