Ongoing Vision 2030 Isiolo- Marsabit road project slowly changing Northern Kenya

By FRANCIS NGIGE

Kenya, Isiolo: Large trucks are driven up and down the dusty road, excavators turn earth inside out as scores of workers with small red and green flags control the traffic flow.

This is a common sight along the Isiolo-Marsabit-Moyale road construction project that is part of the Lamu South-Sudan-Ethiopia (Lapsset) transport corridor, one of the flagship projects of Vision 2030.

For many years, the dusty and impassable road has been a source of grief to residents of the frontier districts in Northern Kenya as bandits reigned supreme and no public service vehicle dared ply the route.

Little or no business took place in trading centres and towns along the road that links Kenya with Ethiopia due to insecurity.

At sunset, the towns emptied in a furious hurry, as residents feared the sporadic attacks associated with bandits. Day and night, relentless bandits would set up roadblocks along the road to attack travellers. They would occasionally lay in wait in thickets for trucks delivering merchandise.

Lorries transporting goods and passengers required armed police escort to be able to proceed with the torturous journey. At times, the armed escort did not deter the criminals from launching attacks.

But things are swiftly changing, thanks to the ongoing project to open up the frontier areas, which have been marginalised for years.

The project has come at a time of growing optimism in Marsabit and Moyale towns.

High poverty

Despite high rate of poverty among the pastoralist communities, there is a widespread belief that the region may be in for great things with the advent of devolution.

Marsabit Governor Ukur Yatani is upbeat about the opportunities the road will bring to the residents.

“We can’t say the situation is 100 per cent perfect but the security along the road has improved and there is ease in transportation of people and goods,” Ukur, who had just finished hosting an investment forum, said.

To many locals, the transport corridor was a path of despair but it is slowly transforming into a corridor of hope.

They believe that its completion will bring hope to them as well as good tidings to their new county governments.

Just a few years ago, Mohammed Dima struggled to get transport from his home in Isiolo to his work place in Marsabit.

Dima despaired over the poor state of the road that made it difficult for public transport vehicles to navigate it and rising cases of insecurity that continued to be the bane.

“This was an obvious pain for commuters. I needed to travel a long way and was forced to shell a hefty sum for transport,” says the 70-year-old man who now runs a transport business at Bobisa trading centre, some 50 kilometres from Marsabit town.

When we spoke to him last week, Dima could not hide his joy as to what the new road would mean to the locals who have suffered for a long time.

“We have suffered for a long time. Most of us used to say that we are getting to Kenya once you reach Isiolo town. Life had lost meaning. How else can you describe a situation where human beings are transported together with animals,” posed the elderly man.

He said it was difficult to conduct any meaningful business in Moyale and Marsabit towns due to the cost of transport.

Dima’s narration reflects the plight of residents of the expansive Marsabit County who have endured years of agony.

However, the situation has changed as the ongoing upgrade of the road to bitumen standards has seen the transformation of the public sector in the region.

With the construction of the road taking shape, lorries that were being used for transport of passengers are slowly being edged out by luxury coaches, which are now plying the route thereby easing the transport problem.

A journey from Moyale to Isiolo that used to take nearly 12 hours is being covered in just four hours, thanks to the commuter buses whose terminus is in Nairobi.

As a result of improved infrastructure, traders are directly sourcing their goods from suppliers in Nairobi, making retail prices to remain competitive.

Saidi Abdi, who operates a wholesale shop in Marsabit town, told The Standard that construction of the road had eased the burden of traders and locals.

“With most part of the road almost complete, things have started changing for the better. We can order our supplies directly from manufacturers in Nairobi who have no problem with sending their trucks over,” said Abdi.

Third parties

He revealed that before the improvement of the infrastructure, business people used to rely on third parties to get goods and this affected the retail prices of most commodities.

It is the same story for Sora Muda who operates a motorcycle spares shop and a supplier of general groceries.

Muda said with cases of banditry subsiding, residents of Marsabit and Moyale towns have been able to diversify in their business ventures.

“We no longer require police escort to transport our goods since the road is now safe. Lorries have been left entirely for transportation of goods since there are buses to ferry passengers,” Muda said.

For residents of Kamboi area in Laisamis constituency, the construction of the road has been a blessing in disguise for them.

Locals used to travel for several kilometres in search of water but this has become a thing of the past as the contractors carrying out the road works have sunk a borehole in the vicinity.

“We thank God for this road construction project since we are now able to get water for our domestic use and for animals. This is like manna from heaven,” declared Tarakayan Yarabu, the chairman of the village water committee.

Yarabu said a resident is required to pay Sh2 to fund the purchase of diesel to run a generator pumping the water.

“This is a life-changing project since we will be left with it (borehole) once the contractor completes his work,” he said.

The governor expressed hope that once complete, the county will be able to unlock its full economic potential.

And Marsabit County Police Commander Erastus Muthamia attributed the improved security along the once dangerous route to co-operation of security agents and locals.

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