Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said that the government has so far spent Sh13 billion to buy and distribute relief food to Kenyans affected by the drought and in dire need of relief food.
Speaking this morning in Garissa Township Sub County where he led a food distribution exercise, Duale said that the government would continue to distribute relief food and warned that action would be taken against any officer found to have diverted the food elsewhere.
According to the National Drought Management Authority, more than 45,000 households in Garissa County are facing starvation.
The NDMA in conjunction with the county government is currently conducting water trucking to affected areas, and school feeding programmes to help keep the children in school, while a section of Non-governmental organizations and well-wishers are conducting cash transfers to the vulnerable.
“We have experienced low rainfalls in the last few years and it is not in Garissa only. Even in places where we used to experience enough rains are becoming drylands and so the government has spent Sh13 billion to buy relief food for Kenyans,” Duale said.
“We want this food to reach everyone who is suffering and we will not allow those who sell and transport relief food or those who supervise the distribution exercises to the most vulnerable members of our society to play with this food,” he added.
Garissa Township MP Dekow Mohamed said that there is need to consider distributing more relief food in the town where more people who lost their livestock to drought have migrated to.
“We have a problem here because other sub counties are considered where township is left out in food distribution programmes. We are the most affected because people have migrated here and need this relief food too,” Dekow said.
The MP further urged the county government to fast track the process of finding more permanent water solutions so that every citizen in the county can have access to clean water for both domestic use and for livestock.
The CS was also joined by Garissa County Commissioner Boaz Cherutich, county security committee members, officials from the NDMA and a section of the MCAs.
By Erick Kyalo
