Famine: The govt. must do everything possible to avert a disaster

 EDITORIAL

News of starving Kenyans, particularly in the Northern and North-Eastern areas of the country have dominated the news. Currently, 4 million Kenyans are facing starvation in the country as drought experts are terming  it as the worst since 1950 continue to bite in the Horn of Africa.
  As hunger threatens hundred of families in northern Kenya, a recent forensic audit linked the grim situation to corruption. Kenyans have also expressed shock over reports that ready crops, particularly in Nyandarua County, are rotting in farms as hundreds of families starve in parts of North-Eastern Province.
  The Government was taken to task as tonnes of potatoes, cabbages, kales (sukuma) and carrots went to waste in Nyandarua County due to lack of markets.
  At the same time, land experts also blamed the Government for allegedly failing to support farmers through co-operative societies to market their produce so that the country can be food secure.
  Meanwhile, the Government says it will do all it can to ensure it tackles the problem, especially in Northern Kenya and parts of the Rift Valley. The same Government has in the past been faulted for not seeking long-term measurers against perennial drought.
  Reports say that the Kenyan situation has been made worse by the influx of 1,500 Somali refugees daily. The Government has also called upon the private sector to help in the distribution of food to drought-hit area.
  And it is in this last bit that Kenyans have shone. Latest  reports disclosed that more than a quarter of a million Kenyans have sent contributions to the Kenyans for Kenya Relief Kitty.
  Early this week, more than Sh 82 million had been raised through Safaricom’s PayBill line 111111, Airtel Money, KCB Account 1133333338 and Nakumatt tills.
  The Kenya Red Cross boss in Kenya, Abbas Gullet, said “the response by Kenyans has been overwhelming. Out of every ten shoppers at Nakumatt, seven donate. Kenyans are showing compassion for their brothers and sisters facing famine. In just six days, more than Sh 80 million has been raised.”
  But some schools of thought has it that Kenyans have responded  only after concluding that Kenyans are starving, not because of natural failures, but the failure by Government to avert disasters such as famine. It would be prudent for the same Government to come in and prove it can do something, No matter what.
 

WANJOHI NDERITU: Managing Editor