Mandera leaders demand end to long border closure

Concerns are now being raised over the long closure of the Mandera border, with leaders in the county seeking the directive be lifted, as part of opening business opportunities and enhance revenue collection.

The border was closed more than 10 years ago but leaders and the locals have said that the situation may not have completely stopped illegal cross border trade, a situation that has a serious ripple effect on legitimate businesses.

The government closed the border as part of its efforts to curb Al Shabaab terror attacks and crack down on smuggled goods getting into the country through the porus border.

Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif said discussions have been underway to explore re-opening of the border saying that while closing the more than 500 km stretch has reduced the insecurity concerns, it would do the country good if opened with tight security surveillance.

“Our suggestion is that we open the border and then we protect our country. This is a discussion that should be held between leaders and security managers,” said Khalif.

The governor said that a lot is lost on legal trade as the county’s neighbours, Somalia and Ethiopia continue trading.

He said the need to re-open the border is timely especially now that Somalia has joined the East Africa Community (EAC) and the protocol for the region calls for free movement of goods and people.

“For Somalia to enjoy being a member of the EAC, there should be free movement of goods and people,” he insisted.

There have been previous attempts to open the border but pockets of insecurity incidences reported in the area have seen the decision suspended.

Mandera Trade Executive, Adan Hamud, said the closure has come in the way of trading activities between Kenya and Somalia.

Other Mandera leaders also said the closure has adverse impact on foreign investors and development partners eyeing the county and they could opt for nearby counties.

“Officially it is closed, but that does not mean that it is closed down for business. This is because the border between Somalia and Mandera, is about 500 km, and this means there is still movement in and out of the region. When the border will be official open by the Kenyan government, then opportunities for Mandera town will be more enormous,” he explained.

The county executive assured that the county does not now have serious security concerns that can frustrate investors from setting up businesses.

“As we speak, we have few incidences of attacks. We had many incidences years ago. But in the last five years, we have not had serious incidences that can create security concerns. Right now, most of the businesses are done by non-residents. What has scared people from other regions is that the county is portrayed as unsafe,” explained Hamud.

He said a multi-sectoral team held a meeting in the county recently to understand the situation on the ground and they agreed it was viable to speed up the process of reopening the border.

“The Kenyan government is losing a lot of money because the border is closed. It does not mean that there is no business between Somalia and Kenya. When the border is official closed so much money is lost,” he explained.