Garissa's Balambala residents endorse upgrading of town to a municipality
Mohamed Horrow, a long-serving professional health officer and trader in Balambala town, welcomed the move which he said has the support of residents.
Residents of Balambala in Garissa County have unanimously endorsed a proposal to upgrade the town into a municipality.
In a public participation forum by the Garissa County government held at Balambala Primary School, participants expressed optimism that the proposed municipality status will spur transformation and development in a town that has no tarmac road.
Abdiwahid Mohamed, a resident who served as a senior administrator in the previous county administration, said the move to uplift the town into a municipality was long overdue after five other towns in Garissa were elevated into municipalities.
"We have already witnessed the impact of elevating the towns into municipalities, starting with Garissa town that got its charter four years ago. This proposed municipality status will spur development," he said.
Mohamed Horrow, a long-serving professional health officer and trader in Balambala town, welcomed the move which he said has the support of residents.
"Having a functional municipality with its board members in Balambala town will bring services closer to the community. The neglected town needs tarmac roads, waste management [facilities] and other infrastructural development," he said.
Mohamed Billow and Aden Ibrahim, representing people with disabilities, also expressed the need to speed up the proposed initiative to upgrade the town into a municipality.
Others who spoke proposed the municipality be expanded to the neighbouring Jarajara and Kasha locations.
Mohamed Hussein, the Garissa County Executive Committee Member for Lands, Physical Planning, and Urban Development who led the initiative to seek public opinion on the matter, said the proposed upgrading of the town into a municipality would improve the infrastructure including roads, waste management, street lighting and emergency services.
"This upgrade is also aligned with Garissa Governor Nathif Jama's initiative to upgrade all sub-county headquarters into municipalities in an effort to reduce rural-urban migration where many were migrating to Garissa municipality to seek a better life," he said.
He thanked residents for their overwhelming endorsement of the proposal which he said will be presented to the county assembly for approval.
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