Dry weather conditions here to stay

The famine threatening millions of Kenyans is expected to worsen, with weathermen warning the dry weather conditions could persist for the next two months.

Meteorological Department boss James Muhindi attributed the La Nina-like phenomenon to the cool conditions in the Indian Ocean, which warmed up the sea’s surface temperatures.

Speedily sent

“The La Nina-like conditions that we are experiencing is the opposite of El-Nino (too much rain resulting in flooding) and are expected to persist up to late March...

“To alleviate starvation and famine, which millions of Kenyans are facing, the Government should draw up mechanisms to ensure relief food and other supplies are speedily sent to all needy Kenyans to avert a disaster,” Mr Muhindi cautioned.

For the last three seasons, most parts of the country that rely on rain-fed agriculture have experienced poor harvests, putting the lives of millions of Kenyans in jeopardy as they stare starvation in the face.

On Wednesday, acting Finance minister John Michuki said Kenyans were threatened with hunger because of the Government’s poor food distribution system.

Tax exemption

The minister said the maize shortage in the country should not be attributed to importation capacity, but on the “Government’s failed distribution mechanisms”.

“The logistics of food distribution (to famine-stricken areas) is wrong,” Mr Michuki said.

The minister revealed that the country had spent an equivalent of Sh2.5 billion by November last year on tax-exemption for maize importation.

He, however, refused to answer questions on the handling of maize imports at Mombasa port, saying he would respond to these at an appropriate time.

This is the first time that a member of the Grand Coalition Government has admitted that the food is available in the country, but that the problem lies with the distribution network.

There have been rising concerns that some dishonest individuals and cartels were worsening the non-availability of food by hoarding huge quantities of maize.

Shoot up

On Wednesday, Mr Muhindi warned that ailments associated with dry weather conditions such as coughs were likely to increase. He also said that cases of malnutrition were expected to shoot up.

Following poor rain fall during the October-December season, farmers in most parts of the country had very little or no harvests, with the Central and Southeastern parts of the country such as Ukambani being some of the hardest hit.

In a related development, the minister for Water Development, Mrs Charity Ngilu warned Nairobi residents to brace themselves for water rationing following a drastic drop in supplies from Sasumua and Ndaka-ini dams that feed city taps.

The minister said that the city requires 750 million cubic litres of water daily, and yet supply had dwindled to 460 million cubic litres.

“Currently, Nairobi’s water sources — Ndaka-ini, Sasamua, Ruiru dams and Kikuyu springs — can only meet 60 per cent of demand.

“Technically, if the water supply cannot meet 50 per cent of the demand, it’s likely to fuel discontent and conflict among consumers,” said the minister.

Water aquifers

The ministry plans to drill 100 boreholes in various water aquifers within a 100-kilometre radius of the city centre to alleviate the situation, Mrs Ngilu said.

“In a water-stressed situation like this, per capita water demand is decreasing to about 15 litres per person per day,” she said.

“With these measures in place, 1.2 million people will have access to clean water, representing 30 per cent of Nairobi’s population,” the minister said.