The national park is known for elephants and views of Mount Kilimanjaro, across the border in Tanzania/FILE – COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 7 – It will be free entry at the Amboseli National Park from September 10-12 as the second Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) conference kicks off.
The two-day conference will be held at the park where the general public and other delegates will also have the privilege to access the wildlife area at no cost.
The national park is known for elephants and views of Mount Kilimanjaro, across the border in Tanzania.
The area also has giraffes, zebras, cheetahs and hundreds of bird species.
Cabinet Secretary for Devolution Eugene Wamalwa has also encouraged delegates to attend the event where ASAL counties will discuss on minerals, mechanized irrigation for food security, meat industry, value addition, magical tourist destinations, and culture.
Speaking during a meeting with partners and stakeholders in Nairobi on September 5, 2019, Wamalwa said for a long-time investor have kept off ASAL counties urging them to exploit the potential that the counties offer.
“It is a platform that brings together all the 29 ASAL counties to look at the challenges that they are all facing as well as the opportunities and the potentials that can be devolved as per our national government’s vision 2030 and so I ask everyone to attend the conference and come learn a few things about these counties,” Wamalwa said.
He further said the conference seeks to explore unexploited opportunities and areas of a strategic partnership to achieve economic empowerment in the ASALS especially among pastoralist communities.
“For many years these are counties that have been looked at as low potential so there has been little investment in these counties and little infrastructure development but when we look at President Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda, these counties hold the highest potential and just recently he launched one of the largest wind projects in Loyangalani,” said Wamalwa.
This is the second ASAL conference since the inception of devolution.
The first one was held from September 5 to 7, 2018 in Malindi, Kilifi County. Over 1000 delegates attended.
The 29 ASAL counties are Kwale, Kilifi, Tana River, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Isiolo, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni, Turkana, West Pokot, Samburu, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia, Narok, Kajiado, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Embu, Migori, Homa Bay, Nakuru and Kiambu.
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