The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) will now be running the Kenya Meat Commission after it was transferred from the State Department of Livestock to the Ministry of Defence.
The move by the Head of State has left Kenyans online wondering loudly how on earth the military got to do with Kenya Meat Commission that ideally should be under the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture Peter Munya has written to the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Livestock directing him to ensure that there is a “seamless transfer of Kenya Meat Commission to the Ministry of Defence.”
“Ensure that you coordinate the entire exercise with the National Treasury and transfer the associated budgets at the next scheduled supplementary budget. You are required to submit a fortnight report to my office on the progress made,” said Munya.
The leaking of the memo from Peter Munya is what brought the matter to the surface. Most Kenyans were not aware that the Commission had been moved to the Ministry of Defence.
The government-owned meat processor is operating below capacity and is grappling with an unreliable supply of raw materials and an aging plant, which has slowed down its operations.
The Athi River plant slaughters 200 cattle per week, despite it having the capacity to process the same number of animals per day.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s critics have accused him of using the military to run operations in institutions that were not meant to be under the military. He has been accused of making changes in some State operations without following the law.
President Uhuru Kenyatta placed Nairobi County under the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) that is run by General Mohammed Badi. The appointed of Badi and NMS rendered Governor Mike Sonko with no responsibilities after he signed to transfer almost all his functions to NMS.