The Government will double distribution of relief food in Marsabit County to mitigate the effects of drought ravaging the county, President Uhuru Kenyatta has said.
Addressing Marsabit residents who turned out in large numbers to receive him, President Kenyatta said the Government is reviewing its budget to allocate more funds for the purchase of food to assist those affected by drought.
“We are reviewing the budget to step up distribution of relief food in the affected counties,” President Kenyatta said.
The Head of State said his Administration is also looking for Ksh 1 billion for the completion of Badasa dam, which will boost water supply in the county.
But he warned that the Government will not tolerate shoddy contractors like the one who delayed the completion of the dam.
“We will blacklist contractors who do not deliver value for taxpayers’ money,” President Kenyatta said.
Early this week, Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri flagged-off distribution of 420 tonnes of relief food in Marsabit where he assured residents that the President’s directive that the food be ferried straight to the divisions so as to reach the beneficiaries on time will strictly be adhered to.
The President – who visited an Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) centre in Marsabit town to assess the progress of voter registration – urged residents to enlist in large numbers so that they could participate in determining the future of their county by electing leaders who will cater for their interests.
He said devolution has ensured that a lot of resources for development are channeled through the counties and the caliber of leaders they elect will determine how fast their county develops.
The President urged IEBC to increase the number of mobile voter registration centres so that they can capture pastoralists moving around with their livestock in search of water and pasture because of the drought.
President Kenyatta also called on Marsabit residents to live in harmony and not to allow political differences to degenerate into conflicts, saying no development will be achieved in the absence of peace.
“Whether you are Borana, Burji, Gabra or Rendile, you have a right to live in this county and indeed in any party of the country,” President Kenyatta said.
He added: “All Kenyans are equal under the Constitution and we want all of you to live together in peace.”
As he mobilized residents to register as voters, President Kenyatta also urged them to support the Jubilee Party saying it is the only party that will unite the whole country, safeguard peace and accelerate development.
He cited the Isiolo – Marsabit – Moyale road as one of the flagship projects implemented by the national Government that have transformed the county.
By a show of hands, the residents assured the Head of State they will not only ensure that those who have not registered as voters do so but also vote for him and the Jubilee Party in the coming elections.
--PSCU