Northern Kenya and ASALS requires a Marshall plan to permanently end insecurity

The frequent insecurity cases in Northern Kenya, some parts of the Rift valley and other parts of the country must be stopped forthwith for us to achieve the Kenya Vision 2030 and other developmental aspirations that we are committed to like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union Agenda 2063. The government commitment to address the insecurity issue once and for all should be lauded. While at it, there is need to completely deal with the root causes of under-development in these regions which is one of the main causes of insecurity.

The need to address comprehensively the issue of insecurity in Kenya is backed by three aspects. First, studies suggest that war and conflicts for example contributes to almost 40 percent of under-development and slow development process, which in turn affects peace and security. That is the reason that 70 percent of the residents live in poverty and have poor access to basic services and have poor socio-economic indicators, for example female literacy rate is 41 percent below the national average of 89 percent. Secondly, there is need to build the entire ecosystem of development in these insecure areas through devising a workable and bankable development plan for the region akin to the Marshall plan (European Recovery Programme), which was a United States government programme designed to provide comprehensive aid to western Europe following the devastation of World War. The programme was enacted in 1948 and provided more than US$ 15 billion to finance rebuilding efforts. The northern Kenya and other Arid and Semi-Arid regions (ASALs) have been battered by many years of war and conflict and to integrate them to the new development, they must be re-built and developed fully. To begin with, most of the counties in the region are under the ambit of the Equalization fund which should be carefully implemented to ensure that basic infrastructure is provided to act as a spring board upon which the region’s needs can be addressed and resources exploited. Thirdly, the counties and locals under these regions have greater role to play to end insecurity and banditry. This can be done through community engagement, inclusion in the development process to eliminate any grievances which can lead to disgruntled individuals, and feeling of marginalization and intelligence sharing. Dr. Mutegi Giti, Urban management, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) & Environment Specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com, @danielgiti.