Maseno residents have been cautioned against misusing mosquito nets distributed by the government. Area Chief Nicholas Toro has said that many people from the area have been visiting public hospitals to acquire free nets, but one’s they have them, the nets are used for other functions. Toro who was speaking in Maseno on Sunday during a funeral service of a village elder said that mosquito nets are now fences for vegetable gardens in the area.
“If you walk around many homesteads in this area you will find vegetable gardens fenced with mosquito nets, if you visit river banks some people are using the nets to trap fish”, said Toro. He said that malaria cases in the area are still high and the locals should take the blame for not assisting the government in the fight of the deadly disease. He added that those who divert mosquito nets to other functions are setting a bad reputation to the younger generation since they will grow up knowing that nets are not meant for mosquito protection.
“I take this chance to warn all those who are using government property for unintended functions to change immediately”, said Toro. He added that together with village elders, they will walk around homesteads and identified those who are using nets for other purposes and blacklist them so that they won’t be eligible to receive the nets from the government.