Wajir county is eyeing three per cent of the Sh279.7 billion remitted annually by Kenyans living abroad for investment in various sectors.
Speaking on Saturday during a round-table donors and investors breakfast meeting, Governor Mohamed Abdi said there are many investment opportunities in the region.
He said investment opportunities in solar, livestock production, health, education, tourism, water and sanitation remain unexploited.
“There are many opportunities for investment in the county ranging from abundance of sunshine throughout the year and vast tracts of land that avail great potential for solar generation, abundance of underground aquifers and shallow wells that were not well explored and quantified, high livestock potentials and an upcoming export abattoir,” Abdi said.
He said the immense opportunities can only be fully exploited with deepened engagement with the diaspora and investors.
“We shall take deliberate steps to formulate policies to harness this immense potential and mainstream it into county development plans,” the county chief said.
While acknowledging that security remained a matter of concern to the diaspora and potential investors, Abdi said his administration will work closely with the national government to ensure militants are flushed out of the area.
“We have come up with multiple fronts and mitigation measures that include recruiting of the National Police Reservists as an additional security wing of the mainstream security services to counter the unfortunate incidences,” he said.
As a long-term measure, the governor said the county intends to boost cross-border trade to improve inter-communal relations along the Kenya-Somali border.
This, he said, will serve as a deterrence to those with violent extremist ideologies.
Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa commended the governor for reaching out to donors and investors, saying governments across the world are increasingly aware of the indispensable contribution of the diaspora and private sector to the growth and development of their counties of origin.
Last week, the Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA) announced it will invest in frontier counties that have suffered marginalisation and under-development, including Wajir.
The organisation urged residents to utilise the Sh300 million annual remittance allocated by the government in Wajir county.
KDA chairman Shem Ochuodho urged people to invest in Wajir, saying the area, which has a population of 800,000, has great investment potential.
Wajir is one of the fastest-growing economies in the Arid and Semi-Arid lands. (ASALS) and pastoralism is the main source of livelihood.
Wajir is one of 10 counties benefiting from $1 billion World Bank initiative named North and Northeastern Development Initiative (NEDI) aimed at increasing investments in transformative and integrated infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods to the region.
NEDI will benefit Garissa, Isiolo, Lamu, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, Wajir and West Pokot.
It has six new projects in energy, road transport, water and sanitation, agriculture, social protection, and a programme that will support communities hosting refugees.
