ELDORET, Kenya (PAMACC News) - Peter Kinywa 47, was born and raised in Uasin Gishu County more than a decade ago by his late grandparents.
For the period he has been a life, Kinywa confessed that he has never seen such raging floods like the one that swept what he has known as his home for 20 years leaving him homeless man.
Kinywa residents in Kamukunji estate, which is located in the outskirts of Eldoret town, one among the many centers that was recently hit badly by the raging floods that caused havoc to not only the residents of Eldoret but also to residents of the neigbouring counties of Elgeyo- Marakwet and Baringo.
Kinywa has now been left a homeless man venting over is family of seven children.
He said they have been forced to seek accommodation from friends and relatives even as fears loom over a disease outbreak.
According to Kinywa, most dams and rivers have been filled to capacity and crops have been washed away.
“ We do not have any food and roof over our head as this rain continue to rain havoc.” He said.
The father of seven accused the county government of Uasin Gishu for doing little in preparation such extreme weather condition.
“ The metrological departments had warned that the region was going to experience extreme weather pattern such as flooding but the county government did not move with speed to clear drainages.”
He said with disappointment.
The heavy rains continue to wreak havoc in the country causing death of over hundred people and displacing more than 10,000 others.
In the neighbouring counties of Baringo and Elgeyo – Marakwet the situation is no different. Kenya Red Cross reported that two school had been shut down with over 500 houses destroyed.
The Iten-Kabarnet which connect the two counties was also cut off by landslides following heavy rains in parts of the North Rift region.
“ Heavy rocks and mud rolled down the escarpments in Kerio Valley and blocked the road at Kamok near Kolol center thus paralyzing transport along the route that links Elgeyo Marakwet with Baringo counties.” Said Amos Ole Mpaka, a resident of Baringo county.
Ole Mpaka noted that a significant number of motorists ferrying people and goods between the two counties remained stranded at the areas that were cut off with no movement on both sides.
More than 1,500 families in areas prone to mudslides in Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu and Nandi Counties have been asked to move to safer areas with the rains expected to increase.
Public health officials ordered closure of the Kapseret and Arbuch primary schools in Uasin Gishu after toilets were submerged and destroyed by floods.
Headteacher at Kapseret primary in Uasin Gishu County Daniel Shongoi is appealed for assistance to construct new toilets at the school.
“We cannot put the lives of the children at risk and so we have decided to close the schools indefinitely so that repairs are done”, said Shongoi.
Floods have displaced several families in Eldoret where hundreds of houses were partly submerged by water.
Most affected are residents of Kidiwa, Kamkunji and Eeistleigh estates where more than 500 houses were damaged by water.
Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Abdi Hassan said they were monitoring the situation in the region where rains have been on the increase.
“We have our disaster management teams in place and we are asking those in risky areas to take extra precaution and move once they detect increasing volumes of water”, said Hassan.
Five dams in Uasin Gishu have also been classified as dangerous and engineers have been deployed to carry out repairs in order to avert disasters like the one in Solai two weeks ago.
County executive for environment Mary Njogu says the region has 300 dams and already they have been inspected for safety.
She says 18 of the dams put up during colonial times have undergone major repairs by the county to ensure they are safe because they are being used to store huge volumes of water.
According to Njogu, the extreme weather condition being witnessed recently in Eldoret and the neigbouring counties of the North Rift has never been witnessed before.
“ We as county we are being re –awaken that the hazard of climate change is here with us.” She said.
The CEC said they will push for legislation that shall ensure that proper policies and sufficient resources is set aside to mitigate climate change.
Even as the county government seek to find redress on the matter, trader in Eldoret are counting losses following a heavy downpour that has caused extensive damage to their buildings and properties.
The downpour increased rapidly destroying property, sweeping away parked vehicles and breaking electricity posts.
Business owners tried to salvaged valuables in the wake of what many called some of the worst floods to hit the region.
