Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi has said that politics of tokenism and patronage is the biggest challenge facing North Eastern development.
According to the Governor, if all leaders get united and speak with one voice then they will be taken with a lot of seriousness and their issues prioritized and addressed.
Speaking in Garissa during a round table on Resilience Building for ASAL engagement strategy, Abdullahi said that the powers that be had devised a divide-and-rule strategy among the leaders.
"With 100 MPs you can actually stall everything in Kenya. But we can't do that because of tokenism and patronage. Everyone is called aside and promised some small projects in his or her constituency. And the same is even worse with us governors. This is the challenge that we have in this region,” said Abdullahi.
He added:
"Going forward, we must speak with one voice and demand for our place and our share and stop small, small squabbles and misunderstandings."
Abdullahi further took issue with special development which he said had led to stretching of the available resources.
“If you ask me today what is the intervention number one that we need for resilience in our counties, it is to stop new settlements, to stop new villages because we are creating new villages at a faster pace than we can cope, spoiling our range land and causing unnecessary conflicts,” he said.
Abdullahi who is also the Council of Governors vice chair further said that the reason water tracking won't stop was because for every borehole that is drilled, new settlements are started.
He said that as governors, they don’t have the enforcement ability to stop new settlements in their respective counties. He said the issue was political.
Garissa governor Nathif Jama on his part said that what was needed was a deliberate attempt by the national government to push investors to the region to explore opportunities that he said remained untapped.
Jama said that the region if given the opportunity and support could be the next grain basket of the country saying that the fact the region has plenty of land supports his point.
“It is a matter of working together and an affirmative sincere approach to working together as partners in this business. The private sector, development partners and county governments. if we all put together our resources I am sure this region can make wonders,” he said.
The governor gave the example of local farmers who have ventured into growing sunflower oil and other exotic products saying that such are the areas that require investors to partner with counties to actualize the dream.
Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif on his part said capacity building and knowledge sharing are at the core of their strategy.
He said that by empowering local communities, government officials, and stakeholders with the right skills and knowledge, they will be paving the way for effective resilience strategies.
“What resonated with me the most was our shared commitment to promoting sustainable livelihoods. We're looking at avenues like eco-tourism, beekeeping, TVET production, and small-scale enterprises to reduce our dependence on climate-sensitive sectors,” he said.
The round table meeting brought together National Government officials led by CS Ministry of EAC, ASALs & Regional Development Rebecca Miano, UNICEF Kenya by County Coordinator Steven Jackson and other Development Partners.