BY YVONNE IDAMANO
The state of confusion, or rather disarray, which has gripped the country since the beginning of the year, tells a tale of the snarl-up that has hit our nation under the current government. One scandal follows the other without a break.
As a country, we are currently faced with a myriad of challenges, mainly brought about by issues of mismanagement and corruption in the various sectors affected. The medical fraternity, particularly doctors and clinical officers, are in their third week of the strike. There is distribution of fake fertilizers to farmers across the country. Need I not add the recent road carnages witnessed weekly on our roads? What about the neglect of our education, which is an integral part of the future of our country?
The doctors’ strike is now in its fifth week. The medical fraternity has downed its tools over very significant issues that they have raised. They are requesting the recruitment of medical interns to the medical facilities that they argue are currently understaffed because the interns are the backlog in the medical facilities. They are also requesting payment of their salary arrears, which have been long overdue. These are legitimate concerns, but unfortunately, the government seems not to take the matter with the urgency it is needed. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and some county heads prefer to issue threats rather than encourage solutions to end the agonizing strike. We all know who bears the painful brunt: the citizens, especially those who rely on public hospitals for treatment.
Farmers countrywide are crying foul after being duped into buying bags of fertilizers filled with sand. Yes! Sand. As crazy as this is, it is a disaster in waiting for the country, as our food security may be in jeopardy if farmers miss planting on time because of some few powerful individuals who have put greed in front of the country’s welfare. Something must and should be done to avert a disaster in waiting. I do hope the Cabinet Secretary of Agriculture retracts his statements about the fake fertilizer incident being a hoax, as proof of the scandal resurfaces time and time again.
How safe are our roads? This is a question that I am sure rings all the time on everyone’s head, especially over the past weeks, whereby accident after accident has been the order of the day. Three school buses were recently engaged in road crashes. First, it was the Kenyatta University bus that led to the death of 11 students, then Moi University, where the students escaped death narrowly with only injuries, and the latest one being that of Chavakali Secondary School, where some students lost their lives. Is it the drivers, or are our roads just in a bad state? There is a need to understand why accidents keep happening day in and day out.
Did you know most schools closed a week earlier than usual? Why? Because they have no capitation to sustain the students longer in school. The new Competency Based Curriculum has been rocked by one turbulence after another because of poor planning. There are not enough teachers to cater to the needs of the students. Resources are a challenge to implementing this new curriculum, with chaos existing in every docket of the country.
I’d recommend that the head of state take matters into his own hands and take hold of the situation before it gets out of hand. The country needs salvation.
