The United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), European Union (EU), World Bank (WB) and United Nations (UN) have collaborated with the government and the county government in the Northeastern region to strengthen cooperation to address security and development challenges in the region and its borderlands to unlock its economic potential and ensure no one is left behind.
According to the five development partners, the borderlands counties in the north eastern are of high importance to Kenya because of their geopolitical importance, untapped resources and potential, and their key role in ensuring regional stability.
Among the key issues to be prioritized include peace and security where there have been integrated approaches to address extremism, inter-communal conflict, and community trust in public institutions.
Others include climate resilience and drought response programmes, addressing gender disparities in access to leadership, education, and economic opportunities by women through inclusion and empowerment and strengthening service delivery, investment and capacity at county levels.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Garissa county headquarters, the UN Resident Coordinator Stephen Jackson said that they were working to bring the two sides of the equation together; development investment and security for sustainable development because they are two sides of the same coin.
“This is a zone of enormous potential, whether one is thinking of livestock, or agriculture or value chains that come from both of those or renewable energy or mining, there is so much potential that can be realized in this region,” Jackson said.
“Between 2017 and this year, we have collectively invested Sh188 billion in the region which is a substantial amount of investment. What we want to do is to see how we can maximize this kind of support and how we work better together and realize synergy and opportunities,” he added.
The Northeastern region has for a long time faced security and development challenges occasioned by Al shabaab terrorists, blocking the economic growth and compounded inequality.
Northeastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno said that the government has put measures in place to keep the region safe by conducting intelligence-led operations and thwart criminal activities before they happen.
Otieno said that development programmes targeting the women and youth will empower them and keep the young people from violence extremism and radicalization to terror groups.
“Development and security goes hand in hand and that is why we have to work together with all the partners to make sure that we realize peace and security in this region so that we can be able to exploit the potentials of this region,” Otieno said.
“We are focusing on empowering the youth and women so that they can participate effectively in development activities,” he added.
Other envoys in the delegation were the EU Ambassador Henriette Geiger, British High Commissioner Neil Wigan, US Charged d’affaires Marc Dillard, World Food Programme (WFP) country director Lauren Landis, and cross border advisor Mohamoud Haji among others.
By Erick Kyalo
