The Coast Development Authority (CDA) has called for greater youth empowerment through the identification and sustainable utilisation of the region’s resources to promote investment, create jobs and drive socio-economic development.

Speaking during Pwani Innovation Week in Mombasa, the Authority’s Acting Managing Director, Dr Mwanasiti Bendera, said there was a need to equip young people with knowledge of the Coast region’s unique economic opportunities and strengthen strategies to transform local resources into practical solutions.

Bendera said the region needed to unlock its potential by identifying its available resources and sensitising young people on how to utilise them for empowerment and economic development.

“We need to understand the challenges and opportunities these resources present for investment and the socio-economic empowerment of our people,” she said.

The Ag. MD emphasised the importance of adopting a transformative development strategy under the Coast Agenda, which seeks to turn practical ideas into sustainable solutions for the region.

“The Coast Agenda is a call for an inclusive and integrated approach to development in the region, focusing on seven key areas based on the resources available to us,” Dr. Bendera said.

She identified the blue economy, agriculture, food security, mining, livestock rearing, irrigation and infrastructure development as key areas that could drive regional growth if adequately supported and exploited for the benefit of local communities.

The Ag. MD noted that infrastructure development was essential to unlocking the full potential of the region’s resources.

“We cannot move away from infrastructure development because, without it, it will be very difficult to realise the full potential and opportunities offered by these resources,” she said.

Bendera urged relevant authorities and stakeholders to work together to ensure that the Coast region’s resources were effectively developed and their benefits reached local communities.

She also proposed the establishment of a centralised database of coastal resources to improve access to knowledge and information and support informed decision-making.

“We are looking at having a database of all the coastal resources to create knowledge and information that can be centralised in one place; that is the agenda we want as coastal people,” she said.

Sentiments that were echoed by Jamal Abdallah, an executive at Smart Move Community, who said young people in the Coast region possessed considerable knowledge and talent in various creative fields and had opportunities to use their skills to contribute to regional development.

“Nobody can match the level of creativity that the youth of the Coast region possess. It is up to us to make greater efforts to realise the Coast Agenda,” Abdallah said.

He noted that the Coast region had a long history of trade and engagement with foreign communities, citing the historical presence of Chinese and Persian traders in areas such as Lamu and Kwale, as examples of international connections that had contributed to commercial activity and regional development.

“Who does not know that in Lamu we used to have Chinese and Persians? We need to come together to fulfil the dream of the Coast region,” he said.

Abdallah further called on stakeholders to unite around the Coast Agenda and promote development by making better use of the region’s available resources.

“We need to come together and discuss the Coast Agenda because it is high time we made our own choices rather than always waiting to be dictated to,” he said.

By Mary Mtawa