Over 12, 000 families in Narok East Sub County are set to benefit from the Sh. 3, 000 monthly stipend from the National Government, the area Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Eric Wamurevu has said.
Wamurevu said the most affected areas are Oletukat, Mosiro and Nturumet where prolonged dry spell has been witnessed this year.
“We have registered the most affected families that have been struggling to place a plate of food on the table so that they can benefit from the government programme,” said the DCC.
He spoke at Mosiro trading center where he appreciated the county government for supporting the vulnerable families by buying them food and fodder for their livestock.
“The county government has been giving water, food and animal feeds to the affected families. This has helped in sustaining the children in school,” said the DCC.
Reverend Joseph Ole Kisendu of Gospel Outreach church in the Mosiro area said they have moved their livestock to far places to search for grass and water for their animals.
He said children in school and women are the most affected as they are forced to move long distances to look for drinking water.
The spiritual leader called on the government to help the community in getting a permanent supply of water by drilling boreholes and putting up water pans to hold water to use during dry seasons.
“The irrigation scheme that was implemented by the government has been severely affected by the drought as there is inadequate water to irrigate the crops,” he said.
Ben Ole Lengeu, a resident of Oletukat area reiterated that the long spell was worrying as major rivers had dried up forcing residents to travel over ten kilometers to look for water.
Ole Lengeu lauded the government for initiating a programme to give a monthly stipend of Sh. 3, 000 to the affected families saying this will help in mitigating the effects of drought.
The new policy to give monthly stipend instead of distributing food to the drought stricken families was announced by the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special programmes Margaret Kobia in November.
The CS said the government resorted to the cash transfer programme due to similar initiatives which have proved successful.
By Ann Salaton
