Kwale County Governor Fatuma Achani has called for unity among area residents to ensure the continuous development of the region.
Governor Achani said unity among the people regardless of their political parties, ethnicities and religious differences was critical for meaningful development to take place.
She called on everyone in the society to play their respective roles to help move the development agenda of the county forward.
“If there is no peace and tranquility even businesspeople will feel insecure to come and invest in the county and support the development agenda being pursued by both the county and national government,” Achani observed.
She said the people in the county need to bury their political, ethnic and religious differences and focus on how to strengthen peace and unity among themselves to move the region which lagged behind in development to forge ahead.
Governor Achani observed that disunity among residents tend to affect the socio-economic progress of the region hence called for peaceful and harmonious coexistence.
The county boss made the call when she met a delegation of community leaders from Bongwe-Gombato electoral ward in Msambweni Sub County in Kwale town.
“We need to sustain the peace and unity that we enjoy and should not allow any selfish individual, communal or political interests to divide us,” she noted.
She went on ‘our collective prosperity as a county and as a people is uncompromisingly dependent on the unity and peaceful co-existence of our people’.
She said if there were conflicts, the little resources available would be spent on conflict resolutions instead of development projects adding that conflicts should be avoided since it would derail development agendas.
The county boss assured all and sundry that she will run an ‘open-door administration’ and urged the community leaders and other stakeholders not to hesitate to reach out to the devolved unit on matters development.
“My administration will deploy elders and community leaders in the area of conflict resolutions,” she said, adding that she will remain focused and committed in implementing people-oriented policies and projects.
She also urged elders from across the county to be on the forefront of guiding the youths to foster a responsible society.
She advised residents especially the youth to stay out of drugs and substance abuse and engage in criminal activities but rather support the region’s developmental agendas as the future belonged to them.
The Governor at the same time advised area residents to return to the old values where the elderly were treated with respect and dignity in the society.
“The older generation needs respect because they have devoted their energies to building the county and country at large,” said Achani.
She called on the residents to respect, defend and uphold the dignity, integrity and safety of older persons in the society.
By Hussein Abdullahi
