Kilifi governor Gideon Mung'aro, CC Kitswa Olaka flag off relief food to areas affected by drought

Kilifi county governor Gideon Mung'aro and County Commissioner Kitswa Olaka have officially flagged off relief food to areas affected by drought in the county. The two leaders in the company of Deputy Governor Flora Chibule and Ganze MP Kenneth Kazungu flagged off 21 trucks carrying a total of 3,600 bags of rice, 1,440 bags of beans, and 900 cartons of canned meat. The consignment is targeting at least 168,174 residents who are equally affected by hunger in the first phase.

Speaking during the flagging off at Karisa Maitha Ground, Mung'aro said the relief food will benefit families that are hardly hit by the drought that has ravaged the county for some time now.

The issuance of relief to the nine sub-counties is one of the national government's interventions toward addressing the famine situation.

Mung'aro further raised an alarm over the continued destruction of the forest ecosystem in Kilifi county which is partly responsible for the current drought being witnessed in the region. ''I have toured Galana Kulalu, Baricho, and the Dakacha woodlands to see the status of the forest cover and it is unfortunate that people have destroyed the forest to a large magnitude. If this is not controlled then we fear the worst because there will be no forest cover left in the near future and we might not receive rain for the next twenty years," said the Governor. Mr Mung'aro said the increased human encroachment and burning charcoal was partly responsible for the human-wildlife conflict because the animals have no place to get their forage after the destruction,"said Mung'aro Mr Olaka said the food distribution will be done on a weekly basis.