Garissa presents two sides of one town

By Boniface Ongeri and Adow Jubat

Garissa town presents two contrasting worlds.

One side features modern hotels and business blocks, which makes the town a business hub.

But the immediate outskirts have run-down manyattas (known in Somali as herio) where the poor live inches away from their herds.

The juxtaposition of rural poverty and urban affluence presents the biggest challenges in delivering services in the North Eastern Province (NEP) headquarters.

Local Mayor Adullahi Yussuf talks to US marine Kevin Countermine (left) and captain Paul Gichuhi from the Kenya Army.

The town’s sewerage system serves only 373 of 2,000 business units in a town.

The town is served by diesel-generated power, which can only cater for 6.4 per cent of the population.

The Garissa District Development office report says only 6,823 house holds are connected to the main water supply.

Board member

The mayor is a board member of the Northern Water and Sewerage Board, which supplies water to the residents.

"Sarce amenities are stretched to the limit and most residents are short of, for instance water," he says.

The jury is still out on the performance of the board four years later.

Garissa town is the gateway to North Eastern Province and the Horn of Africa, giving it a vantage point in terms of trade and development.

Local legend has it that, British colonial rulers, who established it as their gateway to NEP and Somalia, named it Garissa after a Pokomo elder Karisa.

The town has over 17,000 registered traders at the council with informal sector taking the largest share.

Trade in the district revolves around agricultural products, general merchandise, hospitality and service industry. There are no major manufacturing industries.

On the outskirts, there is potential for tourism, but a history of banditry and cattle rustling has kept off many would-be visitors.

"Garissa has so much potential," says former North Eastern PC Mohammud Saleh, who is credited with eradicating of banditry in the province.

"It is not just a town. We dream of a city where people from this region would forget other towns.

"If Garissa prospers, so will the country," he says.

Bitting poverty

Due to poverty, beggars and street children are also a big problem the council has to deal with.

On a good note, Garissa Municipal Council has a resident camp to monitor terror cells in ungoverned Somalia.

The marines have helped put up garbage collection centres and installed dustbins at strategic points.

clan differences

But clan wrangles bog down the local authority operations. Often, politicians meddle with the vacancies, installing their own in return for support.

The clans accuse one another of corruption and rarely unite in development matters.

Such discontent often spills into the streets and residents still complain of discrimination.

"Those with influence or cash are given priority. Most of us who cannot afford the services continue suffering and die from poor sanitary conditions," says Miss Zeinabu Ahmed a resident.

But Yussuf, ODM nominated councillor, says everybody will be on board to develop the town.

"I made several pledges while running for office. I believe with the help of everyone, we can make this town the pride of NEP," he says.