Ship-shaped headquarters to define Mandera’s new CBD

Mandera Town is registering growth in new property developments, with the county government leading the way with modern buildings. Part of that development involves relocating the town’s central business district.

The county administration is putting up a ship-shaped design, which will house its headquarters and bring together all offices under one roof. Currently, the county operates from a rented building.

Landmark architectural masterpieces are on the way as the County Government of Mandera progresses construction of the County Assembly, which is designed in the shape of a cow’s head, in this pastoralist part of the country.

The new city centre is close to the border with Somalia and Ethiopia and has little room for expansion. A five-star hotel is under construction as well as the governor’s official residence and a stadium. New roads are being built as old ones are upgraded.

Governor Ali Roba says the county inherited virtually nothing from the national government when they came into office and it was challenging even getting office space for himself, county executive members and staff.

“Mandera was a victim of systematic marginalisation for over five decades by successive regimes and devolution has just opened new doors for us. We are struggling to be at par with other counties, which did not face similar challenges,” Roba says.

Roba notes that Mandera is a county of unlimited opportunities and endless possibilities, and believes in investing right to unleash this potential by providing a dependable and sustainable infrastructural base.

“Our mission is to improve lives. We will make it easier to reach hospitals and easier to reach international markets. Getting infrastructure right will spur growth in all other sectors,” he says.

Urban experts have lauded the move by Mandera County to start a new town from scratch but cautioned the administration to avoid mistakes which have been made by other urban towns.

George Wasonga, the programme co-ordinator for the Civil Urban Society Development Programme of the Swedish Embassy says Mandera is now a shining example of how devolution can make a difference in planning and development”.

shanty township

“We urge the county administration to ensure that spatial plans zones of the new Mandera CBD are better and equipped with infrastructure like a sewer system, drainage, waste management as well water supply in a sustainable way,” Wasonga says.

“It is encouraging that a stadium is being built and social amenities being considered at this early stage. The county should ensure social integration is addressed and low and high density areas well designated,” Wasonga says.

What previously passed for a shanty township with manyattas as dwelling places for a largely pastoralist population is now home to some of the best designed houses in Kenya.

 The county executive for roads and public works, Ethila Mohamud Issack, says they are applying best practices in the controlled development plans for Mandera Town, as well as planning for its townships of Takaba, Banisa, Elwak, Lafey, with professionals offering survey and physical planning services to investors and locals.

Devolution has sparked off demand for quality office buildings as well as a rapid growth, especially in the hotel industry, with quality accommodation units that befit discerning patrons.

The county’s assembly building has taken shape and is promising a presence so majestic the National Assembly building in Nairobi would not hold a candle to it.

What is being built as the official county government headquarters is another brilliant piece of architecture taking the shape of a ship, ready to ferry the county through its unique environmental and man-made tidal waves.

The County Eecutive for Public Service Ahmed Sheikh says: “We were coming from a history where civil servants were posted to Mandera as a form of punishment. Indeed, the larger region’s name was North Eastern Province (NEP) and ridiculed as Nothing Except Problems (NEP).”

He adds that their task now is to change their problems to pleasure: “We want to have modern buildings, too, so that we can attract the best workforce from locals as well as people from other counties. We can only do that when we make them comfortable.”

The county government has employed 1,400 mostly local staff.

Sheikh says Mandera is starting from a very low infrastructural base and most resources need to go to development, including facilities like offices, which are absent.

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Mandera town