We must continue to uphold Musa Juma’s Legacy

Today marks the death of Musa Juma two years ago. The sorrows that greeted the news of his death still hovers over the hearts of his legion of fans, including me. Kenya had lost one of its greatest and iconic benga and rhumba musicians.

We owe it all to the man who revolutionized our music, giving it the lyrical and instrumental touch similar to the conglose lingala. With his fusion of Franco’s guitar skills, Okatch’s attractive voice and Collella’s tempting tunes, he gave our music a new image. He proved it that vernacular music, in this case benga, could infact unite people, as every Kenyan, from whichever background enjoyed and continues to enjoy his music. People from all walks of life could attend his live shows. He entertained many people of different nationalities, from Botswana to U.S.A.

He inspired and continues to inspire many musicians. Bands like Bana Sungusia, BV Band, Madjona Rhumba, Banamela and Patron Musica have learnt a lot from him and his brand remains their musical benchmarks.

As we commemorate his death with his legendary spirit still hovering over us, his fans, the question remains if we continue to uphold what he stood for. This was a crooner who advocated for peace, love, reconciliation, integrity, discipline and environmental management; the thematic issues around which his music revolved. We can honour him by upholding these values. Just as he used his gift to promote a better society, we can also use our various abilities to create a better society.

He commanded respect amongst his peers and fans and led his band, Limpopo International, with exemplary discipline and adorable flamboyance. Perhaps present-day musicians have lessons to learn from this.

We must credit his younger sister, Millie Fedha, for managing to liven his legacy by maintaining Limpopo Band, though now metamorphosized to Super Limpopo International Band. Even with major band members like Damas, Azile, Salim, Vaska, Tumbas, Jose, Sande and John gone to other bands like Banamela, she has managed to bring up a young and talented band that continue to make the late Musa Juma (I am sure) and every of his fans proud. Watching them sing is nostalgic and acoustic. Keep up Millie, we support you.

I still believe there are more things we can do to honour our music icon. Think of a memorial event like a tournament, or a special awards ceremony to honour benga artists named after him. We love you MJ, your legacy lives on, we continue to immortalize you. 

The writer is a social commentator living in Nairobi

The water bill 2012 will trasform sector

         By Chrispory Juma

The constitution 2010 (section 4) has clear tenets that secure provision of water in sufficient quantities and safe qualities to all citizens in Kenya. Water as a a fundamental right, is the centre-piece of livelihoods of all humans. It provides for safe sanitation, sustainable agriculture and generally, economic development. The expedience of water can therefore not be under-estimated.

The constitution transformed almost entirely, the the management and provision of key services by key state institutions under the devolved systems. The greatest victory citizens made with the new order is ownership of government. Service provision is now people centred.

The water sector is one of the richest in the country, with water companies raking in billions of shillings from water connections to consumers. These companies double  as sanitation institutions, for example, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) and Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company (MOWASSCO). Claims of corruption, insufficient water supply, overbilling, poor saniitation and water disconnections have always shrouded the work of thes companies.

This aside, UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) states that 41% of kenyans do not live in safe water and sanitation environments and that only 11% of Kenyans in rural areas have access to water supply. It further indicates that 10% of hospital deaths result from water related diseases (WHO report, 2011).

Therefore, the reality of water scarcity and related problems is here with us. This, plus the constitutional gap, necessisated The Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) to embark on the revision/ammendment of the Water Act 2002 in 2011. This is the legal document that provides an oversight guidance on the management and provision of water services.

Two years down the line and two months to the general elections that will dawn the county governments, the bill is yet to be law. Parliament closed without the bill getting presented to the relevant parliamentary committee or the floor of the house. It is now clear that as we head to the new system, there are no structures that will guide water sector.

However, the water bill 2012 has really good provisions that would inprove service delivery in the water sector. I wish to point out a few of them, namely:

1.      It establishes autonomous bodies like the National Water Storage Authority to replace National Water Pipeline Board. This body will aim at improving our water bank. We are going to have Water Services Boards at every county to attract larger economies of scale in terms of projects funding from the donors and the government. This also means that water service delivery shall be edecentralized.

