By Staff Reporter | Wajir Today | Wednesday, 18 February 2026

The national government officials on Tuesday concluded a two-day workshop aimed at training frontline administrators and technical officers on the country’s bottom-up economic transformation agenda, as part of efforts to accelerate implementation of national development programmes in the northeastern region.

The training, organised by the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU), brought together Deputy County Commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners and officers from various state implementing agencies.

The workshop focused on deepening understanding of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and its five pillars, which form the backbone of the government’s economic policy framework.

Northeastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno said the goal was to ensure that government officers clearly understand the agenda and are able to explain it to citizens while responding to questions on the delivery of national projects.

“That is why we are here to conduct training to enable them understand the government agenda based on the five pillars of the bottom-up transformation agenda,” Otieno said.

He added that the officers had been equipped to engage communities and monitor projects, while also helping to identify and resolve implementation challenges.

As part of the visit, officials inspected the progress of an affordable housing project in Wajir County, one of several developments being implemented under the housing pillar of BETA.

“We’ve now found an opportunity to also inspect the progress status of the affordable housing programme in Wajir County,” Otieno said. “So far we are happy with the progress that has been achieved by the contractor here at Wajir.”

According to Otieno, construction at the site is about 55% complete, with the remaining work expected to take around five months.

“These buildings are at 55 percent. Now 55 percent would mean that the percentage that is remaining will take about five or so months so that these houses are completed and are occupied,” he said.

He said affordable housing projects were being implemented in all six constituencies in Wajir County, targeting low-income households and job creation.

“The rationale behind this, one is to give decent homes to those who are at the bottom of the pyramid. Two, to create jobs,” Otieno said.

Project inspection 

Regional Head of the Government Delivery Unit, Duncan Mwariri, said the team had been in Wajir since Sunday conducting training on BETA and inspecting projects aligned to the agenda.

“We have been here from Sunday, training on the bottom-up economic transformation agenda  and we have come also to inspect one of the great pillars for this BETA, that is affordable housing,” Mwariri said.

He said affordable housing projects in Wajir include residential units, hostels in learning institutions and a market project in Wajir town.

Beyond housing, Mwariri said major road infrastructure projects are progressing in the region, linking Wajir to neighbouring counties.

“The Wajir–Tarbaj–Kotulo–Mandera road is on progress and also very soon from Modogashe to Wajir, the road also will be complete,” he said.

Mwariri added that the government is working to complete a wider road network connecting Mandera, Wajir and surrounding areas, describing it as a key priority for the executive.

He also said water supply projects have been implemented in parts of the county, including water reticulation in Eldas constituency, while the government is addressing power outages in Wajir and Mandera.

“We know Wajir, we have been having power outages and also in Mandera and the government is looking into that as directed by the president,” Mwariri said.

Officials said the training and inspections were part of a broader push to align national and local implementation efforts under the bottom-up economic transformation agenda.