Governors have blamed the national government for failing to curb food crisis and alleviate hunger.
Through the Council of Governors, they faulted Jubilee for trying to shift blame to the counties.
They said even though agriculture is a devolved function, the national government has stalled and refused to hand it over.
“Although this is an election campaign season, CoG, states that national government should not play politics with the lives of Kenyans. The national government needs to own up to its failure and not shift blame to the county governments,” chairman Josephat Nanok said.
The transfer of devolved functions in agriculture, including management of silos and grain store, procurement and distribution of subsidised fertiliser and seed did not take place as envisioned in the Constitution frustrating farming, Nanok said.
“While the national government was assuring the county of adequate grain, the state department of agriculture, livestock and fisheries had distributed bad seeds and fertiliser that had impact on harvest amounting to economic sabotage,” governors said in a statement.
They called for an explanation on why the national government did not respond to calls for restocking of counties stores with adequate maize.
The government created a price crisis, despite the early warning from drought and meteorological state departments.
They blamed the national government for the slow finalisation of agriculture policies to guide the development of the sector, as well as the development of laws that do not recognise counties as the key drivers of the development.
Nanok cited the Crops Act, AFA Act, National Cereal and Produce Board Act as some of those laws that set up departments and institutions in the agriculture sector that frustrate counties’ efforts.
“Above all, the national government has starved counties of resources to fully implement these devolved functions by declining to restructure national government agencies,” he said.
The Turkana governor said the national government, through the NCPB, should ensure there is enough grain in the stores, thus having enough locally produced maize by farmers.
Local maize, they say, should not be used as a scapegoat by any government in meeting the constitutional requirements to ensure Kenyans have enough food.
