Mombasa County Deputy Governor Dr William Kingi says counties are still a major player in managing the socio-economic environment which is now threatened by the rise of violent extremism.
He said it is necessary for counties to reorient plans and programmes in line with the emerging reality of violent extremism.
"As we work on the modalities of implementing the Mombasa County Action Plan on Prevention of Violent Extremism, we must underscore the need to collaborate, cooperate and deploy our best efforts together," he said on Thursday.
County governments should be tapping the knowledge and resources of the national government, and partners collaborating with local actors with experience working with communities to make a formidable coalition in the fight against violent extremism, according to the DG.
"It is a potent mix deploying not the might of government, but the soft power of persuasion and the dynamism required to make our communities less susceptible to the allure of extremism."
He noted that violent extremism is a relatively new phenomenon in the coastal counties given the region's multiracial and multicultural history.
"This suggests we are losing some of the dynamism that has, for years, created this amalgam of cultures and peoples. We have then to work together to build on the history of cohesion and tolerance unique to our region."
In a bid to defeat violent extremism, Kingi said the County government of Mombasa had established a fully-fledged CVE Directorate charged with cascading the county strategy to all wards.
"Our goal is to protect and dignify the lives the lives of our youth to insulate them from all negative influences," he said, during a workshop on violent extremism implementation organised by Haki Africa.