THE NEW MERU BOND

The Meru community with a population of about 2 million people comprises the following sub-groups:- Igembe, Tiania, Tharaka, Imenti, Igoji, Mwimbi, Muthambi and Chuka. The members of the community speak the same language although with varying intonations. Lets now briefly look at  opportunities and weaknesses that are present but which need to be strengthened for the benefit of everybody in the two counties.
The Tharaka, Tiania and Igembe occupy the lower and largely semi-arid ecological zone while the rest are served by the Mount Kenya forest zone with ample supply of surface water. The Tharaka, even though  are on the lower zone, have large rivers traversing them but just like the Ukambani region which is served by the country's largest rivers, they have not harnessed these waters for agricultural production, perhaps, due to lack of political will and resource mobilization.
The Imenti, Chuka, Mwimbi, Igoji and Muthambi were highly favoured by the Swynnerton Plan of 1954 because of their capacity to grow cash crops such as tea and coffee and therefore have had a head start in the cash economy. Although the Igembe have Miraa as a cash crop that brings in a lot of money, it's not benefiting the larger majority because of high level of illiteracy and other reasons. In fact the industrious and suave Somalis have now taken over the farms and marketing  of Miraa and unless this issue  is addressed urgently, it could be a time-bomb in the waiting.
The new wonder of Meru, the Mitunguu Irrigation scheme is currently producing lots of bananas and while it benefits the Imenti, the Tharaka next door have not benefited at all.
The Tiania and Igembe have lots of unresolved land cases that have hampered development. This together with lack of surface water will need addressing to bring them to tolerable human levels like the other members.
The bulk of meat eaten in Meru is supplied from the cattle found in the Northern Grazing ares of Tiania and Igembe. This is now threatened by insecurity which should be resolved as matter of priority.
The Meru National Park is a potential cash cow for the new county that can generate lots of revenue for the utilization by the residents.
The border disputes which have escalated in the past and caused deaths and destruction of property, need utmost attention because the scars are still fresh in some corners.
Therefore, the Meru who share a common origin, boundaries, language and culture should find strength and enough resouirces from the two counties and utilize them for the benefit of the residents.The creation of the new two counties should serve as a challenge for the community to discard the old order that divided them and find new synergy to forge ahead to a prosperous future.