•The mast has enhanced communication in the area and other parts of the world.
•The Safaricom mast was launched last year by Ijara Member of Parliament Sophia Abdi Noor.
A section of residents of Hulugho, Garissa county have celebrated the commissioning of a new communication mast in the area saying it is changing their lives.
The mast has enhanced communication in the area and other parts of the world.
The Safaricom mast was launched last year by Ijara Member of Parliament Sophia Abdi Noor.
This followed complaints from locals they had difficulties in communicating and transacting business because of lack of communication.
A persistent threat from al-Shabaab terror group forced the construction to be done at the Hulugho police station.
The terrorists have in the past targeted and destroyed dozens of masts in the area affecting businesses at large.
This has forced telco companies to construct the masts in police facilities, which added a cost to the whole plan to enhance communication in the region.
The MP said the installation is for the benefit of the citizens and as such everyone should participate in protecting it.
“The residents in the area are now able to send and receive money from their loved ones. People on other telecommunication providers are as well able to send money to or through Mpesa,” she said.
She added business is also set to boom considering the number of M-pesa outlets that have been mushrooming in the area.
Police said incidents of burglary and theft of money is also on the down low due to the ability of residents to keep their money safely in their digital wallets (M-pesa).
Through Internet connection from the mast, government services and online commerce are as well easily accessible.
This refers to all the e-government services available on an online platform for example renewal of a driving licence and e-commerce such as online banking respectively.
The MP said people of Hulugho have for a long time been cut off from the rest of the constituency and country as a result of poor or lack of connectivity.
“This has had tremendous security and economic implications. The realization of this long-awaited dream therefore comes as a reprieve and the beginning of economic and social growth," she said.
She urged the locals to own the initiative and protect it as their own.