Editorials

EDITORIAL: It’s wrong for officials to downplay food crisis

hunger

Asokon Lomulin inside her hut at Kamekwi village in Turkana where residents are facing starvation due to a prolonged drought. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA

An attempt by some government officials to downplay the extent of the food crisis in drought-ravaged parts of the country is offensive to say the least. The images and tales of suffering from famine-struck regions such as Turkana and Baringo are a reality and cannot be wished away at a press conference.

These regions have recorded prolonged dry weather conditions and the current shortage of food and water was anticipated considering that the media have been highlighting the problem for months, long before it became a national shame.

The reaction of top government officials paints an image of an administration that is aloof and indifferent to the challenges facing the citizenry.

The public officers under whose dockets food security falls owe Kenyans an apology for falling to be proactive in averting the situation that is causing unnecessary distress to thousands of poor households.

Warnings had been sounded about the worsening food and water situation in several parts of the country but both the county and national governments appear to have turned a deaf ear only to emerge when matters had taken a turn for the worse.

Humanitarian crisis

This kind of lethargy should not be tolerated. It is unconscionable to watch Kenyans starving when the government has the means to intervene and ameliorate the humanitarian crisis that is now getting out of hand. It is even worse when households are going without food yet the national Strategic Grain Reserve is well stocked with supplies.

Only weeks ago the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) opened its silos to take in millions of bags of maize from farmers across the country. It therefore raises the question why the government failed to act in good time yet it held sufficient grain stocks.

The weatherman has warned that the current dry spell is expected to drag on into April and we hope the State will factor this in its intervention programmes and as it embarks on the distribution of relief food in the affected regions. These areas should also be supplied with clean water urgently to avert outbreaks of diseases and conflicts associated with scarcity of resources.

This is a crisis that could have been managed better had earlier interventions been put in place. Now that Kenya finds itself in this situation, however, the government must take immediate and decisive steps to stop the suffering of affected citizens.