“The situation is pathetic. I have never seen it this bad. The county government should do something because at end of the day the landlord will come knocking our doors asking for rent,” said Anne Kirui, 55, a businesswoman.
Mrs Kirui and her grandson were stuck for three hours in her cosmetics shop waiting for help from the fire brigade that never came.
“Imagine I had to put my grandson on my shoulder for three hours as I called the fire department to come, but they never picked my calls. I have lost almost half a million in the floods,” she added
Uasin Gishu District Hospital was also not spared either. The floods destroyed the drug store, according to Wilson Kemei, the chief officer for Health.
“The most affected place is the drug store. Patients had to wait for long hours to be served by medics who were removing water from the building,” said Mr. Kemei.
Residents of the town blamed the county government, saying it was not maintaining drainage systems near business premises and roads.
“We are using generator pumps to drain off water from our premises. If only the county government could have done their work in terms of drainage systems we couldn’t be wasting our resources now,” said one official of a Khetia supermarket who could not ascertain his losses in the floods.
Uasin Gishu Land and Planning minister Eng. Nelson Maritim said the county government was working on drainage systems to avoid such floods in future.
“We need to have waterways because the drainage is not proper. Some people are living on land where drainage systems are supposed to be and we will be giving them notice to vacate so that we can improve the drainages,” said Maritim
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (PAMACC News) - L’Action Développement et Intégration Régionale (ADIR) a tenu, ce mardi 7 août, à Bujumbura, sa sixième réunion du Groupe National de Référence du PACT EAC2 (Promoting Agriculture, Climate and Trade Linkages in the East African Community-Phase 2).
« Faire un plaidoyer une politique industrielle qui s’adapte aux changements climatiques, qui bénéficie du commerce, et qui assure la sécurité alimentaire, tel était le but de cette assise », a déclaré, Godefroid Manirankunda, représentant légal de l’ADIR, lors du lancement des travaux.Selon lui, l’industrialisation est une nécessité pour mettre en place une économie indépendante qui ne se conçoit que dans un cadre planifié. « L’agro-industrie ne peut dans ce contexte qu’être un secteur promoteur à condition que les filières mises en place apportent une réelle valeur ajoutée aux produits de base », a-t-il précisé.
Dans une étude publiée dans le cadre du projet ‘’ Promotion des liens entre l’Agriculture, le climat et le commerce dans la Communauté est-africaine-Phase 2’’, René Nsabimana, expert, a évoqué cinq priorités dont le Burundi doit prendre en compte dans l’élaboration de sa politique nationale d’industrialisation.
Il s’agit, selon lui, de la gestion durable des ressources en eau et des sols, l’adaptation climatique dans l’agro-industrie et les infrastructures, le respect des normes techniques pour les produits agro-industriels, la diversification des exportations ainsi que la conformité aux règles d’origines.
Procédant à l’ouverture officielle de cette réunion, Aimable Nkunzumwami, assistant du ministre de l’industrie, du commerce et du tourisme a signalé, pour sa part, que le gouvernement du Burundi a entamé la procédure d’élaboration de sa Politique Nationale d’Industrialisation.
« Et cette dernière, dans ses priorités, met en avant le développement de l’agro-industrie », a-t-il ajouté, notant que ‘’ce n’est pas un rêve’’. Car, a-t-il justifié, ‘’ le Burundi a des potentialités en matière d’agriculture diversifiée qui peut concourir à la valeur ajoutée’’.
Et de déplorer néanmoins que cette agriculture reste handicapée par une série de contraintes relevant des disponibilités des facteurs, du progrès technique, des politiques financières et des mécanismes d’incitation économique. Selon lui, ces handicaps doivent être levés pour atteindre l’objectif de l’agro-industrie et assurer la sécurité alimentaire.
Pour M. Nkunzumwami, les défis majeurs du secteur agro-alimentaire ont essentiellement trait aux formes centralisées de gestion du secteur, aux politiques de l’offre et de la pénétration du marché mondial, ainsi qu’au choix technique.
