Capital Flight in Wajir: A Wake-Up Call to Build from Within

By Hassan Adow

Wajir County is grappling with a serious and persistent economic challenge: CAPITAL FLIGHT. Across nearly every productive sector, goods and services are provided by individuals who are not permanent residents. As a result, income earned in Wajir frequently exits the local economy with little or no reinvestment limiting circulation and stifling growth.

It is estimated that almost three out of every ten shillings earned by households is spent on services and goods that do not generate meaningful economic activity within the county. Residents continue to lament the scarcity of money in circulation, and many local businesses are increasingly at risk of collapse.

While public expenditure policies may need to be revisited, the deeper issue lies in the composition and preparedness of our local workforce.

There is a glaring skills gap, worsened by low enrolment in vocational training. Take the construction sector, which contributes over 10% to Wajir’s Gross County Product (GCP) yet is heavily dominated by non-Wajirians. Consequently, income from local projects flows outward, depriving the county of the multiplier effects that could otherwise uplift local entrepreneurs, suppliers, and households.

This pattern is not unique to construction. Critical services like plumbing, electrical work, welding, hairdressing, tailoring, and domestic labor are also dominated by outsiders. These are profitable trades, yet they are often overlooked or undervalued by our own youth.

Look around Wajir today: the egg hawkers, barbers, shoeshiners, second-hand clothing vendors, those providing labour on our farms and artisans most are non-locals. This is deeply concerning.

Let me be clear: this is not an attack on non-Wajirians. We fully recognize and appreciate their contribution to our economy. But the near-total absence of Wajirians in key sectors is a form of economic surrender. We are outsourcing our own livelihoods and then wondering why our economy is stagnating.

It is time for a shift.

Our Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) offer accessible platforms for acquiring practical, in-demand skills. The youth of Wajir must seize these opportunities. If we do not equip ourselves to meet the needs of our own economy, we will remain bystanders to our own development.

Wajir has untapped potential. Serious non-local investors view Wajir as their “South Africa” or “United States.” Yet, many of our youth and middle-aged men resort to begging in the streets, while ignoring available employment opportunities within the county.

Worse still, many continue to risk their lives on dangerous migration routes, seeking to reach Europe, only to fall into the hands of traffickers like the infamous Magafe in Libya. It is a crying shame.

We must reclaim our dignity and direction.

I fully support Governor FCPA Hon. Ahmed Abdullahi’s call for Wajirians to take the lead in rebuilding our county. It’s time to invest in sectors that matter;those that directly impact our people.

The county government should also consider providing start-up capital to VTC graduates and creating targeted incentives to encourage skills training and entrepreneurship.

Let us change the narrative, Manual work is not inferior.Technical skills are not for the less privileged. These are the very foundations of economic growth, family stability, and community resilience.

If we are truly concerned about the lack of money in circulation, we must look inward ,not outward. The solution lies in our own hands: in the ambition of our youth, in our willingness to learn, and in our determination to shape a better future.

Let us rise to the occasion. Let us skill up. Let us build Wajir for Wajirians.

The writer is an economist and public policy analyst