Kilifi,KENYA:Rabai constituency in Kilifi County for the first time since independence on received relief food from the County government of Kilifi on Tuesday.
Residents of the area blamed the national government for overlooking it in terms of hunger saying Rabai has been hit by drought and hunger like any other area in the entire Kilifi County but it has been discriminated.
They hailed the county government for its recognition of the area as among the hunger prone areas and took initiative of taking relief food to them.
“We have been suffering from hunger for the past 50 years since independence and the government has just been looking without any assistance,” said one of the residents requested anonymity during an interview with Baraka fm.
“We are really thankful to the County government for recognizing us and bringing this food,” added the source.
Kilifi governor Amaosn Kingi said the situation in Kilifi has been so tough in terms of hunger and drought that both the national and his county government must intervene.
He said Rabai is known for its abundance in Coconut products but the long term drought that has affected productivity of the trees.
“We all know that Rabai is the richest area in Coconut products in Kilifi County and that has been the main source of income to many residents here,” said Kingi.
“But, as you can see now, all coconut trees are falling down due to the drought hitting this area, meaning the residents here have nothing to depend on other than relief food which has been a dream to the people of this area. The area has been sidelined for a long time by the national government and my government has ensured that today the government will taste the relief food” said Kingi.
Among the food items distributed were Maize, Beans, Rice and cooking oil and over 1000 families received the relief food.
