Tana River to Receive Major Development Boost in Government Equality Drive » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 1 — Deputy President Kithure Kindiki affirmed government’s commitment to ending decades of marginalization in coastal and other historically underdeveloped regions.

During a development tour of the region, the Deputy President underscored the administration’s resolve to ensure no region is left behind as the country marches toward equitable development.

“Tana River County will not be left behind in development and economic empowerment. This time round the country must develop equally and Tana River as well as other areas in the coast that have been underdeveloped for many years, we must make sure we work shoulder to shoulder for access to equal development,” said DP Kindiki.

Calling for national unity, Kindiki warned against the resurgence of tribal politics and urged locals to reject leaders seeking to divide the country along ethnic lines.

“We cannot entertain tribalism again in this country. The tribalists will come here, tell them you are for one Kenya and you would not accept to be divided along tribal lines,”he said.

The Deputy President emphasized that economic empowerment initiatives must be continuous and not seasonal or politically timed.

“The empowerment program is aimed at supporting wananchi now not to wait until elections. We will stand with them all the time as we promised during campaigns,”Kindiki stated.

He noted that the government’s current activities were intended to build on existing social and economic programs.

“What we are doing now is complementing other empowerment programs like NYOTA,”he said.

DP Kindiki revealed that the government is constructing modern markets across various towns in the county.

“We are building new modern markets in Tana River County including in Garsen, Hola, Bangale, Mandogo towns. These markets are equipped with critical facilities like adequate spaces for goods, cold rooms, lactating rooms, social halls and ICT hubs among others,”he noted.

The Deputy President further pointed to significant investments in vocational education and digital literacy. A state-of-the-art ICT lab with 100 computers has been completed at Garsen Technical Institute, alongside 580 hostel units currently under construction.

“We have constructed the Jitume lab and equipped it with 100 computers at Garsen Technical Institute. We are also constructing 580 units of hostels at the institute,”Kindiki noted.

In support of local livelihoods, particularly in the blue economy, the government has issued Sh151 million in grants to support fishermen and beach management units at Kipini.

“We have invested Sh151 million in grants to expand and empower fishermen and beach management units at Kipini in Tana River in order to improve their income and lives,”he said.

Kindiki noted that the government has allocated over Sh450 million to expand last-mile electricity connectivity, with Sh205 million going to Garsen, Sh211 million to Bura, and Sh36 million to Galole. He pledged to push for even more funding.

“Last mile electricity connection is still low in Tana River but we are rolling out a program to raise the connection. The government has set aside Sh205 million for Garsen constituency, Sh211 for Bura and Sh36 million for Galole,”he said.

“I promise you, we will talk to the President so we can increase the allocation for Galole and the other two constituencies because Tana River has been marginalized for long and deserves higher allocation,”Kindiki added.

He also announced that Sh411 million had been allocated to complete the Garsen-Witu-Mukowe Road, a vital corridor linking Tana River to Lamu County.

“The government has allocated Sh411 million to complete construction of Garsen-Witu-Mukowe Road links Tana River and Lamu,”Kindiki said.

DP Kindiki said leaders had agreed to prioritize national cohesion over partisan interests.

“We are in the broad-based government. We have agreed to work together for a one nation, one flag, one people. That is the way to go because we don’t want to divide the country,”he emphasized.