The County Government of Kilifi has started distributing foodstuffs to about 50,000 vulnerable households within the county.
Launching the programme at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) depot in Kilifi Town on Monday, Governor Amason Kingi said another 38,000 households would get cash stipends through mobile funds transfer.
He said the distribution would be done through modern technology for easy monitoring of the vehicles carrying the food as well as confirming delivery of the items to the recipients via cell phone text messages.
“I am warning those entrusted with the distribution of the food against diverting it since we are using technology to track the movement of the food and the deliveries.
“Each vehicle carrying the food will be monitored at a central place and a short message will be delivered to both recipient and the county government,” he explained.
The food is being distributed in small packages containing two kilogrammes of maizemeal, two kilogrammes of beans, a packet of salt and bars of soap. The food items are donations from various organizations.
“I know that what we are giving out may not be enough. We would have wished to give each family a bag of maize and beans but we can only share what we have,” he said.
However, the governor said elderly persons, orphans and persons with disabilities receiving stipends through the National Government’s InuaJamii initiative would not be factored in the county government programme.
He urged residents who can afford to feed themselves not to scramble for the little donated food.
“If you have food in your home please don’t fight it out with those who do not have and are depending on the government to feed them because we don’t want people to die of hunger as they adhere to government directives,” he urged.
Kingi noted that farmers in the county had about 100,000 metric tonnes of maize and 200,000 metric tonnes of cassava in their homes.
“My government has also distributed 50,000 metric tonnes of maize seeds and 5,000 tonnes of green grams to farmers for planting this season and called on the beneficiaries of the seeds to take advantages the current rains.
The governor urged locals to strictly adhere to Ministry of Health guidelines to stop the spread of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, warning that those who would flout the regulations would be firmly dealt with.
By Emmanuel Masha
