Gaarisa: Reopening of border long overdue

Gaarisa: Reopening of border long overdue – CS

Tuesday April 4, 2017

photoj1Residents of Northeastern and their neighbours from Somalia have been urged to take advantage of the reopening of the border later this month to do business.

Industrialisation CS Aden Mohamed said the reopening of the border is long overdue. He said the government loses million of shillings in revenue as goods are smuggled into the country.

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He spoke in Mandera town on Sunday when he led a team of senior government officials, including regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh, to oversee the distribution of relief food.

“The closure of the border did little to prevent entry of contraband goods through the porous border. With enhanced security, it's only prudent to reopen the border to allow for legal business to thrive while the government earns revenue in return,” Mohamed said.

Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi ‘Farmajo’ and Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta agreed that the border point Doble-Liboi and Mandera-Bulla Hawa be reopened to facilitate the movement of people, goods and services.
This was during Farmajo's first state visit to Kenya since he elected in February.

This comes barely a month after Dadaab MP Mohamed Dahiye urged the government to reopen the Liboi border.

The borders have remained closed for the past one-and-half decades since Somalia descended into conflict. However, people living along the borders and refugees have continued to do business and enter the country illegally.

Aden said the government will soon post customs and immigration officers at the two entry points to ensure a smooth reopening of the border.

“Even as we do this, we urge our people to fully cooperate with government and make the exercise a success. We would not wish to encounter any hiccups that will jeopardize the exercise,” he said.

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