Raila Pledges to Reopen Kenya-Somalia Border If Elected President
Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition party presidential candidate Raila Odinga has promised to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border if clinches the presidency after the August 9th elections.
Odinga, who is giving his fifth stab at the presidency, said the reopening of the border will allow free flow of goods and people, thus enhancing trade between the two countries.
“We shall put in place all that is required to ensure operations at this border resume so that we can freely interact with our Somalia brothers,” Odinga said during a series of campaign rallies in Mandera County.
Odinga said his administration will improve security in the North-Eastern region which has continued to suffer attacks from the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants.
The Azimio government, Odinga added, will focus on infrastructure improvement in the region to open it up, including completing the Horn of Africa getaway project that cuts through Isiolo and Wajir, ending up in Mandera.
“We shall ensure the infrastructure project is completed within next year so that from Mandera you can get to Niarobi with ease,” he said.
He further pledged to address the perennial water problem in the Northern Kenya region by drilling boreholes and setting up pans to harvest rainwater.
“We shall ensure we have sufficient clean water from the river passing through Mandera into Somalia. We want to deal with water shortage in Mandera once and for all by drilling boreholes and have water pans to help harvest rainwater for both human and livestock use,” said Raila.
“We shall also build a slaughterhouse here in Mandera so that we can process meat locally for export and the animal skin will be used in shoe-making.”
At the same time, Odinga said his administration will introduce livestock insurance to compensate pastoralists who lose their stock to drought.
“We shall introduce livestock insurance so that when a family loses their animals due to drought, they can be compensated by the government,” he said.