Finally El Nino!

By Felix Ogweny

When the media started reporting about this type of rain being a blessing and a curse, most people thought it was propaganda and for sure we had started blaming the government for misplaced priority as large budgetary allocation was done for the meteorological department.

The long rains are finally here with us and going by the look of things, they could be here for a long time. 

Isinya is characterized by black cotton type of soil. Meaning, it is the worst in terms of drainage because with little down pour, there is complete surface run off and with slight sunrise all the water vaporizes and so it goes back to its ‘dry’ nature. The vegetation around this town is made of short (leaf-less) acacia trees, a typical representation of a dry area. The only river (Isinya River), is seasonal and so residences of this town usually have shortage of water more so during dry spells.

Onset of this rain has seen the river flow and the vegetation get green once again showing signs of rejuvenated life. Soon there will be abundance of green leafy vegetables in the local markets around this town and water shortage will be a thing of the past (temporarily). This will in turn boost agribusiness around this place and it’s environs.

Some of the negative effects that the community will have to put up with are for instance the poorly managed roads that are now impassable; especially in the interior part of the area, as well as poor sewerage systems. Power outages are commonplace in this vicinity, during the rainy season. For electricity-dependent businesses this is the time to count loses as they trickle. All construction works that had not been completed will have to wait a little bit longer because when it rains, it becomes practically impossible for the construction to continue due to poor drainage.

If El Nino is anything to go by, this small town will travel along way in its mixed misery and blessings for as long as the heavy down pour continues.