Focus on two agendas, not four, MP tells Uhuru

Kandara MP Alice Wahome wants the government to give priority to Universal Health Care and food security and ignore the rest of the Big Four agenda.

“That way we will ensure that no Kenyan dies of hunger in future. If you ask most Kenyans they will tell you their problem is either health-related or food. It is a security issue. No one should lack food," Wahome told a local TV station Tuesday.

The MP said the Jubilee government should set targets that can be achieved in the three years left of this term. The remaining agendas can be implemented by successive governments, she said in the TV interview.

Wahome said it would be an uphill task for the government to achieve food security, Universal Health Care, industrialisation and affordable housing in a short period with limited resources. 

The government has denied there have been hunger-related deaths in some parts of the country contrary to what the media have established. Administrators also say that the prolonged drought has cost lives.

Wahome said the failure to address sticky issues in the health sector has resulted in chaos.  The sector is plagued by frequent work boycotts as workers demand better pay and better working conditions.

The most recent strike was called by the Kenya National Union of Nurses in February. Health services were paralysed in most counties.  

In his State of the Nation address last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta reiterated his commitment to ensuring that the Big Four agenda is achieved.

Uhuru said the piloting of the Universal Health Coverage in four counties has improved access to services by 39 per cent. He also said about 6,000 acres will be put under irrigation to enhance food security.

When the President launched the Big Four agenda in January last year, the government said it intends to create 1.3 million manufacturing jobs and increase the share of the manufacturing sector from nine to 15 per cent of the gross domestic product by 2022.

The Jubilee government also said it wants to achieve 100 per cent Universal Health Coverage as well as expand food production and supply.

The government plans to build 500,000 affordable houses in all major towns which will create 350,000 jobs.