Il a ainsi annoncé que la réussite d’une industrialisation durable nécessite la mise en place d’une politique particulièrement intéressante à l’égard de tous les agents de l’extérieur, et exige que l’on accepte les règles de la spécialisation internationale articulée sur les chaînes de valeur.
Au cours de cette réunion, les participants ont également échangé sur la prochaine Stratégie de Développement du Secteur Privé (SDSP) de la Communauté est-africaine (CAE) (2018-2022).
Ainsi, via une déclaration, ils ont exhorté le Secrétariat de la CAE et les Etats membres à envisager des synergies entre le changement, le commerce, la sécurité alimentaire et l’agro-industrie lors de l’élaboration de la nouvelle SDSP.
Ils leur ont demandé en outre d’impliquer tous les acteurs nationaux et régionaux concernés de manière inclusive, y compris ceux impliqués dans le projet PACT EAC2
PAMACC Announcement: Climate Home News is seeking a hungry, tenacious reporter to join our team in London.
Working from our office in Covent Garden, you will bolster CHN’s coverage of the global politics and impacts of climate change. This is a full-time role, reporting to the editor-in-chief.
Climate Home News is an award-winning specialist news site with a mission to bring important climate stories to as large an audience as possible. We are fiercely independent and seek to hold powerful actors to account, while also tracking the politics and actions that will decide the future of our climate. Our coverage of UN climate negotiations is unrivalled.
As a small news website, we prize original reporting above all, constantly looking to break news and cover stories others miss. We are seeking a versatile journalist with the ability to write news, features and analysis and source scoops.
As well as keeping our small newsroom ticking with regular, punchy news articles, you will be expected to help break more detailed stories of political intrigue – like our recent exposé of the story behind the removal of a leading Fijian diplomat – or corporate activity – like the documents we sourced on BP’s plan to drill for oil in Australia.
You should be able to demonstrate a flair for enterprise reporting and building investigations into stories. Data skills and experience using FOI are also advantageous.
Other desirable attributes:
- Knowledge of climate change, international climate politics and diplomacy
- Strong contacts in government, industry or finance in the climate space
- Experience reporting at UN climate conferences
- Languages other than English
- Ability to think creatively about story delivery, visualisation and use of social media to reach our audience
We specialise in reporting climate diplomacy, particularly the UN process. But we do much more than that. Our outlook is internationalist and the successful reporter will demonstrate an ability to source stories from around the world, for a global audience. The job will involve travel to report from climate summits and the frontlines of climate change.
Salary: DOE
All applications are to be completed and submitted by 5pm GMT, Monday, August 6, 2018.
All candidates interested in applying should send a resume, clips and cover letter as one document to CHN’s editor Karl Mathiesen (عنوان البريد الإلكتروني هذا محمي من روبوتات السبام. يجب عليك تفعيل الجافاسكربت لرؤيته.). You cover letter should be no longer than two pages. All candidates must have the right to work and live in the UK. You should be located, or prepared to relocate to London, although we are prepared to consider special cases.
Climate Home News is owned and operated by Climate Change News Ltd. We are an equal employment opportunity employer, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, national origin or citizenship.
KIKUYU, Kenya (PAMACC News) - When David Ngugi rallied his family 18 years ago to plant trees at his seven acre farm in Ondiri village, central Kenya, his peers jeered him for wasting good farming land. Lately, they have joined him – or have been forced to.
Ondiri is about 20 kilometers away from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and is host to the country’s deepest swamp and water catchment which feeds the city’s ever growing population with clean water.
But encroachment, pollution and deforestation over the years is pushing the bog which sits on the edges of Kikuyu town, northwest of the capital,into extinction. It is a threat that has united the Ondiri community like Ngugi, to restore it to its original sheen.
“We are planting trees to save Ondiri swamp and protecting it from illegal water extraction,” says Ngugi, adding that the local municipality is also building a water and sewerage system to prevent effluent from seeping into it.
