Mandera is a County on the verge
of a take-off, and the devolved government has a clean canvas on which to paint
the dreams of its 1.2 million residents.
Listen
to Governor Ali Ibrahim Roba: In one
year, 57 health institutions across the county have staff and are operational,
the bite of drought has been numbed by delivering water to affected
communities, and a home-grown conflict resolution plan has seen to 10 straight months of peace between
clans, the longest such period in years.
The list goes on: The County is
about to see its first tarmacked road as part of the Mandera town master plan, a unique approach to
security has so far forestalled terrorist forays from across the border, and a
consultative leadership forum ensures county cohesion.
These
are just a few of Mandera
achievements in only one year of devolution, a clear commentary on the
potential that the new Constitution has awakened in places far removed from Nairobi. More importantly, items in
this list begin to paint a dream of where Mandera
is working to go to. Five pillars anchor the Mandera
vision. First, no sustainable
development can occur in an environment of insecurity, Governor Roba avers. His government, working with the county
political leaders’ forum, has put in place measures to supplement the Kenya
Police. The benefits are already showing; businesses now can open late in
Mandera town. Similarly, homegrown ways of resolving
conflict in the larger Mandera community have proven fruitful.
The
devolution of county government to staff dispensaries, clinics and hospitals. “When we took office, the 52 health
facilities were not operational except for three that operated at a 10 per cent
level. In one year, we have employed 285 medical staff and reopened all of
them, in addition to five new ones,” Governor
Roba says. Dependable healthcare will save the county from the infamy of
having the highest maternal mortality rate—3,795—
in the world, and push up local living standards.
Thirdly, access to water has
always been a challenge, especially during drought. This has led to deaths for
both human and livestock, and drove animosity in fights for pasture. Devolved
decision making on resource allocation has enabled the county government to
deliver the badly needed water using bowsers on emergency basis to needy areas.
Fourthly, as is true of all modern
societies, success is found in sound economics and Mandera leaders know this
only too well. An investors conference is planned for April 2014, a Mandera
town master plan to turn it into a green metropolis is in place, and a growth
path to see the county generate 30 per
cent of its annual budget in five years’ time.
The
county enjoys a bustling livestock sub-sector and arrangements are being worked
out to provide enabling infrastructure so as to easily connect to international
markets. “Just to show our intentions on
this, we will have a 20 kilometre tarmacked road complete with greening and
solar powered street lighting this year,” the Governor says.
Finally, a growth plan is
incomplete without a dependable human resource and Governor Roba says there are plans in place to afford education to
residents and, when the time comes, align locally provided higher education to
the county’s growth priorities.
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