Kilifi county governor Gideon Mung’aro and County Commissioner Kitswa Olaka have officially flagged off relief food to areas affected by drought in the county.
The two leaders in the company of Deputy Governor Flora Chibule and Ganze MP Kenneth Kazungu flagged off 21 trucks carrying a total of 3,600 bags of rice, 1,440 bags of beans, and 900 cartons of canned meat. The consignment is targeting at least which 168,174 residents who are equally affected by hunger in the first phase.
Speaking during the flagging off at Karisa Maitha Ground, Mung’aro said the relief food will benefit families that are hardly hit by the drought that has ravaged the county for some times now.
The issuance of the relief to the nine sub counties is one of the national government’s interventions towards addressing the famine situation.
Mung’aro further raised an alarm over the continued destruction of the forest ecosystem in Kilifi County which is partly responsible for the current drought being witnessed in the region.
”I have toured Galana Kulalu, Baricho and the Dakacha woodlands to see the status of the forest cover and it is unfortunate that people have destroyed the forest to a large magnitude. If this is not controlled then we fear for the worst because there will be no forest cover left in the near future and we might not receive rains for the next twenty years,” said the Governor.
Mr Mung’aro said the increased human encroachment and burning charcoal was partly responsible for the human-wildlife conflict because the animals have no place to get their forage after the destruction, “said Mung’aro
Mr Olaka said the food distribution will be done on a weekly basis.
“On a weekly basis, we will assess the situation and see what this intervention will mean for the people around the county and what additionally can be done as we go into the future,” said Kutswa.
The county commissioner also said the national government has started water trucking to 60 schools in the county.
”We have already begun water trucking to over 60 schools, and apart from that we have collaborated with the county government and distributed water through water boozers to several households in Ganze”.
He also reiterated Mung’aro statement saying their goals as county security committee is to make sure that measures are taken for the protection of the forest ecosystem which has been largely destroyed.
”The county security committee will work hand in hand with the county government to make sure that all forests within the county are protected. It was evident during our survey that there is a beehive of illegal activities endangering our forests and we shall work together to end this menace as soon as possible,” he said.
Ganze MP Parliament said the government needed to invest in a long term solution.
”I know we have been talking about drilling wells in Ganze ,it’s unfortunate that the water in that area is saline and has a lot of minerals unfit for human consumption,” Tungule said.
Kwale has 198,350 people starving, Kilifi 168,174, Tana River 136,646, Lamu 80,000 and Taita Taveta 75,511 people respectively.
