As part of the ongoing interventions aimed at helping affected families to regain their lives, the government has promised fast compensation and resettlement to victims of the tragic landslide in Chesongoch, Elgeyo Marakwet County, that happened last week.
The pledge was made by Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Murkomen on Thursday when he was with the First Lady H.E. Rachel Ruto on a visit to the area affected by the disaster to offer condolences to the families and evaluate the response to the humanitarian crisis that is underway. We will work until we accomplish this task, informed CS Murkomen, “I want to assure the people of Elgeyo Marakwet that we won’t be leaving here until we finish this work.” stressing that the government was determined to rescue the victims.
Moreover, Murkomen informed that President William Ruto’s order to speed up the whole process would definitely make the compensation and resettlement procedure very brief. He indicated, “We will wrap up all the formalities and close the accounts, I assure you, within a month or two, that every victim will be duly compensated and resettled.”
The CS has also cautioned against the risk of fraudulent activities by people who may want to take advantage of such programs and at the same time, town enforcers will gauge the level of authenticity and precision in execution by ensuring fairness and accountability.
In addition to this, he assured that the government would be in close contact with the local leaders, community representatives, and those in charge to make sure that everything done during the process would be transparent.
He confirmed the statement, “There will be cooperation between us and the local authorities, as well as the elected leaders, to ensure that the victims are compensated and resettled in a way that is free and fair.” First Lady Rachel Ruto, while mourning with the families of the deceased, conveyed her deepest sympathies, and the loss, as an extremely painful blow, was the main feature of her speech. “The occurrence was tragic. Apart from today, the government will be keeping you in its thoughts and will be at your disposal in the days ahead,” she assured them.
The government, during the First Lady’s visit to the disaster area, also facilitated the delivery of a wide range of relief materials such as 600 bags of rice, 520 bags of beans, 8,000 iron sheets, 2,000 blankets, 1,000 mattresses, and other assorted items.
Besides the First Lady, the entourage was made up of Cabinet Secretaries Davis Chirchir and Geoffrey Ruku, Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Korir, Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, and other local leaders.
The landslide that impacted on Chesongoch and neighboring villages last week forced the evacuation of several households and the destruction of homes and farmland.
