Turkana County: Rich and Unexploited Opportunities Despite Being Kenya’s Poorest County

What comes to your mind whenever Turkana County is mentioned? Desert filled with emaciated traditionally dressed men and women, dust, hunger, scorching sun, uninformed people?

Well, camp here to broaden your imagination of Turkana County despite the numerous challenges it is faced with.

Turkana is Considered Poorest of the 47 Counties

Turkana County is considered the poorest of the forty-seven counties in Kenya despite its huge untapped wealth.

An estimated 92 percent of Turkana population lives abject poverty and earns less than two US dollars a day.

Turkana’s Population

The 2009 Kenya Population and Housing Census (KPHC) stated that the County population stood at 855,399.

Turkana’s population was projected to be at 1,036,586 in the year 2012 and 1,427,797 by the year 2017. Turkana’s population projection was based on a population growth rate of 6.4 percent that assumed constant mortality and fertility rates.

It is estimated that Turkana’s population will have doubled by the year 2020, which raises the need to expand investment opportunities and basic public facilities to ensure the County does not sink further into poverty.

Factors Making Turkana an Ideal Destination for Investors

Strategic Location

Turkana is strategically located on the borderline of Uganda, Southern Sudan, and Ethiopia, which offers it the opportunity to access a huge unexploited market.

Labor

Turkana County has a reasonable number of skilled personnel with over 60 percent of its population being the youth.

The 60 percent of youth could be an asset to the County when equipped with the right training.

Real Estate

Turkana’s land is vast and largely unexploited which makes it a great place to invest in the agricultural sector, agroforestry, and mining.

Turkana has vast land to facilitate infrastructural developments such as airports, holiday homes, and tourist resorts.

Mining in Turkana

News of mapping of natural resources in Turkana County has made it a target for most foreign investors with amounts of oil deposits estimated to be at 600 million barrels.

Turkana County is richly endowed with mineral resources that include gold, iron ore, copper, sapphire, gypsum, asbestos, talc, manganese, silica, graphite, limestone, rare earth minerals and various gemstones.

Turkana’s Security

The County government of Turkana continues to assure investors of a secure environment with the availability of the national police and police reserves as it continues to work hand in hand with the national Government.

A breakdown of What Turkana County Has to Offer Investors

• Livestock-related investments
• Irrigation for both horticulture and floriculture
• Energy – Solar, Wind, geothermal
• Mining

Exploration and exploitation (A host of minerals are available and they are likely products for local consumption or export markets e.g. silica, cement, gold, iron ore, copper, gemstones, etc.)

Manufacturing and Processing

Despite a population of an estimated well over one million people, all products consumed in the county are from Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kitale.

Infrastructure Development

There are opportunities that come with LAPSSET (Roads, Standard Gauge Railway, Oil Pipeline, etc.) and investors must rise to the occasion and tap into the opportunities.

Building and Construction

Housing estates, shopping malls, hotels, schools, and health facilities will require building stones, sand, cement, stabilized interlocking soil blocks, glass, etc.

Human Resource Development

Schools, technical training Institutions and Institutions of tertiary education continue to be developed in Turkana County.

• Promotion of Fisheries and associated investments
• Wildlife conservancies and related conservation initiatives
• Recreation Parks and a world-class golf course along Lake Turkana.
• Promotion of tourism activities

This includes the historical and heritage sites such as Nariokotome Turkana Boy Monument, Namorutung a, community cultural centers at strategic places such as Ekalees Cultural Centre in Lodwar.