Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Heavy rains in Kenya, Is the government sensitive?

Life in Kenya this year has been quite tough because of high cost of living caused mainly by high cost of fuel and electricity, which affects virtually every industry and eventually the cost of essential commodities and transport. This has also been made worse by the dry season since the beginning of the year, affecting agriculture which is a source of food and income to many.

I can now smile when I see rains pouring all over the country since last few months in some parts of the country and this month it’s all over. I can say there is some hope because there will be enough water to generate more electricity and enough for farmers to grow crops. However the rains have been quite heavy and affecting crops in many parts of the country, the usual places are Budalangi and Kano plains. There are also landslides in some parts of Central and eastern and rift valley Provinces. Vehicles going to southern Sudan also got stuck when a river broke its backs and filled up the road, causing travelers and transporters agony for days before help came from the Kenyan Army.

I don’t want to complain about the rains, we need it like never before, but I believe this flooding in the common parts of the country is known to the Government for years.One wonders how can these people in flood prone places like Budalangi, Kano and the rest be helped. It’s normally a case of a river breaking its banks yet we hear of funds like el-nino funds and many others from donors. I only remember roads in Nairobi being repaired by such funds, but not. I imagined these funds were meant for rural areas as well and what has the government done about it????????

1 comment:

Acolyte said...

Imma be a bastard and say that peeps need to move from those flood prone locations instead of being flooded out and having to rebuild every damn year!