Leaders from Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) have called out the government claiming that they were being shut out of the upcoming census.
Ali Roba, the governor of Mandera county said that the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) failed to consider the regions nomadic patterns when setting the date for the National Census.
He said that the ASAL counties were left out of the process in 2009 and the census informed allocation of resources.
“This census is very important because it is going to determine how revenue will be shared under the County Revenue Allocation plan. They must, therefore, ensure they use the best technology that will not discriminate anyone. We can confidently say that half of our population was locked out of the 2009 census and following malicious statements by some politicians from other regions we are likely going to use a political process to push for our ideas,” Governor Roba said.
The Mandera governor said that some leaders were worried about the increased numbers in the area and that it was their intention to lock them out of development.
The Mandera women representative Rehema Jaldesa said that they were ready for the census but that it should be conducted by the relevant Ministry.
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“Our men are allowed to marry up to four wives. This means where you have two family members we have eight. This census must be allowed to be conducted by the relevant ministry but whatever the outcome we are telling them we are ready and let them bring it on,” she said.
The ASAL leaders also had an issue with the revenue allocation stating that the current formula favors some quarters while others are discriminated especially in the marginalized.
This complaints come days after Moses Kuria said that the people from Mt Kenya were tired of being treated as voting machines wile development went to other areas.
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