Residents of Gurar in Wajir North subcounty have called on the government to recruit Kenya Police Reservists to replace those who have left the service due to ageing or death.
Speaking in Gurar town on Monday during a baraza, area MCA Siyad Roba said although the residents love peaceful coexistence with their neighbours, there is a need for readiness to protect their borders in times of conflict.
“We appreciate the national government's initiative which saw Gurar being among the first divisions to have KPR officers in the country in the 1960s and 1970s. However, most the officers recruited then have grown old or died, leaving a gap which should be filled through new recruitment," Roba said.
He said population growth had led to shrinking of land for pastoral activities, and residents ought to shift from pure pastoralism, which is the key economic activity in the area, to crop farming.
“There is a need to shift from pastoralism to crop farming and to do that dams are needed whose water can be used for irrigation for crop husbandry," Roba said.
Wajir county commissioner Jacob Narengo thanked the locals for actively participating in the National Hygiene Programme popularly referred to as Kazi Mtaani.
