Vihiga County residents have received relief food from the national Government as the drought continues to hit other parts across the Country.
Speaking at Ilungu market in Emuhaya Sub County while presiding over the distribution of the relief food to residents the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Special Programmes Josephta Mukobe said Kenya being an Agricultural Country has been hit with severe drought that has led to adverse effects.
She said the long rains did not prevail as expected in most parts of the country and it has really affected planting patterns.
Mukobe said the Ministry has allocated more than 500 bags of maize to be distributed to residents of Emuhaya and Luanda Sub County in Vihiga noting that the area was affected by low harvest across the County.
“In our food distribution we are targeting the vulnerable people in the County, we realize they are the most affected and they must get aid,” said Mukobe.
Areas that were targeted are Ilungu, Elukonga, and Esibila where residents arrived in numbers to get the relief food.
She said the government and other Non-Governmental Organizations are determined to offer relief food to affected areas so that there can be no casualties because of the drought.
“President Uhuru Kenyatta recently declared the situation a national disaster, but the government has put in place mechanisms to make sure the affected areas get relief food and to ensure their animals are also salvaged from the biting drought,” she said.
She called on residents and politicians in the region to embrace peace and practice politics of tolerance to prevent violence that may erupt during this election year.
“We must all sober up and stop practising politics full of hatred, and the youth must not be used by rogue politicians to cause havoc in the coming elections,” Mukobe said.