It is understandable for Ondiri swamp to evoke such emotions. According to Naftali Mungai, an independent environmentalist who has been working with the Ondiri community over the years, the swamp serves as an underground source of Kikuyu springs.
Kikuyu springs, says Mungai, supplies about two per cent of water consumed in the city, adding that out of every 100 people in Nairobi, two drink water from Kikuyu springs.
“It is consumed in rich estates flanking the city,” he said in an interview. “It is even said that part of State House (where Kenya’s President resides) water comes from Kikuyu springs.”
But the importance of Ondiri swamp is not only appreciated by people living in the city. Farmers in Ondiri village have been irrigating their land with water from three rivers, Kabuthi, Nyongara, Rungiri, which flow from it.
Lately however, they are not sure whether this will be possible in the years ahead, as the country continues to struggle with climate related food insecurity and water stress. It sends Ngugi into a reflective mood.
When he was a student at neigbouring Alliance High School some 58 years ago, the swamp was always flooded during dry and wet seasons. These days, he said, it is becoming a wasteland sitting on a 30 acre piece of land.
Tourists used to visit the site attracted by the lush marine vegetation like water lilies, water reeds, and wildlife like waterbucks, African sacred ibis, grey crowned cranes, herons, and hundreds of frog species.
“We could not walk through the center of Ondiri Swamp because it was always flooded. But today people cross it by foot because there is dry land,” he says, adding that as a student they used to takepractical marine biology lessons there.
The pain with which Ngugi recounts the damage that has been done to his heritage oftentimes dissolves into a smile when he talks about the efforts the community is putting in place to conserve the wetland.
Just like this phone call he receives during the interview, where a member of the community is consulting him about the kind of tree species he should plant on his farm flanking the swamp.
For about 10 minutes, he advises the farmer to plant tree species like bamboo, cedar, croton, Meru oak, and prunus Africana, while inviting him to his farm later for further pearls of wisdom.
“The seedlings for these are available at my farm. We are encouraging farmers to plant indigenous trees because they add a beautiful spark to the riparian area,” says Ngugi, who is also the chairman, Ondiri, Nyongara Kabuthi and Rungiri (ONKARU) water resources users association, a CBO there.
Further north from Ngugi’s village, institutions like the Muguga Ecosystem Research Community Association (MERCFA) are troubled by the degradation pressuring Ondiri, also the second deepest swamp in Africa.
They would like to help conserve it, and for a good reason.
According to MERCFA chairman, Simon Kamunde, Ondiri swamp is part of a water catchment that has foundations all the way from the rift valley and has an underground tunnel connecting it to Lake Naivasha.
It is the source of Nairobi river and stretches its reach through the Athi and Tana river basins, forming the riparian system which drains into the Indian ocean.
In April this year, MERCFA, working with the Ondiri community, helped plant 100 tree seedlings.
MERCFA has also helped the community to zone the water catchment into the northern, middle and southern portions, as a way of preparing the wetland for gazettement, or recognition as an important national resource.
“This is to make the community feel they own the ecosystem and also feel they are benefitting from it while getting support from the national government,” says Kamunde.
Prospects of gazettement makes farmers like Ngugi more hopeful that the government may finally begin allocating funds to support the restoration of Ondiri swamp into its previous glory.
According to him, coordinating activities to conserve the wetland has not been easy because of lack of finances, adding that ONKARU officials work as volunteers.
“Financing and sustainability of ONKARU is a major constraint. We are not as effective as we would like to be. Sometimes I use my resources and my pickup truck to distribute seedlings for planting. I do not charge, thanks to God I am able to do that,” says Ngugi.
Thanking God is not be enough to save the endangered wetland. Building proper infrastructure to prevent pollution of the wetland might be, according to Janet Njoroge, a director with the Kikuyu Water Company.
Representing CBOs and water users at the company, she is furious about sneaks who continue to extract water and fodder from the dying swamp. It is easy to see why.
