State stops well-wishers from building houses for Mai Mahiu flood victims

A house that was destroyed by Mai Mahiu floods. [Antony Gitonga, Standard] Mai Mahiu flood victims woes have deepened after the State barred two charitable organisations from rebuilding houses for the families. The government has stopped Rotary International and Scann Foundation from constructing 14 houses for some of the hard hit families. The move sparked outrage from the victims who have been living in rental houses nine months after the incident that left a trail of death and destruction of property. Last month, it emerged that the government and land owners had differed over the cost of land in the area paralysing the Sh250 million resettlement plan. Job Okello, the regional coordinator for Rotary in Nakuru, said they had been directed to first seek permission from the Ministry of Interior before starting the works. Okello revealed that Rotary had sought assistance from other organisations to aid victims who were hard hit by the floods. "We have the cash to start constructing houses for 14 families but we have been ordered to first get clearance from the Government and this does not make sense," he said. Speaking after visiting the victims in Mai Mahiu, he warned that the funds could be diverted to other needy cases if the impasse was not resolved. Shamsher Girani from Scann Foundation said that they were ready to construct the first phase of the houses. Girani revealed that the contractors were ready to start the works after the first beneficiaries were identified through the local elders and government officers. "This is a joint project between Scann Foundation and Rotary International targeting 14 families and the houses will take around six weeks to complete," he said. Bernard Ndung'u who lost his two sons to the floods wondered why the government was stopping the donors from assisting them yet they were the rightful owners of the land. "The government promised to resettle us within a month but this has not happened and now they are stopping well-wishers from assisting us and this is unfair," he said. Reverend Stephen Mwaura who lost three family told of the pain and suffering that they were undergoing as they waited for the planned resettlement by government. "After the burial of our kin, we were forgotten and have been suffering silently and this has been worsened by the move to block donors from supporting us rebuild," he said. Another victim Rose Wanjiru said some victims had returned to their land and reconstructed houses. A senior government officer who declined to be named confirmed that there were orders to stop any construction until an assessment was conducted on the affected area. "Some government institutions were mandated to conduct a safety assessment so that we don't have a repeat in the future and hence the orders to first get an authorisation letter," said the officer.

State stops well-wishers from building houses for Mai Mahiu flood victims

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State stops well-wishers from building houses for Mai Mahiu flood victims

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