Turkana County Secretary Peter Eripete, has underscored the need for proper mapping of resources and use of local expertise in addressing the root cause of the challenges, as well as providing a road map for actualization of the Transhumance Corridor Development Plan.
The transhumance corridor plan, funded by Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), outlines the available resources within the migratory routes, the gaps in the infrastructure within those routes and ways of addressing the infrastructure gaps.
The County Secretary was speaking in Lodwar, when he officially opened a two-day validation participatory mapping meeting of Transhumance Corridor, and associated features between Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda.
He urged IGAD to prioritize mapping resources that suit common challenges facing pastoralist communities in the Karamoja cluster.
“Professionals from the Ateker communities should be at the forefront on mapping of the resources, because it holds the lifeline of the pastoralist communities. All of us must embrace and use local expertise. It will inform how to drive governance of our people and resources therein,” he said.
Eripete, who is also the County Head of Public Service, expressed the County Government’s commitment to work with stakeholders to support pastoralist livelihoods, and also briefed participants on progress made through the Peace Building structure.
IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) representative Adan Bika assured of the authority’s readiness to implement the plan and ensure its primary objective is achieved.
County Executive for Agriculture, Pastoral Economy and Fisheries George Emoru called for fast-tracking of the validation process to enable the Government capture it in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP).
Others who spoke included IGAD’s Cross Border Development facilitator Dr. Dominic Lokeris and International Organization for Migration representative Khadija Ali, among others.
By Peter Gitonga
