The Government has opened Sub- County offices for the newly created Diff Sub- County in Wajir South; five kilometers from the Kenya-Somalia border in a move to improve security in the border areas.
Already, Assistant County Commissioner and Sub- County Police Commander have been posted to the area. The local residents have expressed confidence that the government will tackle the issue of insecurity in the area, and the North Eastern region at large.
The new Sub- County will also be a new dawn for the residents who have had to travel for over three hours to access government services from Wajir Town.
Local leaders called for the government to deploy border control and customs officials to ensure smooth passage of goods from neighbouring Somalia.
The leaders noted that customs offices would help in boosting the economy of the country through export and import of goods, hence improving the livelihood of the people in the area.
North Eastern Regional Commissioner, Nicodemus Ndalana, warned against trafficking of drugs and illegal entry of contraband goods and that the perpetrators caught will face the full force of the law.
Ndalana said that the area has been used to bring in drugs and contraband goods that he noted have had adverse effects on the economy and the health of the Kenyan people.
“We have many cases of diseases that have been caused by consumption of contraband foodstuff. If anyone wants to bring goods across Kenya, they must be tested by KEBS and payment of due taxes made to KRA,” Ndalana directed.
The border control officials were deployed in 2016 to the area but later moved to Wajir town due to continued insecurity.
By Erick Kyalo
