County govt on the spot for withholding relief food

Leaders from Tana River County have accused the county government of allegedly withholding relief food meant for people displaced by the recent El Nino rains in the area.

Led by MCAs for Sala Ward and Madogo Ward, the leaders claim that tonnes of relief food have been kept for about one month now yet the displaced persons are starving.

While addressing hundreds of displaced families in Mororo Centre, the leaders pointed out that over 20,000 people in Bakuyu, Ziwani and Mbalabala regions were affected by the floods but have not received any humanitarian assistance from the county government.

The leaders particularly took issue with an official in the department of special programmes whom they said was arrogant and declined to allocate food to the affected areas, even after they passed the El Nino budget worth Sh200 million.

The two claimed that the food was secretly being sold to benefit few individuals within the county and ferried at night to unknown outlets.

The MCAs now say they will be forced to take action against the county government if nothing is done.

When the floods hit several parts of the country, millions of shillings were set aside to mitigate the effects of the heavy rains, with all county governments creating a kitty that would assist in the event of people being displaced.

The county government is yet to respond to the allegations.