By Peter Ochieng
Majority of Kenyans believe Cabinet Secretary (CS) for agriculture Franklin Mithika Linturi is solely to blame for the fake fertiliser scandal.
Results of an opinion poll conducted by research firm, TIFA indicate that 53% of those polled believe that no one else apart from the CS should be held culpable for the scandal, which rocked the country right in the middle of the long rains planting season.
Farmers enrolled in the fertiliser subsidy program bought dozens of kilograms of the substandard farm input, from the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) stores across the country.
17% of those conducted in the research said they are not sure who is mostly to blame, while 6% of the respondents blamed KEL Chemicals, one of the fertiliser manufacturing firms implicated in the scandal.
More alarmingly, 55% of Kenyans hold the opinion that the fertiliser subsidy program under President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza regime is not working.
“Such negative perceptions are highest in Coast and South Rift, and lowest in Central Rift and Northern, though with little agricultural activity found in the latter region,” TIFA stated.
Under the program, a 50kg bag of fertiliser is going for Sh2,500 down from over Sh6,000 during retired president Uhuru Kenyatta’s time in office.
TIFA interviewed 2,912 respondents across the country, through telephonic interviews conducted mainly in Kiswahili between April 27 and April 29.
Respondents ranked CS Linturi as the worst-performing, scoring a grade E.
The highest-rated ministers are Kithure Kindiki of Interior (grade B), Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi (C+), Sports CS Ababu Namwamba (C+), Eliud Owalo of ICT (C) and Defence Ministry’s Aden Duale (C).
Those with the lowest ratings are Energy CS Davis Chirchir (D-), Florence Bore of Labour (D-), Trade CS Rebecca Miano (D-), Zacharia Njeru of the Water Ministry (D-) and then Linturi.
Release of the opinion poll results coincided with action in the National Assembly, where Bumula MP Jack Wamboka was moving a motion to impeach CS Linturi.
The first term legislature wants the former Meru Senator out of Kilimo House, for ‘having a hand’ in the fake fertiliser scam.
