Rigathi to Raila: Stop lecturing us over the mess Uhuru created

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has told off Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga over his utterances that President William Ruto was favouring the West and its multinationals, at the expense of Kenyan interests.

Citing the debate on genetically modified foods, Mr Odinga had on Sunday said Dr Ruto was putting the interests of other countries above those of its citizens.

“We consider the decision to lift ban on GMO foods and their importation a betrayal to our country. On this, the Ruto administration is not working for Kenya. He is being is puppet, working for the foreign nations and their multinationals against our interest as a nation. Ruto is not working to promote Kenyan research work in Kenyan universities, colleges and institutions. He is working to promote foreign biotechnology institutions abroad,” Mr Odinga said in a statement on Sunday.

But speaking on Monday, Mr Gachagua maintained that Dr Ruto’s bid seeking partnerships from other countries was for the benefit of Kenyans. 

"We will work with any other country because nobody has the monopoly of knowledge. We do not want him (Raila) to give us advice on how we should run government affairs. He is part of the problem that the Kenya Kwanza administration inherited from the previous administration and he should keep aside,” said the DP.  

Mr Gachagua also indicated that the government is building long-term solutions including the construction of dams to tackle the drought problem in Arid and Semi-Arid areas in the country. 

“We ask all the governors from the regions to work with the government and identify the areas affected by the drought so that we can build dams to provide water and reduce the severity of the problem,” he added. 

The DP was speaking while launching the United Nations drought flash appeal in Garissa yesterday.

The drought flash appeal mission launched Monday seeks to raise Sh52.5 billion from development partners across the world to offer humanitarian assistance to the affected Kenyans.

UN Resident Coordinator Stephen Jackson asked international partners to join Kenya in the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. 

“The short rains are here although they will go away in a short time. A total of 3.8 million people will be affected by the prolonged drought in 2023 and we urge our partners to join the efforts,” he said. 

The money raised will be used to offer cash transfers and food assistance to affected families as they seek long-term solutions to the drought problem. 

According to Inger Anderson, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), Kenya needs resources to build resilience in tackling climate change. 

“Drought and floods will stay with us for a long time and we must learn to cope with them. These are the effects of climate change and we must think of how to build resilience for the affected communities,” she said. 

The government has so far allocated Sh12 billion to mitigate the effects of climate change while the development partners have allocated Sh47 billion in a bid to offer assistance to the affected families.