Citizens need not starve to attract State's eye

It was just recently that this newspaper published an editorial on Kenya’s perennial hunger and its connection to corruption in Government.

There is enough food in this country. People are dying of hunger, not because of widespread famine, but due to the lack of an efficient infrastructure for buying, storing and distributing relief food to deficit areas.

The other reason, of course, is that aspects of Kenya’s social and economic blueprint, Vision 2030, dealing with food security, are yet to become a reality.

Even as reports of Kenyans starving abound, farmers in Uasin Gishu are stuck with their maize harvest because of poor prices.

In other words, there is a glut of food in certain parts of the country, and a lack thereof in others.

One would think that after years of dealing with the same problem, the Government would have come up with a novel way of solving it.

Not so, unfortunately. The sad truth is that some unscrupulous traders have developed corrupt networks within Government that help them thrive on the misfortunes of others.

This is not a conspiracy, but simply a brotherhood of corruption.

Simple reason

Areas that consistently suffer drought and food shortages are known, but the tendency is for the Government to cry foul every time a food alert is issued.

Why must the State wait for scarcity to set in and then announce it will buy food to give the starving?

The reason is simple. The scarcity creates an opportunity for politically connected traders and corrupt State officials to make money.

Inevitably, the Government will want to buy food to distribute to the drought-stricken areas. The procurement process is cleverly skewed, with contracts going to traders who are willing to share their profits with Government officials.

In essence then, the hunger pangs of many oil a gravy train of corruption. Much of the food bought never reaches its destination, but is diverted and sold in the market.

President Kibaki will be in Rift Valley today. Much of the noise will be political diatribes directed at his fellow principal by his erstwhile allies.

The most pressing need of the population — finding a market for their harvest — will rank at the bottom of the organisers’ agenda.

President Kibaki appears to be taking the matter seriously, and has set in motion measures to buy food and distribute the same to those lacking it. It is good to see the defence force being mobilised to distribute the food, but things need not have come to this if relevant officials were indeed working.

If only there was the political will to prosecute those involved. Officials who were linked to a maize scandal in 2009 were cleared and allowed to remain in Government service.

Once again, the Government had sufficient warning — not that it needed it — that hunger was looming in pockets of the country. It had access to the latest meteorological forecasts, expert advice and research from its own think tanks, including the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.

It is criminal that officers of the State are given sufficient warning of impending disaster, but wait for the Head of State to issue directives, before engaging in a flurry of activity to mask their true motives.

Political relief food

There is nothing new in what the Office of the President is proposing. We have heard it all before: buying livestock; delivering relief food; building the strategic food reserves; and providing water.

Over the last decade, relief food has also become a political tool, with leaders from areas affected by hunger shouting to be heard only after the problem has become serious.

Government must begin implementing agricultural policies in drought-prone areas, including introduction of irrigation technology and hardier crops that can survive the harsh environment, and educating pastoral communities on the value of combining livestock keeping with agriculture.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission should begin investigating the procurement of relief food by the relevant Government ministries. Nothing is what it appears to be.