Seven counties unite to form economic bloc

Seven counties in the north eastern and coastal regions have come together to form an economic bloc dubbed the Frontier Counties Development Council, their governors have announced.

Marsabit, Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, Lamu, Tana River and Isiolo County Governors announced the formation of the economic bloc on Tuesday to address socio-economic challenges and resource mobilisation issues affecting the perceived marginalised region.

Speaking during the launch, Marsabit Governor Ukur Yattani said the bloc will go past the confinement of boundaries in addressing issues affecting the counties.

“If we come up as a bloc and push our agendas together, we stand better chances of being heard,” he said.

Among the issues that the seven governors plan to deal with is the prevailing drought that has so far affected over 1.3 million people.

Mr Yattani said that with most residents in these counties practicing pastoralism, the major beneficiary of the agreement would be livestock farmers.

The governors also proposed the formation of a tourism scheme since the Lamu and Marsabit regions have great tourism potential, with governor Yattani noting that the major oil reserves in Kenya are found within the seven counties.

The FCDC was officially registered as a public company on April 21, 2016 after the seven governors signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to make the region an economic bloc on March 2 this year.

Written by Lucy Akinyi