ByDPPS
Friday January 13, 2023
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 13 – The government will reboot development projects in north eastern Kenya in a grand plan to address a range of challenges the region has faced.
Consequently, the United Kingdom in collaboration with the government is set to start implementing a three-year development project aimed at countering insecurity and improving the welfare of the people of North Eastern Kenya.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with the UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott on sustainable security and development in the North-Eastern, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said improving the socio-economic lives of the people will contribute to stability in the region.
During the meeting held at his Harambee House Annex in Nairobi on Thursday, the Deputy President said one of the key areas is improving education and creating socioeconomic opportunities for the youth.
“We have succeeded in our action against al Shabab in many areas; we have made progress. Climate change has compounded the challenge for the people in this region. We must work on sustainable solutions like alternatives to rainfed agriculture. We are delighted you have come for this engagement,” Mr Gachagua said.
On education, Gachagua said that the government is exploring ways of ensuring more local teachers are trained to bridge the gap left when non-locals leave due to threats from terror attacks from Somalia-based al-Shabaab.
He added that when they leave, the local schools suffer. In that regard, youth who are out of school become vulnerable to recruitment to violent extremism, he observed.
The Deputy President thanked the UK for leading the North-East Kenya and Borderlands Initiative (NEKBI), which will launch various projects in February 2023. NEKBI is aimed at providing lasting solutions to insecurity in the region mainly through development.
The four pillars include promoting peace and security, improving education and opportunities for the youth and accelerating socio-economic development infrastructure and investment.
The region has already benefited from projects including the North-East Kenya Development Initiative (NEDI), Hunger Safety Net Programme, the Kenyan Devolution Support Programme- all under the Office of the Deputy President- and the North-East Transport Improvement Project.
The initiative, which will mainly target the counties of Wajir, Garissa, Mandera and Lamu, is a culmination of high-level meetings between Kenya and the UK in 2022. It is being led by the North-East Advisory Group.
In Executive Order No. 1 of January 2023, President William Ruto assigned Mr Gachagua the role of coordinating partnership relations, chairing Cabinet Committees, bridging the counties to national governments.
Marriott requested the government to consider having more women teachers as a way of encouraging girls, who have for long been subjected to repugnant and retrogressive practices such as female genital mutilation and child ‘marriage’.
“Kenya is a strategic country for the UK and the rest of the world. That is why we seek to deepen our partnership in development, diplomacy and defence. For results, we want to have wider conversations with the national and county governments on holistically working together,” the High Commissioner said.