Garissa Governor Ali Korane has expressed concern over what he termed as a blatant defiance of guidelines put in place by the ministry of health to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Korane said that the highly infectious disease is real and has claimed lives in both Kenya and across the globe.
“The mere fact that we are yet to report a single case should not be misconstrued to mean that the disease is not within us. It is until and when we test and confirm the same that we should feel safe,” Korane said.
“In the meantime, we must adhere to the guidelines to limit infection and the spread of the deadly virus,” he added.
The governor said that a number of residents especially in Garissa town with a huge population continue to interact freely without a face mask and ignoring social distancing.
“You won’t be surprised to see people still shaking hands and hugging in public. This is dangerous and we must stop,” the governor said.
He, however, noted that his administration had put in place the necessary infrastructure to deal with the disease in case of an outbreak.
Korane was speaking today at the Garissa Water and Sanitation Company (GAWASCO) main water supply intake on river Tana where he unveiled new utility service vehicles for Water Company.
The utilities included 30 motorbikes, three utility pickups, a tractor-trailer and a tipper.
They are part of investments in the water and sanitation sector supported by the World Bank under the Water and Sanitation Development Programme (WSDP).
Korane said the vehicles will complement the county government’s support towards GAWASCO that had been facing logistical and operational challenges.
He noted that utilities will be used in line patrolling to fix burst and leakages, enforcement, revenue collection and attending to water consumer complaints.
The governor revealed that under the programme, the Department of Water and GAWASCO will also be provided with 7 water trucks to mitigate water shortages across the county.
Other vehicles in the pipeline include a crane mounted on a multipurpose tractor and two exhausters with flashing units.
On the unprecedented floods wreaking havoc across the county, Korane said that the leaders in the area are still seeking legal redress through litigation in the courts.
During the December 2019 floods, elected leaders from the county said that they will be suing the Kenya Generation Company (KenGen) whose dams’ spillage they claimed was causing floods downstream.
“I want to tell residents that despite the case dragging for long we won’t tire in pursuing justice for our people who have been adversely affected by the floods from the spillage from the hydro-electric dams upstream,” he said.
By Jacob Songok
