[Nairobi]
If elected on August 9, Raila Odinga, a Kenyan presidential candidate from Azimio la Umoja One, will open the border between Kenya and Somalia, which is now closed.
According to Raila, the border would be opened to encourage trade between the two nations.
“We shall put in place all that is required to ensure operations at this border so that we can freely interact with our Somalia brothers,” he said.
The presidential candidate from Azimio, who was joined by other leaders including his running mate Martha Karua, pledged to guarantee that security in Mandera and the greater North Eastern Region improves.
Al Shabaab terrorists with a base in Somalia have continued to strike the area.
In the most recent incident, armed militants halted a bus that was entering Mandera on Thursday and lectured passengers for at least two hours.
Raila stated that he had supported the area for many years and that he had always kept the region’s best interests in mind.
The region’s infrastructure will be improved with a view to opening it up to the rest of the nation, according to the former prime minister.
He referenced the Horn of Africa escape project, which is still being built and passes through Isiolo, Wajir, and Elwak town before terminating in Mandera.
The Mandera-Takaba-Moyale road would be built, according to the ODM leader, to lower the cost of doing business.
Regional leaders, like Mandera Governor Ali Roba, have consistently pleaded with the national government to reopen the border, claiming that it was harming trade not just between the neighboring nations but also the country’s economy.
