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The Government should urgently repossess all riparian land

  Much as the forced displacement of people who have settled along riparian land in Nairobi is painful to those being forced out, it is a necessary measure to make right mistakes that have been made over the years due to poor leadership. No settlement should be allowed on riparian land. Period. One of the main reasons for this is now plain for all to see. Water follows its natural drainage course no matter what may have been erected along natural waterways. Obviously, the heavier the rainfall the more forceful the water and the more damage it causes, the most serious of which is unnecessary loss of human life. Time has, therefore, come for Kenya’s leadership to determine how much distance from a water body should be considered riparian land based on expert advice. Once this is done, this land must be left unsettled and allowed to regenerate naturally and human settlement or cultivation permanently prevented. Current measures being taken to remove people from riparian land in Nairobi
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Devastating floods and the dilemma of Climate change-induced loss and damage

  The current flooding being witnessed in Kenya and the larger East African region caused by unprecedented levels of intense rain has led many to re-focus attention on the negative impact of climate change. The extent and distribution of heavy rains that have affected every corner of the country and caused nearly 200 deaths (by 2 nd May 2024), the displacement of thousands of people and loss of more than 5,000 assorted livestock, has raised questions about the role of the international community in easing the burden borne by developing countries such as Kenya and her East African neighbours. Questions have arisen about global preparedness and capacity to cope, particularly by African, Latin American and Caribbean states and Small Island States and least developed countries, with what are anticipated to be increasing and worsening climate-induced catastrophes. It may be recalled that the topmost agenda of the most recent United Nations Climate Conference (Cop 28) was the operationali
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Having lived abroad seems to make better presidents for Kenya

Having lived in an advanced country seems to be a positive factor on the quality of a president for Kenya. Three out of our five presidents so far lived in advanced countries for a significant part of their lives. Evidence so far appears to indicate that this experience made a significant difference in their management of the country and the legacies of their presidencies. Granted that the first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta came to power at the advanced age of 81, he had lived in England for 15 years. The most memorable evidence of his sterling leadership, and which was most likely shaped by his experience of having lived in Britain, was the choice of his first cabinet of 15 ministers. Kenyatta went for the most brilliant minds he could find and ensured that he assigned the dockets in line with the expertise of the people he appointed. Notably, he gave his ministers autonomy to run their dockets and kept them there for a long time. Kenyans of that age will recall a time when schoo
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More than rhetoric needed to turn Kenya into an African Tiger

  Like him or hate him, there is something tantalizingly refreshing about the manner in which President William Ruto has set out to run his government. Prompt and focused meetings, time-bound targets for government programmes and an apparently dedicated programme to improve the economic circumstances of the ordinary person. These measures are to be underpinned by drastically expanding the tax net and reinvigorating Kenya’s agricultural production. This to be done through directing resources towards production as opposed to subsidies; constructing massive dams;   focused and sustained provision of fertilizer and seeds; value addition intended at guaranteeing markets for agricultural goods; and removal of cartels and brokers from the agriculture value chain. From his inaugural live televised conference with journalists on 4 th January, 2023 to the recently concluded retreat with top government officials , held in Nanyuki between 5 th and 8 th January 2023, there have been
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Ruto’s provocative but timely maiden UN General Assembly speech was spot on

President William Ruto’s inaugural address to the 77 th Session of the UN General Assembly was bold, unapologetic and crystal clear. It focused on major issues bedevilling countries in the Global South and how the problems are directly related to the state of multilateral relations between rich nations in the Global North and poor countries in the South. Importantly, the speech drew particular attention to climate change at a time when much of the world has experienced the worst ramifications of its negative impact. These have included heat waves in much of Western Europe over the June to August 2022 period, mega-droughts in the US south-west and mountain west, leading to almost uncontrollable forest fires, heatwaves and dangerously low levels of moisture and fresh water across numerous states and neighbouring countries including Canada and Mexico. Most recently, the world watched in horror as the worst level of flooding ever witnessed in the country put large swathes of Pakistan
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Political manifestos short on specifics regarding climate change

Although Kenya has been commended for having some of the most progressive laws and policies to combat climate change, the issue has not featured prominently enough in the agendas of those currently competing for various leadership positions during the current electioneering period. Given the far-reaching nature of the negative impacts of climate change, this situation is worrying. From a review of leading concerns among the citizens gleaned from social and mainstream media platforms, the high cost of food is one of the leading worries on the lips of most Kenyans. More specifically, the cost of maize floor has featured so much in recent months, underscoring the value of maize and its products, particularly floor, in the diets of most Kenyan households. Whereas those in government have blamed the international market for the current high prices of food, the impact of changing seasons, possibly occasioned by climate change, has not received sufficient attention. One of the effects of
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Climate services and subsidised fertilizer programmes must be synchronised

As the economy begins to open up and people focus on production in this era of the Covid-19 pandemic, one group that needs concerted support is small scale farmers. More than 78 per cent of Kenya’s food comes from small scale farmers while over 65 per cent of economically active people are employed across different points of the agriculture value chain. Given the reality of climate change, it is now well acknowledged that seasonal patterns are shifting and climate extremes, particularly droughts and floods are becoming more frequent. This means that the optimal “window of production” for farmers is no longer predictable. One of the most needed services for small scale farmers, most of whom practise rain-fed agriculture, is climate information generally and information about the onset of rains specifically. In recognition of the value of small scale farming to the overall economy, the government has recently (in the the course of the last 10 years) been providing subsidised fertil
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