Along the swamp’s edges flanking Kikuyu town, lines of greenhouses have sprung up. At the town’s open air market, traders sell fodder harvested from the swamp and mixed with local napier grass.
From one of the town’s residential areas, raw sewer empties into the swamp. Lately, families have been sinking boreholes at their homesteads to meet the ever declining water supply.
However, says Njoroge, the Kiambu Water and Sewerage Company has been set up to regulate waste disposal within residential areas and supply water with the aim of saving wetlands around Nairobi.
“If we all went home because we feel frustrated for not being supported as we have been promised, no one will care for our wetlands and then everything will collapse,” she says.
Ends
BUJUMBURA, Burundi (PAMACC News) - « L’arbre est le centre de la vie, indispensable pour la vie humaine ». Là, c’est la phrase maîtresse de Jadot Nkurunziza, un jeune burundais, engagé dans la protection de l’environnement.
Il n’a que 24 ans. Et cet attachement à l’arbre lui a valu le surnom de ‘’Giti’’, signifiant ‘’ arbre’’ en Kirundi langue nationale.
Dans cette aventure salutaire pour notre planète, il y a entraîné des milliers d’autres jeunes burundais. Il est à la tête de plus de 6000 jeunes recrutés des quatre coins du pays.
A son actif, plus 50 millions d’arbres déjà plantés dans les 17 provinces sur les 18 que compte le Burundi, donc mis à part Cankuzo, située à l’Est, à plus de 200 km de Bujumbura.
Jadot vient d’initier un projet de planter des fleurs sur les boulevards, les avenues, devant des maisons, …, des centres urbains dont Bujumbura, la capitale burundaise. « Et ce pour les rendre plus attractifs, embellis », glisse-t-il, avec un sourire aux coins de ses lèvres.
L’amour de l’arbre date de longtemps chez ce jeune et est comme un héritage. « C’est à 5 ans que je me suis senti pour la première fois très attaché à l’arbre. J’étais en 2ème année de l’Ecole Primaire. J’étais en grandes vacances chez mon grand-père » raconte-t-il.
Le jeune Nkurunziza apprend qu’il a été étonné de voir l’attachement de son grand-père à l’arbre : « Il passait presque toute la journée à planter des arbres, à entretenir des pépinières. Toute sa propriété s’était transformée presque dans une petite forêt.»
Au bas âge, Jadot l’accompagnait et lui embêtait avec des questions sur l’importance de l’arbre, son utilité : « Il m’expliquait que c’est à base des arbres qu’on fabrique les bancs-pupitres, les chaises, les portes, qu’on a de l’air sain, … Donc, que l’arbre est la source de vie ».
Dès lors, son grand-père est devenu son inspiration, affirme-t-il, sourire aux lèvres. A son retour à Bujumbura, chez son père, Jadot Nkurunziza commence à planter des arbres fruitiers dans l’enclos de son père, au bord de quelques avenues de Nyakabiga, son quartier d’enfance, commune Mukaza au centre de Bujumbura.
C’est à 10 ans, que ce cadet d’une fratrie de cinq enfants s’est joint à d’autres jeunes, certains plus âgés que lui, pour fonder une association dénommée ‘’ Association pour la préservation de l’environnement-ça nous concerne tous’’.
Très vite, grâce à son charisme, à son esprit d’organisation, teint noir, taille élancée, Jadot prend le leadership. « Multiplier, planter et distribuer les nouveaux plants gratuitement », tel est son but ultime. « Un pari en cours d’être gagné », se réjouit M. Nkurunziza, faisant état de 57.263.000 arbres déjà planté, comprenant ici des arbres forestiers, fruitiers, ceux qui cohabitent avec les autres cultures.
« Pour avoir des plants, nous organisons des journées de collecte des graines dans les forêts, d’aménagement et d’installation des pépinières », décrit-t-il, notant que par après, des équipes sont formées pour l’entretien, l’irrigation des pépinières, etc.
