Isiolo-Mandera road will be a game changer for Northern Kenya region

The tarmacking of Isiolo-Wajir-Mandera 748km road will be a game changer for the North Eastern counties. This will be the biggest infrastructure project undertaken in the region since independence. The World Bank- Government of Kenya funded project will go a long way in opening up a region that is historically underserved and performing below national average on development indicators. It is a milestone for the World Bank which has historically funded projects mostly along the railway line, reinforcing the argument of marginalisation of the North Eastern region despite profiling the area as abjectly poor.

Poverty levels in North Eastern are extremely high at 70 per cent, compared to 45 per cent national average. This is largely due to 50 years of neglect. The road networks are poor though marked improvement has been seen since the advent of devolution in 2013. Electricity access is at 7 per cent and most households experience water stress due to the extreme dry conditions.