Raila blasts gov’t over 'lacklustre response' to drought, demands action

In a press statement on Tuesday, Mr. Odinga said the situation requires a massive emergency response program to ensure rapid delivery of food, water, and medicine to affected people – something that is missing. 

“Instead, the government is consumed by politics of survival and the elections of 2027. The people with the power to do something for citizens and save our wildlife are instead blaming those out of government for not working with them,” he said.

“That scents to be what happens when a country finds itself in the hands of leaders who have no plans or mandate to govern.”

He further said there are “shylocks” in government, who seem to be aiming at benefiting from the drought.

“As if the indifference is not bad enough, top government officials seem to be scheming to benefit personally from the drought. That is the logic behind the rush to allow genetically modified foods into the country. For the leaders, the drought and famine provides a chance to make a kill, pay back the big foreign backers and align with those corporations for the future,” he said. 

In order to mitigate the drought, the former Prime Minister demanded the following;

1. The government must immediately unveil a multi-faceted rapid response program and launch it on the ground, not in State House, and not just in arid and semi-arid lands but across all affected parts of Kenya. This drought and attendant shortage of food cuts across the entire country.

2. All government resources must be deployed and seen to be working for timely and quick delivery of relief supplies to the hungry population, including school children.

3. Livestock off-take by Kenya Meat Commission (KMC), borehole drilling and distribution of hay to affected communities must take off immediately. KMC personnel must immediately be stationed in the affected areas to purchase the livestock at reasonable and publicly declared prices per live animal. 

The Azimio leader remained strongly opposed to the government’s re-introduction of Genetically Modified foods, saying it is not the answer to Kenya’s recurrent food shortages. 

He said that he will fight GMOs in court and farms in Kenya.