Judith Kemei @PeopleDailyKe
Hunger-stricken families in Chesakam in Tiaty, Baringo county, were relieved after two Cabinet secretaries visited them over the weekend with water boozers and food rations.
The locals, who are facing starvation because of the ongoing drought, narrated to Devolution CS Mwangi Kiunjuri and his Water counterpart Eugene Wamalwa how difficult life has become for them.
The distribution of food comes after it emerged that 24,000 households are adversely affected by hunger in Baringo County.
Bare land
At the same time, more than 100 livestock have died because of lack of pasture and water. Residents say it last rained in June last year which has left the whole land bare under soaring temperatures.
Kiunjuri reaffirmed the government’s commitment to securing food security saying measures have been put in place to ensure no life is lost as a result of hunger.
“We have put in place measures to ensure that all victims of drought are attended to. We will visit the area frequently to distribute food because we understand the drought is not ending soon,” he said.
He said leaders from affected counties should liaise with his ministry to merge intervention efforts during the dry spell. Wamalwa also assured residents they will be supplied with water even as boreholes that were sunk by the government are equipped within the next two weeks.
He said water has been a scarce resource in the ASAL counties but assured of the government’s commitment to supplying the commodity using water boozers.
He added that the government will find a lasting solution to the affected areas by constructing dams to store flood waters for use in times of lack. He urged residents to embrace irrigation in farming instead of being fully nomadic.
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