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Kenya

Govt gets loan for IDP resettlement

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 12 – The government has secured a Sh1.71 billion loan from the African Development Bank to rebuild houses for Internally Displaced Persons and initiate food security initiatives.

The Director of Resettlement and Mitigation at the Special Programmes Ministry Wilfred Ndolo told Capital News in an interview that the loan commences this July, and will be spread over three years.

“This programme will build at least 12,000 houses. It will also give sustainable livelihoods in form of farm inputs to 15,000 households in Rift Valley and Western provinces so that food security is assured in those areas,” he said on Wednesday.

In addition, the government of China has donated Sh200 million worth of iron sheets to assist in the reconstruction. The Japanese government has on the other hand committed to rebuild 8,000 houses at a cost of Sh550 million.

The government has already spent more than Sh1.5 billion in compensation for the over 600,000 refugees, while development agencies have helped rebuild close to 4,000 houses. At least 119,459 family heads are registered as having lost their homes in the skirmishes that also resulted in about 1,500 deaths.

The resettlement process started in May last year but has been slowed insecurity fears.

An estimated 33,000 people are still holed up in 40 satellite camps in Molo, Uasin Gishu and Trans Nzoia. The Eldoret showground is still housing 2,450 people, while in Molo another 125 are still living in camps. A good number are also suspected to have moved in with relatives in Central, Nyanza and Western Provinces.

Mr Ndolo said the department was now rooting support from legislators from Central and Rift Valley provinces to jointly lead in reconciliation efforts to boost the process.

“Kenyans are good people, they only need to see leaders of various tribes being together and talking the same language, and they will follow,” Mr Ndolo said, adding that he had held a meeting with the legislators who committed to fix a date for the exercise once work on the special tribunal was finalised in Parliament.

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