Garissa County
County in Kenya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Garissa County is a county in Kenya located in Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia to the East, Wajir County and Isiolo County to the North, Tana River County to the West, Lamu County to the South and the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest urban area is Garissa.
Garissa County | |
|---|---|
|
Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location in Kenya | |
| Coordinates: 0°27′25″S 39°39′30″E | |
| Country |  Kenya |
| Formed | 4 March 2013 |
| Capital | Garissa |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Nathif Jama Adam |
| • Deputy Governor | Abdi Dagane Muhumed |
| • Senator | Abdul Mohammed Haji |
| • County woman representative | Amina Udgoon Siyad |
| Area | |
• Total | 44,753 km2 (17,279 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,138 m (3,734 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 905,000 |
| • Density | 20.2/km2 (52.4/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | |
| • GDP |  $1.594 billion (41st)(2022)[1] |
| • Per Capita | $1,761 (2022) (45th) |
| GDP (NOMINAL) | |
| • GDP | $585 Million (2022) (41st) |
| • Per Capita | $647 (2022) (45th) |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (EAT) |
| Website | www |
The county was created by the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as a new unit of the devolved government. Prior to the 2010 constitution, Garissa County was part of the North Eastern Province which was one of the former provinces of Kenya. The North Eastern Province was carved out of the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) prior to independence.
The county had a population of 800,000 at the 2019 Census, and a land area of about 44,753 km2 (17,279 sq mi).[2] The majority of the population in Garissa County is of Somali ethnic background. This includes subgroups like the Ogaden, Degodia, Ajuran, and others. There are also smaller populations of other ethnic groups.[2]
Administrative and political units
Political leadership
Nathif Jama Adam was elected as the pioneer governor of Garissa in March 2013. Ali Bunow Korane became the second governor in 2017 however Nathif was re-elected in 2022.[3][4] Nathif is currently deputised by Abdi Dagane Muhumed.[5]
The current elected Senator of the county is Sen. Abdul Mohammed Haji[6] while the current County woman representative is Hon. Amina Udgoon Siyad.[7]
County Executive Committee (CEC)
Every County Government in Kenya has a County Executive Committee (CEC) who are persons the Governor appoints, with the approval of the assembly. The CEC implements and coordinates the development projects of the County. The committee also implements the laws the County Assembly passes and ensures compliance from the various county departments. Below is a list of the current CECs of Garissa County:[8]
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| Mohamud Hassan Mursal | County Secretary |
| Hassan Abdirizak | Agriculture, Livestock & Pastoral Economy |
| Osman Noor | Finance and Economic Planning |
| Ahmed Mohamed | Water, Environment, Climate Change & Natural Resources |
| Zahra Musa | County Affairs, Public Service & Intergovernmental Relations |
| Ebla Minhaj | Education, Information & ICT |
| Ahmednadhir Omar | Health & Sanitation |
| Hawa Abdi | Culture, Gender, Youth & Sports |
| Mohamed Suleiman | Trade, Investments & Enterprise Development |
| Nasir Mohamed | Roads, Transport & Public Works |
| Mohamed Hussein | Lands, Physical Planning & Urban Development |
| Khadija Mohamed | County Attorney |
Administrative units
Garissa County has 6 constituencies.[9][10] The below is the list of all Constituencies and the current elected Member of Parliament (MP) for each constituency:[11]
| Constituency | Member of Parliament (MP) |
|---|---|
| Garissa | Hon. Mohamed Dekow Barrow |
| Fafi | Hon. Salah Yakub Farah |
| Dadaab | Hon. Farah Maalim |
| Lagdera | Hon. Abdikadir Hussein Mohamed |
| Balambala | Hon. Abdi Omar Shurie |
| Ijara | Hon. Abdi Ali Abdi |
Electoral Wards
Garissa County is further subdivided into 30 electoral wards. Each ward is represented by a Member of the County Assembly (MCA) or also known as Ward Representative whose main roles are legislation, representation, and oversight.[12][13] The current speaker of the County Assembly is Abdi Idle Gure.[14]
The list below shows all the wards of the county and the current elected MCA for each Ward:[15]
| Constituency | Electoral Ward | Member of County Assembly (MCA) |
|---|---|---|
| Garissa Township Constituency | Waberi | Abubakar Haji Sugow |
| Galbet | Abubakar Mohamed Khalif | |
| Township | Hussein Mohamed Dagane | |
| Iftin | Musdaf Abdirashid Ahmed | |
| Balambala Constituency | Balambala | Abdi Ibrahim Daar |
| Danyere | Idris Ismail Aden | |
| Jarajara | Adan Hussein Durow | |
| Saka | Abdiweli Aden Abdullahi | |
