Ruto Dismisses Gachagua as Political Tensions Rise Over Drought Response
President Ruto will begin his northern Kenya visit with a three-day trip that starts at the Nyota disbursement forum which takes place in Garissa County.
A side-by-side image of President William Ruto and Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
President William Ruto on Wednesday strongly criticised his former deputy Rigathi Gachagua because political tensions rise from government efforts to manage the northern Kenyan drought crisis.
President Ruto described Gachagua as an “idler” who lacks the skills to develop and execute development projects. Ruto accused Gachagua of dedicating all his time to political activities since Gachagua promotes the political slogan “Kasongo must go” which Ruto’s opponents use to demand his removal from the presidency.
The president made those comments after Gachagua had criticized him for handling drought relief efforts in northern Kenya too slowly during the current drought emergency. The former deputy president claimed that residents in the affected areas face ongoing food and water shortages because the government has neglected their needs.
Gachagua has assessed the drought mitigation budget and determined that the current funding fails to meet requirements because the funding fails to match the extent of need.
Gachagua told the media from his DCP party offices in Nairobi that the government had allocated Sh4 billion while Cabinet approved Sh4.1 billion of monthly spending. He maintained that the funding does not adequately cater for the estimated 3.3 million people requiring food and water support.
He calculated the funding distribution at Sh1,200 for each individual who he said requires more than the United Nations minimum food basket standard of Sh2,700.
Gachagua requested President Ruto to declare the drought a national disaster because several counties experience severe drought impacts. He claimed that public resources had been mismanaged because political activities used emergency supplies while government operations needed to function with less funding particularly on helicopter expenses.
President Ruto will begin his northern Kenya visit with a three-day trip that starts at the Nyota disbursement forum which takes place in Garissa County.
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