Residents of North Eastern region and their neighbours from Somalia have been urged to start businesses as the government plans to re-open the border points later this month.
Industrialization Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Mohamed said the government will re-open the Doble-Liboi and Mandera-Bulla Hawa border points so as to monitor the movement of people and goods entering the country.
Mohamed however said the re-opening of the border points was long overdue since the government was losing millions of shillings in revenue since some of the goods enter the country illegally.
Speaking in Garissa town after leading a team of senior government officials to distribute relief food in Masalani, Mohamed said the re-opening of the border will enhance the movement of people, goods and services.
“The closure of the border did little to prevent entry of contraband goods through the porous border. With enhanced security, it is only prudent to re-open the border to allow legal business to thrive while the government earns revenue in return,” he said.
Mr Mohamed further said the government will soon post customs and immigration personnel among other officers to the two entry points to ensure smooth re-opening of the border.
“Even as the government reopens the border, we urge our people to fully cooperate with the Government and make the exercise a success. We would not wish to encounter any hiccups that will jeopardize the exercise,” he added.