Government not keen on solving perennial hunger problem, says Raila

By KEVINE OMOLLO and LAWRENCE ALURU

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has accused the Government of playing politics while dealing with the hunger situation in Turkana.

He said there was a deliberate lack of co-ordination between Government departments resulting in failure to release food to hunger-stricken people. 

“Recently, Turkana Governor Josephat Nanok said the Government has refused to release food from reserves for purchase by the county government, only to respond when people started suffering beyond repair,” said Raila.

He said the Government is not keen to resolve problems facing residents of counties managed by CORD governors. He blamed leaders for failing to exploit the country’s potential to produce enough food to sustain citizens.

Raila told off leaders who allegedly blame him for meddling in Government issues, saying he is a national leader with a right to participate in national issues.

 “As a CORD leader, I have the authority to oversee all the projects in counties run by CORD governors,” said Raila while commissioning Siaya County agriculture mechanisation services yesterday.

He challenged the Government to ensure proper storage mechanisms of agricultural produce to reduce post-harvest losses.

In 2009, drought struck the country and the grand coalition government formed the Disaster and Drought Management Committee to handle issues of food security.

The committee led to the launch of the Todonyang Irrigation Scheme, which was meant to put 30,000 acres of land under agricultural production. The project was to utilise Sh20 billion to solve food insecurity in North Eastern Kenya and surrounding regions.

Yesterday, Raila blamed the Government for failing to follow up on the project to make it functional. He said no serious interventions have been made towards alleviation of hunger in the region as the Government waits for the last minute when lives are under threat.

Raila said this should be the last hunger alert in a country that has water sources and fertile land.