What’s going on around Kenya today
Kibaki slams opposition for unfair criticism of Jubilee
Retired President Mwai Kibaki has blasted the opposition for continuous criticism of the Jubilee government, accusing them of attempting to derail the governments’ development agenda.
Speaking at the Starehe Boys Centre during the Founder’s Day celebration, Kibaki urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to ignore the dissenting opinions and continue serving the people.
“These people and they are few… don’t think they are many. They don’t like people who do good well because many people in Kenya don’t mention them,” said Kibaki.
“Mr President God will be with you and all good meaning Kenyans,” he added.
President Kenyatta who graced the occasion commended the school for its impressive performance over the years urging the students to keep the dream of its founders alive.
Chinese-built railway line to cut through Nairobi National Park
Kenya’s new Chinese-built Standard Gauge rail line will cut through Nairobi’s wildlife sanctuary, the Nairobi National Park, officials have said, replacing the colonial-era railway known as the Lunatic Express.
Kenya’s game parks and abundant wildlife draw tourists from across the world, but the government has said that must not stop Kenya from building infrastructure to speed up development in a country.
Under an agreement struck between wildlife officials and Kenya’s government, the rail line will not alter the boundaries of the Nairobi National Park. Instead, it will be walled off and raised above the ground so that animals can safely pass underneath.
“Ideally, there should be no transportation in a national park. But the final plan was a pragmatic balance of wildlife and development concerns,” said Dr Richard Leakey, board chairman of the Kenyan Wildlife Service and a renowned conservationist.
Auditor General urges Parliament to probe lost monies
The Auditor General has urged Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee to review reports recently released by his office and give directions over how unaccounted billions will be recovered.
Edward Ouko says most ministries could not account for the huge sums of monies allocated to them while others gave unjustifiable reasons for spending the cash running into billions of shillings.
In the report, Sh 68 billion out of the Sh1.4 trillion allocated to the National Government, was classified as unsupported expenditure while an excess of Sh24 billion was spent without the approval of Parliament with various other amounts seemingly disappearing into thin air.
He called on the Nicholas Gumbo-led committee to hastily take up the matter as billions of taxpayers’ monies had been lost and so as to curb future misuse of public funds.
WHO, Ministry of Health allay fears over polio vaccine
The Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) have dismissed allegations by a section of religious leaders that the oral polio vaccination is not safe.
In a speech read on her behalf, Dr Custodia Mandlhate, the WHO country representative in Kenya, said all vaccines used in the country for routine or mass immunization are WHO pre-qualified, safe and effective.
She said WHO is charged with providing global leadership in public health including leadership in developing norms, standards and guidelines that are trusted to provide safe vaccines.
To ensure the country is polio-free, the representative asked the government and the Ministry of Health to learn from Nigeria where in 2003, a section of religious leaders forced followers to boycott the vaccine only to result in deaths and thousands of children paralysed.