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Use border reopening to boost security, trade
Ministry of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki speaks during a joint press conference with his Somalia counterpart Mohamed Ahmed Sheikh Ali to address on the cross-border cooperation between the Republic of Kenya and the federal government of Somalia on May 15, 2023. PHOTO | LUCY WANJIRU | NMG
Talk of reopening the Kenya-Somalia border points has elicited excitement for a good reason.
In the more than 10 years of closure, security, which was the main reason for the barricade, has improved, but it has come at a significant cost to the regional economy.
Formal trade has slumped to lows of Sh11.8 billion in 2019, with traders forced to smuggle goods across the porous border.
The revenue loss has been massive, with Sh2 billion reported to have gone uncollected at the Mandera/Belet Hawo crossing point alone in 2021.
But while the two countries missed out on the billions of shillings, the terror gangs, the cause of the lengthy closure, were busy filling the void left by revenue authorities and collecting the money foregone.
In December last year, a report by the Global Initiative Network suggested that the illicit trade of sugar from Kenya could be the highest revenue source for the militant group extorting traders.
Reopening the border points should, therefore, starve the militant group of the cash it uses to finance its terror campaign and unlock trade.
It's a win-win solution that should increase regional growth and boost security.
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