Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has vowed to take stern action against staff who will be guilty of theft of public resources.

While affirming his administration will not fall for the trap of out of court settlement, Abddullahi said those suspected will be taken to court of law to face trial and subsequent jailing.

His remarks come after allegations that hospital equipment belonging to Giriftu Hospital was stolen and some of medical supplies unaccounted for.

The county boss said when grave issues like theft occur, elders throng at his office in defense of the culprits, curtailing justice's course.

"We don’t want theft of medicines at all, the clan elders better tell their boys to stop the vices because they will deal with the police and courts", said Abdullahi. 

He instructed the County Executive Committee member for Health Habiba Ali Maalim to undertake an audit of all hospitals to ascertain if all equipment supplied by the county government, the World Bank, Managed Equipment Services (MES), and non-governmental organizations is there and that medical superintendents should account for it.

Abdullahi said when he assumed office in his second tenure, Wajir General Hospital didn’t even have drip stands, and the nurses were using windows instead, despite procuring hundreds of them.

"We want to motivate our healthcare workers by paying their salary on time, at the latest on the 25th of every month, despite late disbursements of funds from the treasury", Ahmed said. 

He said in three weeks’ time his administration will do a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a three-story building that will house a new accident and emergency unit, intensive care unit, high dependency unit, three Theaters, and a new ward with 44 bed capacity to offset referrals to Nairobi.

The governor said he remains committed to the pledge to restore hope in the county’s health sector.

“I have today flagged off medical supplies that we purchased from KEMSA for use at our Wajir County referral hospital. Within the course of the week, we shall receive the remaining batch for our other 131 health facilities as part of our Sh94 million order for medical products,” he said.

Abdullahi said it is worth noting that the county has cleared all KEMSA's pending bill totalling Sh65 million. By Ismail Noor, The Standard 

Rowan Atkinson has said he feels “a little duped” by electric cars and urged motorists to keep using older petrol vehicles to help save the planet.

The actor, who played Blackadder and Mr Bean and is a self-confessed “car person”, claims new advances in electric battery design will be of “great environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn”.

In a 1,100-word essay for The Guardian, he explains how despite owning his first hybrid car 18 years ago and then a “pure electric” nine years ago, he now thinks “electric motoring doesn’t seem to be quite the environmental panacea it is claimed to be.”

Describing them as “a bit soulless” but “wonderful mechanisms”, Mr Atkinson, 68, concludes that “our honeymoon with electric cars is coming to an end”.

The actor, who studied an electrical and electronic engineering degree, points out that although electric cars have zero emissions when on the road, their actual manufacture, according to research by Volvo, suggests greenhouse gas emissions during production are 70 per cent higher than petrol vehicles, in part due to the lithium-ion batteries which require “rare earth metals and huge amounts of energy” to create. 

He adds that CO2 emissions could be dramatically reduced if our current fleet of cars bought new were kept by the original owner for five years, rather than sold after an average of just three years.

He writes for the paper that “we’d be enjoying the same mobility, just driving slightly older cars” explaining how a “wider range of options need to be explored”, including hydrogen and synthetic fuels.

He adds: “In terms of manufacture, these cars have paid their environmental dues and, although it is sensible to reduce our reliance on them, it would seem right to look carefully at ways of retaining them while lowering their polluting effect.”

He concludes: “Friends with an environmental conscience often ask me, as a car person, whether they should buy an electric car. I tend to say that if their car is an old diesel and they do a lot of city centre motoring, they should consider a change. But otherwise, hold fire for now. 

“Electric propulsion will be of real, global environmental benefit one day, but that day has yet to dawn.” By Steve Bird, The Telegraph

KIGALI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The remains of 1,240 victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi were buried on Saturday at the Mibirizi genocide memorial in western Rwanda.

The remains were recently discovered on church-owned land in Rusizi district during terrace cultivation.

During the burial ceremony, Jean-Damascene Bizimana, minister of national unity and civic engagement, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, assuring them that the government stands in solidarity with them during this difficult time.

He also condemned the people who concealed information about the whereabouts of victims' remains, even after several decades have passed since the genocide.

"It is deeply troubling that individuals are still withholding information about the locations of mass graves containing the remains of the victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi," Bizimana said.

Bizimana also commended the remarkable progress made in fostering unity among Rwandans, which has now reached an impressive rate of 94.3 percent.

The achievement highlights the ongoing efforts to heal and reconcile the nation after the tragic events of the 1994 genocide.

The burial ceremony was attended by government officials and families of the victims.

Remains of the victims are still being discovered in many parts of Rwanda, 29 years after the genocide. Rwandans on April 7 started the commemoration activities to mark the 29th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide under the theme "Remember-Unite-Renew." The activities will continue until July 4 to mark the 100-day calamity, during which over one million people, mainly Tutsi and moderate Hutus were killed. - Xinhua