Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has issued a new government stand on the El Nino rains after President William Ruto indicated that the country would not experience the weather pattern.
Speaking at Harambee House on Friday while launching rain mitigation measures, the DP urged the nation to brace for El Nino. According to Gachagua, the rains are expected to extend till the first quarter of 2024.
"The matter is settled. El Nino, it is," he stated.
In remedying the effects of the rains, the DP announced that various government agencies crafted several mitigation measures to protect the lives of Kenyans.
For instance, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) deployed airplanes that would be used for the distribution of KCSE papers in areas where the roads have become impassible.
He also stated that various agencies launched emergency response teams that will be responding to life-threatening incidents during the rainy season.
"In working with our development partners, we are distributing food items such as maize, rice and cooking oil to families to reduce the suffering of affected families."
"The KDF is running an operation centre at the KDF headquarters. The Ministry of Interior is providing a security response."
His remarks were aligned with those of the Kenya Meteorological Department Director David Gikungu, who apologised for the miscommunication on the rains.
"I want to point out that we have El Nino in this short rainy season. We do apologise for the lack of communication or miscommunication because that was a big mistake.
"Let us prepare because of the phenomenon of El Nino that we are experiencing," the Kenya Met boss stated.
