Kirinyaga County Assembly member Kinyua Wangui has taken an initiative of keeping the youths from drugs and illicit beer taking by engaging them in football leagues. Kinyua was speaking on Sunday at Kamuiru primary school after awarding 9 football leagues after completing their sessions before engaging other teams in the country. Kinyua said that by the engagement, many youths have been kept away from drug usage since the places where the teams go to play are drug free zones. “I have taken an initiative of engaging the youths mostly men who have been lost in drugs mostly in Kagumo by making them busy by playing football” Kinyua said. The leagues have also been sponsored by National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) and the MCA to sensitize the impact brought by drug usage among the youths. Kinyua said that he will be looking for other sponsors willing to sponsor other sports so as to engage even ladies who he said have not been spared by indulging in alcohol taking. He said with the introduction of sports in Mutira Ward he said the youths through the groups will be able to get Uwezo and Youth fund so as to run projects when they are not in the fields. Football has seen students as young as 15 years exercise their talents where he said it is the only opportunity to give them equal opportunities. Ends...

AGRICULTURE CABINET SECRETARY TO CRACK WHIP ON QUACKS IN THE VETERINARY SECTOR.

AGRICULTURE CABINET SECRETARY TO CRACK WHIP ON QUACKS IN THE VETERINARY SECTOR. JANE MUGAMBI 28TH SEPT 2014. Agriculture cabinet secretary Felix Koskei has raised a red flag giving a stern warning on quacks masquerading as animal health practitioners who have invaded the sector putting millions of animals in the country at risk. In a speech read on his behalf by principal secretary livestock Prof Fred Sigor, animals in millions have been put at risk by the quacks. The cabinet secretary said that individuals with no training have taken toll, advantage especially in remote areas where animal health practitioners are few noting that farmers are incurring heavy losses due to wrong diagnoses and treatment. “We are losing animals at an alarming rate to quacks who have invaded the livestock sector, as a ministry we are registering all grandaunts’ to block those masquaranders” said Koskei. The minister instructed director of veterinary services to be vigilant and crack down all the quarks and eradicate the quarks from the sector. The minister told the veterinary director and chairman of the board of veterinary service to ensure all qualified animal health practitioner is registered by the government body to keep off masqueraders. The cabinet secretary also revealed that the ministry has started a program in line with vision 2030 where diseases free zones will be established and maintained as flagship projects pointing Ahiti Ndomba as one of the institutions. “We are going to have programmes in all veterinary institutions where it will focus on disease control where Ahiti Ndomba has been chosen to be offering the programme” Koskei added He said that the aim is to ensure there are no diseases in Kenya and guarantee food security in the country. Koskei said that the government plan to start exportation of animals to other countries saying that farmers will benefit from the program. Ends………………