Governor Guyo leads experts, investors in natural resource mapping exercise in Isiolo

Isiolo Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo on Monday led a team of geologists and investors in conducting natural resource mapping exercise for the county.

The exercise according to Guyo will help facilitate the identification, alignment and leveraging of community resources to address developmental needs of Isiolo.

The experts and investors visited Yaqbarsadi, Kulamawe, Barambate, Malkadaka, Qubi Dimtu, and Kom Durte where precious stones namely Gypsum, limestone and gold deposits were found to be present in the county.

The team of geologists was led by Mustafa Kuro, who said that the deposits in Isiolo could make Kenya the hub for Africa when it comes gypsum mining.

“The quality is around 98 percent pure. In terms of viability, when we are setting a 2 million Ligaplant per annum we require only 1000 acres. What we have is actually 70,000 acres. This is going to be the hub for Africa," he said.

The Isiolo Governor said that his administration will make a deliberate effort to have a County Investment Forum in the next two months in order to attract investors.

Guyo said the presence of precious minerals presents an opportunity for his administration to depart from the trend of depending on the annual allocation from the national exchequer.

He said this will also help the county to raise enough revenue by exploiting the available resources to benefit the Isiolo community.

The county boss said that unlike previous administrations, his government will prioritise public-private partnerships to deliver job opportunities and to spur the much needed economic growth.

Guyo noted it was now clear that Isiolo is endowed with precious minerals that can be exploited for large scale manufacturing.

He added that lab tests had indicated that the Gypsum deposits in Malkadaka area are 98 per cent pure but despite that Kenya imports lesser quality gypsum materials from other countries.

The governor said his administration will seek enactment of a county investments bill by the County Assembly, as well as conduct public participation forums in order to give the people of Isiolo an opportunity to have their say as the resources belong to them.

Isiolo speaker Mohamed Roba welcomed the move by the county government to chart a new path in resource mobilisation to help residents benefit from resources that have existed for ages but added no value to their lives.

Roba said that the county assembly will put in place all the necessary pieces of legislation to ensure the people of Isiolo benefit directly from available natural resources.