MARGINALIZATION IN NORTHERN KENYA

MARGINALIZATION IN NORTHERN KENYA

I recently visited the northern part of Kenya. It is a far distance and the road is not worth mentioning. It is in a dilapidated state. The means of transport in this area is also amazing. People travel when they are on top of carriers of lorries which have either transported goods or animals. This puts them at risk since they get into contact with a lot of dust hence a health hazard. The land is very dry a big contradiction to the presence of very many bridges and many rivers which are ever dry. The people in these areas depend a lot on pastoralism where they are in transition with their animals. They live in manyattas which are temporary due to their mobile state.

People in this area say that they are not in Kenya because of their state and condition. They say that they are in Kenya B while the others are in Kenya A. The government has neglected this area which has led to these areas being termed as marginalized since they are not developed in terms of infrastructure. Moyale is a town bordering a country called Ethiopia. The town has fewer buildings and all the government offices are located in one area. The town has no tarmac road and generally it is has no life in terms of the activities taking place. The opposite to this is that once you get to the border point a stretch of tarmac road into Ethiopia begins and life changes when you get into the other side. There are people with big businesses and everyone is busy doing something with themselves.

In my own opinion the government can do a lot to help develop these areas by dedicating more resources to these areas which shall be used to drill more boreholes and build more infrastructures in these areas. These areas tap a lot of tourist catchments areas and hence when developed will bring more income to the government. The resources can be found by reducing the M.P.’s allowances and taxing their income plus other government officials whose income in not taxed. Money allocated to these areas in the budget should also be increased and after it is done we shall see development in these marginalized areas which contain a lot of potential.