The US Ambassador to Kenya, Kyle McCarter has expressed satisfaction on measures that the government was working on to guarantee residents of Marsabit of their security.
McCarter also made it clear that the US government supported devolution in Kenya and that the good relations between the two countries was of great value to both parties.
Speaking on Thursday when he paid a courtesy call on Marsabit County Commissioner (CC), Evans Achoki, the Ambassador was particularly impressed that border protection initiatives being undertaken by the two states were bearing fruits and making Marsabit safer.
He pointed out that security provides the opportunity for prosperity and called for enhanced development of the water sector through dams and other retention facilities.
The Ambassador noted that availability of adequate water by tapping into the enhanced rains would help boost food security and build cohesion in the cosmopolitan county as competition for the precious commodity would be minimised.
McCarter added that movement by herders and their livestock in search of water and pasture would be minimised hence reducing the chances of conflict and degradation of the environment.
The envoy also called for effort to change the mindset of the local communities who only sell their livestock for maintenance to enable them generate wealth through savings.
Rooting for prudent use of resources, McCarter who has visited 32 other counties, said that the American government was concerned with assisting Kenyans whom he described as hard-working to be self-reliant.
“Let us change for the better and help transform the lives of the people by starting to look and doing things differently from the way we did it in the past,” he advised.
He stressed that grants in support of the health, agriculture and education from the US government would be channeled directly to the counties to ensure the desired results were achieved.
Achoki said that with the support of local communities and their leadership the threat of radicalisation had been checked while the menace of proliferation of small arms and contrabands has been contained.
The CC added that the rich diversity in terms of culture and natural resources was being exploited to foster development and transform lives of locals.
Present was the Marsabit County Police Commander, Steve Oloo and departmental heads.
By Sebastian Miriti
