By E, KNA
The MCA for Jarajila Ward, in Garissa County, Noor Sheikh Farah, has called out on the county government to make concerted efforts towards drought mitigation efforts where thousands of residents and livestock are in dire need of relief food.
According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), by January this year, at least 185,400 were in a grim, needing of humanitarian assistance.
Speaking during a press briefing at the assembly premises, the MCA lamented that despite passing a budget in millions for disaster response over the years, the county government had done little to nothing during disasters like drought and floods to help the residents.
Farah, noted that most other counties in the region were doing concerted efforts like distributing relief food and water tracking in collaboration with other donors but there was nothing going on in Garissa, leaving thousands of people helpless.
He said that most MCAs had been forced to chip in from their pockets to help their people who are in dire need of relief food.
“For the last two months, we have experienced severe drought, not only here in Garissa but also in the entire north eastern region. The county government of Garissa has not given anything, even a single cent to the affected people to help them in any way. For the four years of this assembly, we have been passing a budget in the millions towards drought mitigation efforts, and we have not seen a meaningful response to these disasters in terms of assistance,” Farah said.
“People are suffering, animals are dying and we only pray to God that he gives us rain during this short season. In my ward, the boreholes and the grazing areas where there is little pasture are more than 50 kilometres apart. It is hard for the livestock to move to the water points because they are weak,” he added.
According to Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes CS Geoffrey Ruku, at least 3.1 million Kenyans in 23 ASAL counties are in dire need of relief food, with the number expected to rise if the March – May short rain season fails.
However, Ruku has assured that the government has enough relief food for the country to ensure that no life is lost to hunger in the ongoing drought period.