2.      There is provision for citizen participation in the water sector. Water Action Groups (WAGs) are established to represent citizens and act as a link between Water Companies and consumers. The WAGs will carry out civic education on sector institutions and water sector reforms.

3.      The county governments will be the ones that shall be having contracts with the water companies, not the central governments. This will improve transparency and effeciency in water service delivery. Bureacracies involved in central government water services will also be avoided.

It is therefore grossly imperative that stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector begin to brace themselves to push state actors to speed the enactment of the water bill 2012 into law. While the national water policy has been revised and obviously, it has began to be implemented, the fate of the bill hangs in the balance. For better water provision and improved livelihood aspects related to it, all of must be ready to push the govenrment to release the bill.

The writer is a an intern with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MOPHS), Homa Bay County and the convener of  Public Health Officer Interns Kenya (PHOIK).

 

 

 

 

Don’t ban bull fighting

By Chrispory Juma

A call by a section of citizens to the government to ban bull-fighting was not only misinformed but also malicious to this activity associated with the people of Western Kenya. Bull fighting events, common in Kakamega, usually happen many times a year and have been there for several years, forming a crucial aspect of the luyha culture, reinforcing clan loyalty and community pride. 

This aside, bull-fights happen everywhere, in any village. But what is unique about this is that the people of western Kenya have been able to make this a cultural event and derive happiness and entertainment out of this. In the end, it has acted as a source of tourist attraction and even campaign strategy for politicians in the region.

The owners of the bulls take pride in their bulls (the bulls themselves awarded, based on the winner). They ensure the bulls are well taken care of, even naming them after community legends that were/are ferocious, courageous and victorious. No one would want to harm such kind of an animal.

After all, this is unlike the bull fights in Mexico and Spain where the bulls fight matadors. Here, they face one another!

Perhaps it is because we have all lost the point over this as a nation, and some people are working behind the scenes to ban this precious cultural heritage. It is interesting that a group is even petitioning for this.

What we need to do is for the Tourism Ministry, Ministry of Livestock and other stakeholders like Kenya Society for the protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA) and the Bull Fighting Federation to come together so that everyone can appreciate this as a major tourist attraction in the western circuit and look at avenues of streamlining the activity.

Of course there are risks this activity poses. There have been cases of bulls goring or trampling on spectators, who sometimes are drunk and the concoctions given to the bulls to charge them and psychologically prepare them for the fight. I feel these are the areas we need to address. A call for banning this activity is way too ridiculous and exaggerated. 

The writer, (Chrispory Juma), is a PHO Intern with the MOPHS, Homa Bay District.

Standard's Editorial on Lake Victoria on point

       By Chrispory Juma
Historians say that Lake Victoria is 400,000 years old and over this period, it has dried up four times, the most recent being 17,000 years ago. A visit to the lakeside anytime now would tempt you to feel that the lake is most likely to dry up again in our generation when we have the manpower, technology and capital to thwart any attempt that would endanger the existence of a lake which is not only the pride of Africa but also a source of livelihoods to millions of people in the East African Community.

The Lake has become grossly infested with Water Hyacinth weeds, which have virtually turned the fresh water into a green zone. The water has turned green with other weeds also taking the opportunity to turn the once beautiful lake into a plantation. This is inspite of the government's awareness of the real dangers this weed poses to the lake. I also add my voice as a resident of Homa Bay and an investor who depends on the lake to question what the various governmental and non-governmental agencies are doing towards saving the lake. Why the silence. Is it possible that you have abandoned the dependants on the lake? Is it a question of lost hope? Is the silence justified? Can this silence be owed to squandery of money meant for conserving and managing the lake’s resources?

Can this problem be a pointer to the bigger picture of management of disasters in Nyanza where even donors are worried of usage of disaster prevention and management funds? Lots of money has been poured into the weed’s control with many interventions tried out.
There are two ways of looking into the weed, as a burden or as a resource. But all of them are geared towards one objective: to eradicate it. A number of governmental and non-governmental agencies have been created to deal with this menace. Is it true to say that we have given up on all these and therefore resorted to sitting back as the lake is eaten away? 

