There’s need to invest in northern counties to compensate for slow development

The deplorable state of Isiolo game parks (one of the northern counties) at Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves. [Photo by Ali Abdi/Standard]

This week I will be leading a delegation of development partners and country representatives of United Nations agencies to eight counties in northern Kenya to meet the leadership and residents of these mostly impoverished regions. This high-powered delegation is partnering with the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC), an association of eight counties, to find ways of leap frogging development to compensate for decades of neglect.

Despite the levelling effect of devolution, data collected by other institutions shows that the northern part of Kenya has a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the country.