Personal Finance

Why droughts in Kenya get worse and turn into famine

famine

Kenyan policy people ought to listen more to warnings about looming difficulties like drought. PHOTO | FILE

It is a familiar script. Lawmakers go on national television and appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to declare the drought situation in their counties a national disaster.

The case is so bad, they say, that some schools have been closed due to the biting hunger following failure of rain for months now. The MPs want national disaster declared to attract international attention to the crisis.

In fact, they even plead that many of those affected are pastoralists whose livestock are dying due to lack of water and pasture. This has forced some communities to cross over with the animals to neighbouring counties and countries.

I will tell you why these lawmakers — who are a reflection of our society — have missed the mark.

First, it is taken for granted that millions who are starving or threatened with starvation in Kenya today are the victims of a drought caused by an unpredictable and unpreventable reduction of rainfall or natural disaster. In other words, drought or decrease in the annual rainfall is used to explain famine in Kenya.

In reality, however, the famine we are witnessing in Kenya is not due exclusively to drought or natural catastrophe. It is a good example of an inevitable result of bad government policies.

Just last year, Tegemeo Institute director Mary Mathenge said the weather department had predicted the probability of La Niña, and given there was also a drought, she warned that Kenya would not get maize from her traditional sources.

She said: “There is a need for close monitoring and checking on what is happening, particularly with the short rains that could be hurt by the La Niña. This will help policymakers take the required action in time to avoid any cases of hunger.”

This was after a food analysis was carried out by the Tegemeo Institute in Bungoma, Busia, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kakamega, Nakuru, Nandi, Narok, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu and Migori counties.

“People tend to ignore signs and then they make it a crisis at the last minute and this becomes an avenue for corrupt practices of single sourcing maize at exorbitant prices instead of tendering. This is the situation we do not want to find ourselves in next year,” she concluded.

Before you pass your judgement and conviction of our lawmakers, I have to remind you that humans tend to be bad at understanding how we’ll feel in the future. In our mind’s eye, the future is a world of order and excellence. But in reality, something always comes up, there is always something to do.

This is called the tyranny of the urgent.

I would like to take you back to some basics at definitions of two words, ‘urgent’ and ‘important’. “Urgent” means “requiring immediate action or attention”. “Important” means “of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being.”

The problem is that we mistake urgency for importance.

“Do this now” is easy to understand and follow, and if something’s urgent, shouldn’t it be done sooner than later? But mistaking what’s urgent for what’s important comes at the cost of our profound goals and values. Smart prioritisation requires a clearer vision.

And guess what, this distinction between urgent and important is nothing new.

Stephen Covey popularised this idea in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with the time management matrix, which is divided into four quadrants.

Across the world

Drought, climate variation and other natural calamities (disasters) occur not only in Kenya, but in many parts of the world. However, drought does not necessarily result in famine.

Famine can be avoided if the government takes its responsibility.

Misplaced political priorities can also easily lead to famine. Serious studies indicate that only 20 per cent of Kenya’s suitable land is used for cultivation.

You see, my dear reader, effective time management strategies do not have to be challenging and stressful. Practising efficiency and productivity is a game-changer in the world of work.

Changing from the tyranny of the urgent to focusing on the important only takes time and practice.

Mr Waswa is a management and HR specialist and managing director of Outdoors Africa
E-mail: [email protected]