It is high time we went back to the drawing board to find a lasting solution to this menace because with it comes pollution, hampered transport system, eyesore scenery, reduced aquatic population, poor water supply and better breeding grounds for malaria-causing mosquitoes. As a resident of Homa Bay town, I will confirm to you that these effects have become obvious with biting water shortages, increased mosquito infestation and reduced economic activities on being the concerns of everyone within the town. Homa Bay is the focal point of all the beaches in Nyanza, It can no longer be accessed from other beaches.

The most affected sector of the economy is fishing, which contributes significantly to the National economy through employment creation, foreign exchange earnings, recreation and poverty reduction and food security support, contributing to about 1% of the country’s GDP. I earned us 12 billion Kenyan shillings in 2009 (2010 Economic Survey). As a fisherman, my boats are rotting as the people I employed remain jobless. 
The weed compounds the many challenges bedeviling the lake. It appears the second largest fresh water lake in the world is under attack. There is continued encroachment on the lake by farmers, discharge of sewage into the lake, silting by incoming river waters and illegal fishing methods. We must re-energies ourselves and reactivate our systems for the protection of Lake Victoria or else its drying up overtime will become a reality in our lifetime again. I call upon the residents around the lake to begin engaging the agencies concerned to find a way-forward over the weed.

The writer is a Public Health Officer Intern, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Homa Bay District.

The key issues in NTV’s Sisters of Death

The key issues in NTV’s Sisters of Death

            By Chrispory Juma

NTV’s Sister’s of Death’s highlight on how illicit brewers in Korogocho slums use ARVs and Fomalin to make liquors that find their way into the Kenyan market not only exposed how porous our laws and society have become but also put focus on policy and governance issues that touch on public health.

It brought to focus all stakeholders engaged in the control of HIV/AIDS and exposed gaps in using ART (Anti Retro-Viral Therapy) as a control model. It has made us, as health professionals, begin to think of what better ways of monitoring the effective administration of ARVs back in the homes where the people for whom they are designed have them. It is unfortunate that, as we fight the pilferage of illegal ARVs in the market, persons living with HIV/AIDs continue to misuse the little ones we have. One thing for sure, as exposed, is that it is not their wish.

A keen look at the investigative feature informs that Kenya’s major problems may not be diseases. But the three interlinked scourges: ignorance, unemployment and poverty. These challenges continue to make Kenyans put money above life.  To ordinary Kenyans, food comes first, drugs come next. Infact, a hungry stomach and drugs are never friends. Without discrimination, as the numbers would confirm, our mothers are the most disadvantaged and therefore resort to such illegal means, just to bring food to the table for us, their children.

This feature also ought to have awakened Public Health Officers, tasked with safeguarding the health of Kenyans and the laws appertaining to this responsibility. We were put to shame over how individuals have continued to abuse The Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act (Cap 254-Touching on the ARVs), Public Health Act (Cap 242-The dumpsites from where the bottles are picked, the safety standards of the liquor), Pharmacy, Poisons Act (Cap 244-On chemicals like formalin) and other laws relating to Public Health and Sanitation.

Slums continue to pose challenges to urban health in Kenya.             Policy makers should begin to think of how to ensure that Public Health laws are adhered to in the expanding informal settlements because as evidenced, quality, affordable and adequate housing for all Kenyans has become elusive for the government to provide. As we approach 2030, and with slums becoming increasingly difficult to do away with, the public health and sanitation concerns in these settlements continue to be wider and wider. And of interest here is the administration of laws pertaining to Public Health and sanitation.

Just as Public Health is a communal approach to wellness, addressing challenges facing it must also be inter-sectoral and collaborative of all stakeholders. My concerns here are the policy actors. The media has done its part and will continue to do so. What remains is what is done by others, moreso the public health administrators and animators in this issue. They say evil persists when good men sit and watch without doing anything. We can all act now to make Kenya a safer place to live in.

The writer is a Graduate Public Health Intern with the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Homa Bay County and a Health Rights Advocate (chrisjuma1@yahoo.com)