The national Government and Kajiado county government have made a deliberate move to find a solution to mitigate the ravaging effects of the drought.
This comes after the directive by the national government last week that both governments work together and form committees that would help mitigate the effects of drought in the whole country.
The Kajiado Committee chaired by Governor Joseph ole Lenku and co-chaired by the Acting County Commissioner Harun Kamau have begun operations by flagging off a total of 126,000 kilogrammes of beans, 70,000 kilogrammes of rice and canned beef to Kajiado West and North sub counties.
Speaking during the flagging off at the county headquarters, Governor Lenku noted that there were many players who were working towards the drought situation but due to lack of coordination, there have been a lot of gaps.
“To remove those gaps, we have agreed that the county coordinating committee which will bring together the national and county governments will cascade up to the village level. The teams in the sub counties will be chaired by the sub county commissioners and will include assistant county commissioners, ward administrators, chiefs and village administrators to make sure that all efforts trickle down to the grassroots,” said Lenku
The governor added that there would be public barazas where names of the beneficiaries would be made public to ensure accountability of the process.
Lenku said that all assistance in terms of foodstuffs, livestock feeds, and money or fuel subsidies would be in one basket and their distribution to the sub counties and villages would be decided upon by the county coordinating group.
Lenku revealed that there were plans to replace the foodstuffs with cash transfers to the affected families as cash transfer is faster, efficient, easy to audit and less costly.
The chiefs and village administrators have been asked to put together names of vulnerable families as part of identifying people who would benefit from cash transfers.
The governor appreciated the efforts being put in place by the national government and other people of goodwill who have shown interest in helping the affected people.
He added that more food supplies would be provided to schools and vulnerable families in the coming weeks.
“We are aware that the issue of livestock off take is urgent and is being addressed. Food for schools and vulnerable groups like children under 5, lactating and expectant mothers, the aged are all special interest groups that are being considered as requiring urgent assistance,” said Lenku.
Governor Lenku further assured the public that both governments were doing all they could to mitigate the negative effects of the drought.
By Diana Meneto and Sammy Rayiani
