“Kenya-Somali Border’s Lamu Households Granted Sh5m – Perplexity and Burstiness Ensue”

On a perplexing Wednesday of May 24, 2023, the Governor of Lamu, Issa Timamy, caused quite a burst of excitement when he bestowed outboard engines to fisher groups in Kiunga, a village situated at the border of Kenya and Somalia. By distributing these engines, Governor Timamy aimed to promote food and income security for the fisher groups in the region. To this end, the county government of Lamu allocated a generous sum of Sh5 million to at least 100 fisher households from Kiunga ward in Lamu East, in the form of micro investment materials.

Governor Timamy shared that this is part of Lamu’s grand strategy to eliminate poverty, create resilience, and enable communities to have disposable incomes. He further revealed that Lamu’s partnership with the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Program undoubtedly helped achieve this feat. The outcome of these efforts was a distribution of outboard engines and fiber boats to five fisher groups in Kiunga ward, which included the Paradiso Community Group, Amani Women Group, Tawakul Kiunga Youth Group, Tawakal Ishakani Self-help Group, and the Takwim Youth Group.

This monumental grant arrives just days after the government of Lamu awarded yet another batch of its community groups Sh50 million funding to explore blue economy opportunities in the region. A total of 28 common interest groups across Lamu benefited from the funds, which are part of the Sh10 billion funding by the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development project. The Kenyan government initiated this project and received support from the World Bank and the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries, all aiming to enhance the livelihoods of coastal communities and leverage emerging opportunities in the Blue Economy.

Implemented over a period of five years (2020-2025), the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Socio-Economic Development project is carried out jointly with five participating counties of Kilifi, Mombasa, Tana River, Kwale, and Lamu. The project’s guiding objectives aim to improve the management of priority fisheries and Mari-culture, thus increasing access to complementary livelihood activities in coastal communities.