North Eastern MPs Demand for Stoppage of Marginalization
By Harrison Kivisu
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail,com
MPs under the North Eastern (NE) Parliamentary Group have petitioned the government to address marginalisation of the region that has lasted for decades.
The leaders from Garissa, Wajir and Mandera decried poor infrastructure, insecurity, education challenges, lack of basic services and economic underdevelopment because of government neglect.
Through a communique that will be shared with relevant government agencies, the NE leaders resolved to develop a comprehensive master plan for the region that aligns with national development goals while addressing the unique challenges and opportunities for the three counties.
Speaking after a three-day retreat at Serena Beach Hotel in Mombasa County, the legislators who included the caucus chairman Adan Keynan and patron Farah Maalim demanded a review of resource allocation and increased share of national government revenue.
The MPs urged the government to remove the annuity programme from the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project and engage other partners to finance the Modogashe-Samatar and Rhamu-Mandera roads among others.
They asked the national government to fast-track the construction of Moyale-Wajir, Moyale-Mandera via Takaba, Garissa-Liboi and security roads in the region.
“The aim of this master plan is to come up with a sessional paper that shall guide and shape the national policy of NE Kenya to realise our full potential,” said Maalim.
Eldas MP Adan Keynan claimed that for more than 60 years, NE region has been excluded from the national government agendas.
The master plan, they say, will incorporate strategies to overcome historical marginalization and explore pathways to promote inclusive development in NE Kenya.
“We need an audit of the resources allocated to ensure NE to ensure the region gets its rightful share,” he said.
Mandera woman representative Ummulkheir Kassim warned NE residents against excessive consumption of _miraa_ saying it had ruined many, particularly the youth.
“If our people continue the consumption of _miraa_ and drugs, it will completely destroy families.
This is especially ruining our young boys and girls who are in the productive age,” she said.
The leaders resolved to rally the government to address the insecurity challenges that have long impeded the region’s development activities.
The meeting, which was attended by about 30 MPs from the North Eastern region, resolved to tackle critical issues such as historical marginalisation, poor infrastructure, and inadequate teacher deployment.
Mandera East MP Hussein Weytan said: “We need an audit of the resources allocated to ensure NE to ensure the region gets its rightful share.”
In attendance were the PG’s officials: vice-chairperson Weytan (Mandera East), treasurer Ummulkheir Kassim (Mandera County) and chair of the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group (PPG) Major (rtd) Bashir Sheikh (Mandera East).
The meeting served as a critical platform for formulating solutions to the persistent challenges that have long disadvantaged the NE region of Kenya.
