Peace actors in Turkana County have formed a seven-member team to address conflict in the area.
“The seven-member Secretariat will be tasked with among others duties, to follow-up on tasks assigned to peace partners, track implementation of government-partner work plan and timely report to the County Peace Actors Forum (CPAF),” Chief Officer in the Office of the Governor, Capt. (Rtd) Augustine Lokwang has said.
This was during a meeting, under the stewardship of Lokwang, while addressing Peace Actors on the progress made on the County Peace Building and Conflict Management Policy/Bill 2022.
According to the Bill, the County Peace Hub (County Situation Room), the only specialized early warning and response unit in the region will help in the monitoring and sharing information on conflicts in the county.
He said the County Situation Room will be useful in supporting the monitoring, evaluation and documentation of best practices for Peace-building and Conflict Management across the county for informed decision-making and programming.
Lokwang said a Secretariat for the County Peace Actors Forum (CPAF) has been established to coordinate partners, harmonize and foster consultation on peace programmes at all levels with actors.
The composition of the Secretariat, was drawn from the County Directorate of Peace Building and Conflict Management, National Government, International Non-Governmental Organizations, Local NGOs/CBOs and Faith Based Organizations working in conflict corridors in the County.
The consultative forum will provide a platform for government and partners to share situation updates, successes and opportunities for cooperation.
Lokwang urged the actors in the forum to work with the Sub County Peace Building Officers to establish Corridor Specific Peace Working Groups to pull together and implement peace initiatives at the community level.
The County Peace Technical Working Group provided for in the Policy/Bill will work with North Rift Economic Bloc, Frontiers Counties Development Council, National Steering Committee for Peace Building and Conflict Management, IGAD Secretariat and other similar institutions to enhance peace building and conflict management work.
By Peter Gitonga
