Northeastern can overcome its poor development

Climate change which has led to severe drought in most part of Kenya has seen several families in Northern Kenya moving in search of water. [Photo by Pius Cheruiyot/Standard]

The North Eastern region has been a victim of Kenya’s unequal development for many decades. This unfairness was mainly a deliberate and direct result of the first national development policy, namely Sessional Paper No. 10 of 1965, which relied on a political construct that divided the country into “high potential” and “unproductive” areas.

The policy - which was rescinded not long ago - became the “big wall” preventing investments from going to the arid region under the successive regimes, leading to its neglect and poor development. Consequent effects like insecurity, poverty, high illiteracy and low human development further increased the negative image of the large, but unused area.