The government has frozen the creation of new administration units (sub-locations, locations, divisions and sub-counties) as units of service delivery in Eastern and North-Eastern Regions.
The moratorium will also affect land adjudications along counties’ boundaries in the regions until after the 2022 general elections.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said Tuesday the decision is informed by the need to avoid milking political capital out of the exercises and avoid exacerbating ethnic, clan and other potential disagreements around the process.
A number of counties in the regions have been experiencing cross-border conflicts around disputed boundaries and access to resources such as land, pasture and water.
“The moratorium will allow for consultations and public participation. It will also insulate the process from political manipulation and incitement around the location of boundaries and access to land, water, pasture and other resources,” he said.
These areas include Meru-Isiolo, Meru-Tharaka Nithi, Isiolo-Garissa, Kitui-Tana River, Makueni-Taita Taveta and Makueni-Kajiado.
Matiang’i spoke Tuesday in Isiolo after chairing a meeting of security chiefs from Meru and Isiolo counties.
