SHUN RIVALRIES FOR UNITY, MP's APPEAL.

Marsabit County legislators want the government to focus on the development priorities of previously marginalized communities. Led by Senator Abubakar Hargura, they claim that nearly all health; education and other social institutions were built by the missionaries. “Were it not for the missionaries who came to the aid of our county, today we would have nothing to celebrate about

our social-cultural and economic adversity,” the Senator asserts. For instance, the missionaries built schools for the Gabra, who largely inhabit the Chalbi Desert and eased the community’s access to basic education.

The leaders thanked the missionaries for their humble and selfless generosity, which has helped entrench the county’s status as the ‘Cradle of Mankind’. Hailing the humanitarian gesture from the missionaries as a true reflection of exemplary service, the leaders say that to entrench devolution, the government must intensify the distribution of resources to marginalised communities. Senator Hargura says successive governments largely neglected the communities despite their immense economic potential. “These are the historical injustices that we want to redress now within the confines of the law,” he adds.

With the right social, political, economic and health policies in place and good stewardship, there is nothing that could obscure the region’s path to economic prosperity. The legislators say they are glad that the county executive led by Governor Ukur Yattani has lined up 20 Bills aimed at addressing the inequalities. The Bills touch on nearly all segments of the county’s economic potential and seek to unlock them through maximum exploitation using the relevant technological expertise. The legislators enumerated areas they

are keen to harness and develop, including the livestock sector, tourism, infrastructure, wind and solar energy and the import and export market. These sectors, if efficiently developed, would spur the region’s growth, Hargura explains.

The county leadership will therefore have to work very closely with all bilateral and development partners, including the national government to make these goals a reality. Adopting the formula used by the Commission on Revenue Allocation to distribute resources, the legislators have unanimously endorsed it to avoid skewed distribution without favoring any particular community. By agreeing to abide by this principle, the legislators believe that fair allocations will reduce the hostilities that occur between clans as they fight over resources and equal representation in the county administration.

North Horr MP Chachu Ganya and Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton have re-affirmed their commitment to ethnic diffusion to ensure the region’s cohesiveness. Other MPs from the area include Roba Duba (Moyale) and Dido Ali Rasso (Saku), who despite their political diversities have been making concerted efforts to push for unity. Hargura advises leaders from the region that for them to develop, they must seek peace first before they seek elective representation to improve the people’s livelihoods. The leaders have vowed to ensure that the fundamental principles of human rights and the region’s cultural diversities are recognised and that the sovereignty of the people is respected. Ganya and Lekuton say unity is vital as the vehicle of cultural transmission, irrespective of ethnic, clan or political alignments.

Marsabit is home to 14 different ethnic communities who speak different languages. Virtually all the leaders here were

elected on a Cord ticket against the background of the politics of systemic marginalization. This is the essence of leadership squabbles that has pitted some of the leaders in the clash-prone Moyale region, where the residents led by the local MPs are advocating for justice and equity to thrive in the county governance. Cord commands a strong following because of its perceived push for development projects and a sustained bid to harness the under-developed natural resources. The national government is also trying to pay keen attention to the region’s development under the new constitutional dispensation.

Hopefully, the ongoing peace and dialogue forums initiated by the counties newly launched integration and cohesion department and the national leaders’ efforts to unite the residents will bear fruit. Already, all the leaders have shown commitment to work together.

According to Marsabit County Women representative Nasra Ibren, the unexploited potential of women is gaining greater attention in Kenya under the devolved system of governance. The country’s new Constitution provides a clear framework for addressing gender equality that seeks to remedy the traditional exclusion of women and promote women’s full involvement in every aspect of growth and development. Ibren is encouraging women to take advantage of the law to unlock the culture of male chauvinism and to continue strongly appealing to the county government to uphold the 30 per cent threshold set by the law on the appointment of women to elective and public administration positions. Civic education programmes to enlighten women and mentorship programmes to motivate girl child education are ongoing.