President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Saturday, February 1, carried on with a calculated onslaught on former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri barely two weeks after he unceremoniously fired him.
Speaking during his tour of Meru and Kirinyaga counties, the president wondered why pre-Kiunjuri firing, the ministry was slow at carrying out duties.
The visibly angry Uhuru further noted that a day after he made the change, his new appointee made notable strides in carrying out the ministry's mandate.
"When we changed the CS, whom I don't want to mention, it took one day for us to see work get into motion, not the politics of taking pictures," stated the president.
Uhuru announced changes in his Cabinet on Tuesday, January 14, and replaced Kiunjuri with Peter Munya.
A day after the change was made public in the unprecedented reshuffle Munya swung into action and set a number of projects in motion.
Through a press conference on Wednesday, January 15, Munya swiftly assumed his new role in the crucial docket addressing a number of issues that President Uhuru Kenyatta had highlighted.
Munya directed the New KCC to purchase milk at Ksh33 up from Ksh25 per litre - a directive that came as a reprieve to farmers who had been decrying the reduction in raw milk prices over the years.
The CS further announced that the government had put in place additional measures including the hiring of more choppers to deal with the locust invasion in Northern Kenya.
Kiunjuri had earlier been mocked for urging Kenyans to take photos of locusts that invaded the country from the North-Eastern region and share with the ministry for confirmation.
During his trip in the two counties, Uhuru also assured Mwea residents of the government’s commitment to addressing challenges facing rice farmers in the region and countrywide
He directed all government institutions to only buy locally produced rice to ensure farmers reap maximum returns from their hard work. He pegged the price of unprocessed rice at Ksh85 per kilogramme from Ksh45.
The head of state informed that the government had set aside Ksh500 million in a revolving fund to ensure farmers are paid promptly once they deliver rice to their cooperative societies for onward transmission to the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC).