| Sankuri | Abdirahman Mohamed Ali | |
| Lagdera Constituency | Modogashe | Mahat Abdikadir Ibrahim |
| Benane | Abdiqayum Sugow Nurow | |
| Goreale | Fakrudin Haji Sadik | |
| Maalimin | Hajir Mahat Farah | |
| Sabena | Issa Aden Abdi | |
| Baraki | Hassan Dahir Noor | |
| Dadaab Constituency | Dertu | Aden Hassan Odowa |
| Dadaab | Mohamed Abdi Farah (Aboo) | |
| Labasigale | Mohamed Sheikh Abdisalat | |
| Damajale | Omar Abdi Hassan | |
| Liboi | Ahmed Abdirahman Shiekh | |
| Abakaile | Hajir Mohamed Dahiye | |
| Fafi Constituency | Bura | Ali Abdihakim Haret |
| Dekaharia | Ahmed Noor Aden | |
| Jarajila | Noor Sheikh Farah | |
| Fafi | Hassan Aden Kolosho | |
| Nanighi | Abdullahi Ibrahim Sigat | |
| Ijara Constituency | Hulugho | Adow Omar Said |
| Sangailu | Abdi Muhyadin Abdi | |
| Ijara | Abdirahman Muktar Muhumed | |
| Masalani | Yunis Abdi Ibrahim |
Demographics
Garissa county had a total population of 841,353 persons of which 458,975 were males, 382,344 females and 34 intersex person. There was a total of 141,394 household with an average size of 5.9 persons per house hold. It has a population density of 19 persons per square kilometre based on the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.[16]
Distribution of Population, Land Area and Population Density by Sub-County
| Sub County | Area (km2) | Population 2019 Census[17] |
Popn. density |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balambala | 3,684 | 32,257 | 8.8 |
| Dadaab | 6,415 | 185,252 | 28.9 |
| Fafi | 15,050 | 134,030 | 8.9 |
| Garissa | 3,318 | 163,914 | 49.4 |
| Hulugho | 7,737 | 133,984 | 17.3 |
| Ijara | 2,453 | 141,591 | 57.7 |
| Lagdera | 6,096 | 50,315 | 8.3 |
| Totals | 44,753 | 841,353 | 18.8 |
Source[17]
Religion & Ethnicity
Most of the inhabitants of Garissa County are ethnically Somali and are predominantly Muslim.
- Christianity (2.20%)
- Islam (97.6%)
- Other religions (including Atheism) (0.20%)
Education
The county has 347 ECD centres, 224 primary schools, 41 secondary schools, 2 teachers training colleges and 2 public universities.
39.7 per cent of the population can read and write and 57.9 cannot read and write. There is an average of 8.2 per cent literacy level and 74 per cent are illiterate.[19]
| Category | No of Public | No of Private | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECD | 210 | 137 | 347 |
| Primary School | 173 | 51 | 224 |
| Secondary School | 25 | 16 | 41 |
| Youth Polytechnic | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Teachers Training Colleges | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Technical Institutions | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Universities | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Source [20]
Health
There are a total of 111 health facilities distributes across the county, one level 5, 14 other hospitals, 29 health centres and 67 dispensaries.[21]
| Diseases | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Upper Respiratory Tract Infections | 30.9 |
| Urinary Tract Infection | 15.2 |
| Diarrhoeal diseases | 9.5 |
| Diseases of the skin | 7.4 |
| Pneumonia | 6.7 |
Source[19]
HIV/ADS is at the 1 percentage as compared to the national prevalent rate of 5.6 percentage.[21]
Transport and communication
A total of 2,700.6 km is classified as road network coverage comprising 1,637.84 km under county government and 1,062.76 km under national government. Of the total road network 420 km is covered by gravelled surface, 2,245.1 km earth surface and .5 km of bitumen surface.[19]
There are 6 postal services with 2,600 installed letter boxes, 2,496 rented letter boxes, and 104 vacant letter boxes.[22]
Trade and commerce
The main crops grown are maize, greengrams, sorghum, rice, cowpeas, bananas, mangoes, pawpaw, water melon, tomatoes, capsicum and onions. Farmers have an average size of 1.5 hectares for small scale and 20 hectares for large scale. cattle (boran), goats (galla), sheep (black headed Persian) and camel (dromedary one humped) are kept as the main livestock for producing key products of meat, milk, hides and skins.[22][21]
Services and urbanisation
| County | Status for the County (Per cent) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbanisation | |||||||||
| Literacy | |||||||||
| Attending School (15-18 Yrs) | |||||||||
| Paved Roads | |||||||||
| Good Roads | |||||||||
| Electricity Access | |||||||||
| Poverty Rate | |||||||||
|
Stats for the County | |||||||||
Source: USAid Kenya
See also
- Garissa
- Garissa District
- North Eastern Province (Kenya)
- Northern Frontier District
- Mandera County
- Isiolo County
- Lamu County
- Wajir County
- Counties of Kenya
- Sub-Counties of Kenya
- Garissa Solar Power Station
- List of counties of Kenya by GDP
- Garissa massacre
- Garissa University College attack
- Lamu–Garissa–Isiolo Road
- Garissa–Nuno–Modogashe–Wajir Road
- Mombasa–Garissa Road
- Garissa Airport
