Cross-border meeting held in Mandera town to address soaring food prices

A cross-border consultative meeting was held in Mandera town to address increased prices of food commodities at the Mandera Triangle Market.

The Thursday meeting brought together traders, religious leaders and government officials from Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.

The Mandera County Executive Committee member for Trade and Industry Nathifa Ahmed said the price hike occasioned by the El Nino rains has been a pressing issue in the Mandera Triangle Market.

“The meeting yielded important resolutions where the business community in the three neighbouring countries agreed to ratify," said Nathifa.

She said members agreed to enforce market regulations and share weekly pricing information with the possibility of granting a tax holiday.

Nathifa further said improving the road network to facilitate the supply of goods was also deliberated upon since this remains one of the main reasons for the increased prices of the commodities.

The trade executive member said to enhance the relationship with the neighbouring countries, the need to address security harassment at the border was also factored into the resolutions.

The representatives of the three countries agreed to work collectively to promote trade and stability.

Nathifa said resolutions made will be disseminated to the traders from the three countries through meetings and other avenues to address the soaring prices of goods.

The meeting comes barely two weeks after a similar cross-border meeting was held in Mandera town to promote trade and security.