The county I’m talking about is in deep crisis as multiple reports of lack of water, power outages so severe that children and women are spotted trekking kilometers under the scorching sun only for them to get a jerry can of mucky relief. The Mandera town is equally affected with residents flocking to the borderlines of Somalia -and Ethiopia in order to get ice cubes for hefty prices .

Temperatures soar above 40°C. Times like these make the little water available too hot to quench thirst.

For those who are wondering; this isn’t new for Mandera residents; a semi-arid region long neglected despite a decade funneling billions of shillings in terms of funding for development, yet residents fight hard over dirty puddles.

A similar fate had befallen Singapore -but they transitioned to the first world with innovation through rainwater harvesting, and construction of reservoirs that turned weakness into strength. Mandera is located near the Dawa river -why shouldn’t it be utilized?

My Five Years’ Grand Strategy .

1. To build solar-powered desalination plants to utilize the underused scorching sun for energy.

2. Numerous geological investigations suggest that the region is rich in underground water. Consequently, I view the drilling of deep boreholes as the great leap forward in areas experiencing intense water scarcity.

3. To construct micro-dams in order to capture seasonal rains as the region tends to get rain almost five times a year. I endeavor to ensure that, in a minimum of five years, every household will have piped water – and in my next term we’ll even export surplus water to our neighbors.

4. My magnum opus of a mega project shall be electricity. Recent blackouts have tainted and crippled our county, becoming a chokehold on progress. Borrowing from the same playbook as Singapore, its power grid is a mix of imported energy and cutting-edge renewables. By contrast, it is baffling to hear that a place with relentless sun has utterly failed to use it. Good people, have less worry as I am here to fix the mess by building a grid of solar farms paired with wind turbines along our windy plains that have the capacity to light the county 24/7.

By the end of my first term, I will have ensured that no village has been left behind through battery storage and micro grids. And in the second term, we shall turn every liability into a revenue-generating asset. How? Easy, we’ll sell clean energy to the national grid.

5. I remain cognizant that infrastructure in isolation will not suffice-just as Singapore’s secret did not just lie on pipes and wires–but in their heavy investment in governance and their people. Therefore, accountability to my people, transparency in tenders, oversight in every project, and crackdown of corrupt bureaucrats shall take priority.

On the issue of investing in my people, I’ll train youth in their thousands - in solar engineering, agribusiness and water management. In five years, they’ll be the workforce driving this vision, and not idle hands that always blame the past.

 6. The county shall thrive in agriculture. Comparatively, Singapore grows food in skyscrapers. Why then are we reluctant to irrigate our arid lands using drip system powered by new water grid? Investing in drought- resistance crops and enabling pastoralists to trade milk and meat in a modern market will be at the heart of my agenda.

Finally, we will turn Mandera into a logistic hub filled with roads, airstrips, airports, etc. Soon our goods will reach Nairobi, Mogadishu and Dubai. I’m  sure that sceptics will scoff . “ Mandera isn’t Singapore ,” they’ll say . They’re right- it isn’t -yet. Singapore had nothing -no farms, no rivers and a fraction of Mandera’s space- but it had  willpower , and a plan to execute it. The county must leverage its vast resources, and its strategic location. Since devolution took effect, the one thing it has lacked is collective resolve and bold leadership to change Mandera for the better.

In my view, water and electricity shortages  are a wake up call,  not a death sentence. Give me ten years -ten years of investment, focus, and grit. There’s no doubt in my mind that Mandera won’t just survive; it will shine. The Singapore of Africa isn’t just a dream -it’s a deadline. Let’s start today.