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"id": 1113269,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1113269/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "North Horr, FAP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Chachu Ganya",
"speaker": {
"id": 18,
"legal_name": "Francis Chachu Ganya",
"slug": "francis-ganya"
},
"content": "livelihood assets. Our people are facing acute water shortages. Some schools are actually closed down due to lack of water. This region is already affected by so many disasters and emergencies. The desert locust invasion cleared all our vegetation. Like the rest of Kenya, we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. There are serious security issues in that region with Al-Shabab militia; and now we have enhanced tribal conflicts over diminished natural resources. Now, in addition to that, we have these serious drought emergencies. It is really a region in crisis and this country really needs to support these counties to cope and manage the drought and make these communities drought resilient. What we need are comprehensive drought mitigation measures. We need provision of relief food for the needy members of our communities. We need trucking of water to communities, to our boarding schools and even for our livestock, because we need to save these livestock if we are to save the livelihoods of the pastoralist communities even after the drought. We need animal offtake programmes initiated. I really want to appreciate our President, because just this weekend on Saturday, a livestock offtake programme was launched in Marsabit and is being launched in other parts of Kenya by the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) and the Ministry of Defence. They were buying goats at Ksh4,000, and cattle at Ksh20,000, which is really a very good price. I know, as of yesterday, we received hay and animal feeds in Laisamis Constituency of Marsabit County. I also know that food aid is going into our areas. The MPs who are saying that nothing is being done do not have information or are not in touch with their people. What I know, as of now, is that things have started flowing. Animals are being bought, food aid is being taken to most of our counties, and even livestock feeds are being received. I can confirm that because I witnessed this over the weekend in my constituency, in Laisamis Constituency and in other counties. Another thing is that we need to drill strategic boreholes in range lands so that we can save the animals. Where we have pasture now, we have no water. Most of the water pans have dried up and because of that, the water stress levels are very high, and our animals die due to lack of water, not pasture. They have to go for long distances of about 50 kilometers and take about four days for our goats and cattle to get to a water source. That is what is killing our animals. If water is availed where we have dry pasture, we will save our livestock. We also need livestock interventions such as vaccination, livestock feeds and hay. In addition, the most vulnerable – like the elderly, the sick and children – are the ones who are suffering. They are not able to feed on the grains that are being distributed in the form of relief food. What we need is milk, milk powder and other items that can enable them to survive this drought. I really have a problem with people blaming the CS in charge of Treasury, who happens to come from my constituency. He gave funds to the Ministry of Defense to facilitate the offtake programme. He also gave funds to the Ministry of Devolution and Planning for relief foods to northern parts of Kenya. He gave money to NDMA to do water trucking. He is not an implementing agency; he has given the implementing agencies of Government the resources they need, and it is with them. So, if these people have delayed on implementation, why blame the CS in charge of Treasury when he has done his best to bring this issue to the national attention, and asked the President to declare this drought as a national disaster within a short period? It is totally unfair and unfortunate. Hon. Duale is just advancing his UDA affairs using the agenda of drought, otherwise he has no business castigating the CS Treasury, who is doing an amazing job for this country and the pastoralists communities in Kenya. I thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}