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Kenya: Mandera advances five years on – Governor Roba


By STEPHEN ASTARIKO @stephen ASTARIKO
Sunday April 15, 2018


Mandera Governor Ali Roba in Nairobi on February 28 /VICTOR IMBOTO


Devolution has transformed Mandera county, despite the terror attacks it has suffered, Governor Ali Roba has said.

“We inherited 152 health workers, but we currently have 883 medical workers. We have opened 63 new health facilities,” he said. Roba said maternal deaths have declined from 3,785 cases to 588 in five years.

He spoke at a Mandera hotel during a county dialogue forum on devolution. Roba said his administration has set up 216 Early Childhood Development Education centres and employed at least 300 teachers.

He said the county government, in collaboration with the national government and the African Development Bank, is buildng a Sh2.4 billion water supply system for Mandera town.

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Despite these successes, Mandera has suffered a number of terror attacks carried out by al Shabaab, who are based in neighbouring Somalia.

Roba said 209 terror attacks were reported in 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial years. “As a county government, we are supplementing the security efforts by paying police reservists and hiring vehicles for patrols,” he said.

Roba blamed the attacks for the slow development of far-flung parts of the county. “Despite [that]...we have achieved our goal in the past five years and we have our eyes set on the next five years,” he said.

New hospitals have been built and staffed, Roba said.

County assembly Speaker Mohamed Khalif appealed for cooperation between the executive and the legislature.

The relationship between the executive and assembly in Mandera has been strained since all nominees for the county executive committee were rejected late last year.

MCAs fought during the session where the names were rejected. Governor Roba is yet to present a new list to the assembly as required by law and the nominees remain in office following a court order.



 





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