Ruto’s regime is a flop, Azimio leaders declare

Kenya Kwanza regime is a disastrous administration that should be impeached, Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition luminaries claimed yesterday.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, among others,  described President William Ruto’s administration as a flop owing to its poor handling of floods, the doctor’s strike and fake fertiliser issues.

During a press conference at the SKM Command Centre, Azimio questioned why the Kenya Kwanza regime is reluctant to declare the floods a national disaster to get the adequate response needed, adding that such a declaration will automatically call for the expenditure from the country’s contingency fund.

“Could it be that there is no money in the contingency fund? If not, who has expended the money and on what? Kenyans want to know,” said Kalonzo in a statement he read on behalf of his colleagues.

President William Ruto announced in Mathare on Monday that the households affected by the floods will each receive Sh10,000, with Sh1billion already set aside for support.

“We demand that the government increases the financial support to at least Sh100, 000 per family. For families who have lost everything in the raging floods, such allocations of Sh10,000 are too little to start afresh,” said Kalonzo.

He went on: “We demand that the government immediately deploy all the necessary responses for mitigating the impact of the flooding on affected communities including the provision of assistance to the bereaved families and the internally displaced.”

Kalonzo said evacuations, whether mandatory or voluntary, must be done in a humane manner that respects human rights without causing further deaths, adding that the recklessness and reactionary strategy of the Kenya Kwanza regime has caused the death of a young boy Ian Otieno in Mathare.

Early warnings

“In light of the current tragedy, we demand that this regime adopt protective measures of early warnings and facilitation of relocation of communities in imminent risk of being affected by the floods and adhere to effective disaster management strategies.”

According to Kalonzo, there is an increasing number of casualties of the raging floods, with media report indicating that there are over 238 people dead, 300,000 households displaced, 75 people missing, 150 schools directly affected, residential buildings collapsing, farms submerged, 178 dams and reservoirs bursting their capacities and several people at risk of contracting waterborne diseases.

While commending, the Kenya Red Cross who have from the onset of the raging floods helped save countless lives, the Azimio luminaries charged that there was a scientific and expert opinion confirming the impending El Nino rains, however, the advice by the Kenya Meteorological Department was immediately disregarded by the Kenya Kwanza regime.

Kenya Meteorological Department Director General Dr David Gikungu had to apologise in a press conference in the presence of the Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for allegedly miscommunicating and contradicting the President.

“It is now turning out that it is President Ruto and his regime that misled the county on El Nino. He has recently admitted that ‘the metrological reports paint a dire picture’. This is coming too late in the day from a regime that in itself is a disaster.”

Relief services

Azimio leaders want Kenya Kwanza regime to provide emergency relief services including food, shelter, and medical care to meet the basic needs of all the displaced, evicted, and affected populations.

The regime should also deliver assistance in rebuilding homes and infrastructure destroyed by the floods, with an emphasis on sustainable development and disaster resilient construction and to develop infrastructure that enhance the country’s resilience to natural disasters.

“Azimio demands that Kenya Kwanza regime fast-track policies and legislative frameworks that focus on comprehensive disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation measures and ensure active community involvement in these processes,” said Kalonzo.