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President Kibaki will on Tuesday tour famine-ravaged Wajir and Mandera districts.

The tour comes amid calls by politicians, religious leaders and civil society to the Government to declare the famine a national disaster.

Images of emaciated and dying Kenyans and their livestock in the local media seem to have jolted the President into getting first hand information on the magnitude of the catastrophe.

In a brief statement from Mombasa State Lodge, Kibaki said he wanted to personally monitor the situation in the two districts to ensure ongoing official intervention had the desired impact.

He said he had instructed various departments, including the military, to undertake emergency relief operations.

The plane carrying the President and his entourage will depart from Moi International Airport, Mombasa, at 9am.

Complementing efforts

Kibaki said he was committed to alleviating the suffering of the victims by visiting the affected areas.

Last week, the President appealed to Kenyans and development partners to complement Government efforts in addressing the famine.

The President said up to 700,000 bags of maize and assorted foodstuffs worth Sh1.3 billion had been taken to the affected areas.

The Permanent Secretary for Agriculture, Romano Kiome, announced that an additional 9,000 bags of maize and beans had been sent to the affected districts.

"We have about 8,500 bags on transit, which will arrive at their destinations in about three days," Kiome said.

He said more food would be sent to the affected areas as they expect the food to last for only a few days. He said less bulky foodstuff like milk was being transported by air.


Death toll rises

Kibaki�s response came as the death toll climbed to at least 27 in Garissa and Mandera districts.

Ten people died in Mandera before Christmas and another 17, mostly children, were yesterday reported to have died in the last two weeks in Garissa.

Hospital sources said the deaths were due to hunger-related causes.

Kibaki said the Government would provide an additional Sh2.9 billion for relief, adding that 7.5 million bags of maize and 2.5 million bags of beans and other supplementary food items were required.

He said Marsabit, Moyale, Mandera and Wajir districts were worst hit by the drought, causing serious food and water shortages.

He said conditions in Isiolo, Garissa, Kajiado, Makueni, Kitui, Mwingi, Tana River, Kilifi and Kwale were also deteriorating fast.


Government blamed

Meanwhile, the Muslim Council of Kenya said the Government was solely to blame for the famine-related deaths in drought-stricken parts of the country.

The council�s chairperson, Nazlin Omar said there was a lot of politicking in the past few months, which played a key role in the death of humans and animals.

"Ministers were only concerned with politics and nothing else. They should have acted early to avert this crisis," she said.

She accused the Government of neglecting the people from the affected areas, adding that the country�s leaders were responsible for the lives lost.

Omar criticised the Government for saying it has enough maize stocks yet famine-related deaths were reported in several parts of the country.

She termed President Kibaki�s planned visit to the affected areas as irrelevant.

The council called on donors, corporate and humanitarian organissations to give donations to victims of the famine.

Plan to buy livestock

The Livestock Traders and Marketing Society of Kenya (LTMSK) said the Government�s plan to buy livestock from farmers in drought-stricken North Eastern Province is impractical.

Speaking in Mombasa, the society�s chief executive, Aden Dualle, called on President Kibaki to declare the famine and livestock deaths a national disaster.

Livestock and Fisheries minister Joseph Munyao had said Sh500 million would be used to buy livestock from drought-stricken areas.

Livestock contributes 10 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Thirty per cent of the farm gate value of agricultural commodities originates from livestock sub sector that also provides raw materials for local dairy, meat, hides, skin, wool and hair processing industry.

Dualle said it was not fair for the Government to buy livestock from farmers and then send them to slaughter houses as this move will deplete the livestock population.


Source: Standard (Kenya)