NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 20 – The resettlement of over 700,000 refugees in Daadab and Kakuma camps inched closer to reality after key stakeholders formally adopted the planned integration with local communities.
The stakeholders have settled on November this year as the launch date of the
Shirika Plan, which will result in redesigning the refugee camps in Garissa and
Turkana counties into municipalities.
The Shirika Plan will be jointly implemented by the Kenyan government, the
respective county governments, the UN, and the United Nations Commission
for Refugees, among others.
Under the plan, the refugees will be absorbed into municipalities within the host
communities, and the latter will benefit from enhanced socioeconomic
investments, including schools, health facilities, roads, and modern markets.
Immigration PS Julius Bitok said the focus now will shift to mobilising resources
to implement the Shirika Plan with phase one of the four-year project estimated
to cost of $943 million (Sh115.6B).
“This money will come from different partners and donors, including
governments and the private sector. It will be channeled not only through the
government but also through international NGOs, county governments,
ministries, and departments such as the Ministry of Lands,” he said.
The PS revealed that the necessary framework to support the implementation
of the Shirika Plan is already in place.
“The enactment of the Refugee Act 2021 gave us the foundation. We also
have the gazettement of regulations to operationalise the Act. We have
gazettement of documents used by refugees.”
To anchor the integration, the Turkana and Garissa county governments have
also gazetted Dadaab and Kakuma as municipalities to anchor the necessary
planning and infrastructure upgrading.
As municipalities in the proposed integration, the current refugee camps will
be restructured into modern urban centers with the requisite infrastructure such
as roads, water, sewer systems and other necessities.
The settlements will be repurposed to allow mobility, freedom of movement,
economic inclusion, and refugee participation in the country’s development
processes.
The Shirika Plan National Steering Committee comprises of the governors of
Nairobi, Garissa, and Turkana and at least 17 PSs from state departments
critical to implementing refugee integration.
These departments include the Interior, Treasury, Health, Lands, Water, Housing, Education, and Foreign Affairs.
Interior PS Raymond Omollo said the integration of refugees among host
communities will enhance local and national security.
“It represents an innovative approach to refugee camps into integrated
settlements that support the social economic inclusion of refugees and host
communities thereby enhancing national security and cohesion,”PS Omollo said.
His foreign affairs counterpart, Korir Sing’Oei, hailed the Shirika Plan as a realistic
appreciation of refugees’ social-economic potential.
“We have embraced a paradigm shift that no longer views a refugee as a
burden that should be repatriated as soon as possible. Rather, we want to
harness their skills and industry in ventures that are profitable to themselves and
our country,” he stated
Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomurakai said the Shirika Plan will address
concerns that development partners concentrate on funding refugees at the
expense of host communities.
“There should be imperative balance when it comes to resource sharing,
employment and many other things between the host community and
refugees,”
UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya Stephen Jackson and Kenya’s
Representative for UNHCR Caroline van Buren promised to support the
implementation of the Shirika Plan.
