Hundreds of families afflicted by famine due to severe drought ravaging Marsabit County got some reprieve after the government offered them relief supplies.
Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen who presided over the relief food distribution exercise assured Kenyans that the government was enlisting partners to raise enough food to take care of them during this difficult time.
Murkomen who spoke at Loglogo Township’s Baraza Park in Laisamis Constituency said the government would consider reinstating the Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) to enhanced security operations in the region.
The Cabinet Secretary who was accompanied by local Governor Mohamud Ali said KPR played an important role in complimenting the work of security agencies and as such, the outfit would be brought back.
He said that those to be enlisted into the service would be vetted and trained to make them fit for the intended mission.
Murkomen who also officiated at the start of a livestock off-take programme by the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) said adequate resources would be allocated to the marginal regions of the country in order to stimulate development like roads, tourism, water dams and irrigation farming for wealth creation.
The offtake programme which is being implemented by the Kenya Red Cross is set to buy 700 heads of cattle at a price of Sh15,000 from the local livestock keepers for slaughter.
In the absence of cattle, goats and sheep are being purchased with the meat from the slaughtered animals being distributed to the hungry to ward off famine and malnutrition.
The Cabinet Secretary who flagged off trucks loaded with relief food comprising 5,000 bags of rice, 3,000 bags of beans and 500 cartons of canned beef also distributed meat from 140 goats slaughtered during the occasion to over 500 families.
Marsabit County has over 250,000 people faced by famine to whom the CS assured that every effort was being made to avert starvation.
The county government also through Governor Mohamud Ali donated 1,000 bags of rice to boost the distribution kitty and alleviate hunger among residents.
Speaking during the function, local leaders who included Senator Mohamed Chute, Woman Representative Naomi Waqo, Saku MP Dido Raso and his Laisamis counterpart Joseph Lekuton underlined the importance of peace and urged local communities to love one another and coexist peacefully.
The leaders unanimously expressed their determination to support the government in resolving the insecurity problem that has stalked the county for long and asked the Ruto administration to firmly deal with perpetrators of violence.
Also present was the Marsabit County Commissioner Paul Rotich who directed DDCs to ensure seamless distribution of the consignment and to ensure that the food reached the targeted beneficiaries on time.
By Sebastian Miriti