Bref, le gros du travail est fait gratuitement et dans les grandes vacances de juillet à sept de chaque année, la cotisation d’un membre étant fixée 0.7 dollars.
Et de dévoiler son rêve : « Nous rêvons que dans quinze ans, le Burundi soit vert.» Pour lui, cela signifie qu’on va planter des arbres, des fleurs dans tout espace non occupé par une maison, des routes, et d’autres infrastructures.
Et pour y arriver, Jadot Nkurunziza a besoin de mobiliser plus de 28 mille dollars par an, une meilleure compréhension publique.
« Tout le monde devait comprendre qu’en plantant un arbre, il contribue au développement du pays, de la planète », lance-t-il, signalant qu’actuellement, ils ont comme défis : le manque du matériel, de moyens de transport des plants d’une province à une autre, etc.
Pour être plus efficace, Jadot Nkurunziza fait ses études universitaires à St Lawrence University en Ouganda, option : Sciences environnementales et changement climatique.
Ses actions en faveur de la protection de l’environnement, lui ont permis d’être décoré. Cas du prix accordé par la Francophonie en 2014 : Prix des jeunes talents du Burundi ; le prix accordé par le Président Nkurunziza lors de la journée International du travail et des travailleurs en 2010, celui octroyé par le Partenariat des forêts du Bassin du Congo en 2015 au Cameroun.
Son engagement, sa détermination dans la protection de l’environnement a permis également à cet orphelin de père à bénéficier des formations en la matière en Chine, Maroc, Arabie Saoudite, Tanzanie, Côté d’Ivoire, etc.
Une clé aussi pour participer dans les grandes rencontres environnementales comme ce fut le cas lors de la COP22 tenue du 07 au 18 novembre 2017, à Marrakech au Maroc.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (PAMACC News) - The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Chad are firming up the Action Plan for the Elaboration of the Economic Diversification Strategy of the country which they’ve agreed to hinge on the development of agribusiness; the expansion of the livestock sector with a focus on leather and meat production; and the smooth entry of the country into the knowledge economy.
These were identified as anchor points for the country’s economic diversification strategy during an advisory mission to N’Djamena from 15 to 22 July 2018 by a team of ECA experts that held productive working sessions with the country’s Technical Committee on Economic Diversification under the auspices of the Minister of Economy and Development Planning – Mr. Issa Doubragne. The July mission to Chad comes after a successful scoping mission 4 months ago and tallies squarely with the recommendations of the Douala Consensus of September 2017 that calls on governments and industry captains in Central Africa to swing into the rapid diversification and industrialization of their economies.
The working teams identified renewable energy, especially solar; increasing access to Chad’s rich acquirers to expand irrigation; deepening education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and offering more access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as some key enablers of the Strategy.
They concurred that to effectively tease out and implement the pillars of the economic diversification strategies outlined above, efforts should be deployed to create special economic zones, industrial parks and growth clusters along transport corridors.
The working groups evoked the need to establish these factors within a solid framework in which the pursuit of long-term macroeconomic objectives would be articulated.
A consensus was also reached on the need for Chad to devise robust macroeconomic models, develop value-chain and product space analysis as well as economic growth diagnostic studies. These, they concurred, would support project definition, prioritization and investment-targeting, as well as better inform negotiations with international financial institutions.
The ECA team used the mission to underline the need for Chad to approach economic diversification and industrialization in line with the opportunities opened up by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Hence, the need to advance with market integration in Central Africa was recognized as critical to making the country a competitive investment destination. This in itself, would enable Chad to make the most of the trade-induced industrialization catalysts offered by the AfCFTA.
The Chadian and ECA parties also agreed that in its pursuit of economic diversification and industrialization, Chad needs to strengthen policy coherence and thread institutional cohesiveness.
Work in the months ahead is expected to fructify the Action Plan for the Elaboration of the Economic Diversification Strategy into a concrete structural transformation policy instrument for Chad.
