Construction Of The Nunow-Modogashe Road To Start By December

The county government of Garissa in collaboration with the national government of Kenya have entered into a loan deal with the government of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has entered into a loan contract where they will contribute  $27 million for the construction of the road. The total cost needed for the construction of the road is a US$ 130 Million. According to governor Nathif, the county government of Garissa is still awaiting contribution promised by the Kuwaiti government and the government of the United Arab Emirates.  The Nunow-Modogashe road, according to Nathif Jama is ‘an important link in terms of our infrastructural requirements as it will open up an important corridor of our County’. In a statement published on his Facebook page Nathif stated that construction of the road ‘will ease the hardship of the people operating in that part of the County and contribute significantly to the overall economic and social development of the entire northern region of the country. ’
It is not the first time the Kenyan government has received money for the proposed construction of the Nunow-Modogshe Road. In 2010, the national government was in receipt of $10 million (810 Million kshs) from the Arab Bank for Economic development in Africa (BADEA) in which the government assured the people of Garissa that the money will be used wisely for the construction of the road. At the time, the Minister of Finance and the current president of Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta stated that the “The main objective of the project is to open up the Northern region to the rest of the country and at the same time enhance livestock production and provide a stimulant to socio-economic activities in Northern Kenya”.  Uhuru Kenyatta also stated then that the government will extend the Nuno-Modogashe road to Mandera town at the border of Kenya and Ethiopia and make the road an international highway that will enhance trade between the two countries. However, despite all the assurances made, the road was never constructed. Modogashe is an area that will greatly benefit from the construction of the road. The de-facto capital of the Lagdera constituency cannot boost of any infrastructural achievement since Kenya’s independence 5 decades ago.

Nuno-Modogashe Road construction set to begin by December.

The people of Modogashe told our reporters that the proposed construction is a “lie”. The current tribal chief of Modogashe Chief Abdirahman Guure (more commonly known as Chief ‘Maax’) had stated in an exclusive interview with Garissa Reporter that he has had enough of all the promises made by the national government and that he no longer cares about what they say they will do. He said “the promises made by the government were many and they continue to make such promises. These promises are all lies. They may not be held accountable for these lies, but they will certainly face the full force of justice in front of God on the day of judgment.”
The Modogashe community and almost all the communities in the north eastern part Kenya have  experienced marginalization since Kenya’s independence. Many are yet to see whether Governor Nathif Jama will improve the situation in the county and whether, unlike the past, he will implement the promises his government makes.