Govt doing little to tame effects of drought, Garissa women rep says

The national government is doing little to address the biting drought in Northern Kenya, Garissa women representative Shukran Hussein Gure has said.

Speaking in Garissa when she flagged off 65 water storage tanks meant for the residents of Dadaab Sub-County, Ms Shukran said that desperate residents are now resorting to acts that are threating their own security and that of the nation at large.

Referring to an incident where five people were killed in Duse area of Garbatulla Sub-County in Isiolo County, Shukran said that the attack was due to competition for water and pasture as the government has failed to put in place adequately measures to address the problem.

While condemning the Isiolo attack, Shukran urged Interiror Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaisery to personally intervene in the Isiolo conflict that has now lasted over 4 months.

“Our people especially those in the rural areas are suffering and out of desperation to save their herds have entered into neighbouring counties in search of pasture and water.  The locals on the other hand want to protect the scarce resources, resulting in the bloody clashes,” she noted.

Shukran said some residents have to cover over 30kms in search of water, an issue that has affected the education in the area.

The women rep stated that school going children have dropped out of school to help their parents search for water, adding that if this continues some schools would have to be shut down.

“There is very little intervention in the rural areas. Men have move to urban areas in search of work leaving women and children at the mercy of the biting drought,” she said.

“The government understands the drought cycles in Northern Kenya but has failed to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate on the drought.”

She said the off-take programme launched by the government in conjunction with the Kenya Meat Commission is not being felt on the ground.

Shukran joins the growing list of leaders from the area among them Lagdera MP Mohamed Shidiye and his Dadaab counterpart Mohamed Dahiye who have faulted the government of failing to address drought in the area.