Garissa MCAs walk out of consultation meeting on socio-economic inclusion of refugees
Earlier, MPs from the host community raised contentious issues bedevilling the successful implementation of the plan.
Garissa MCAs walked out from a stakeholders’ consultation meeting convened on Monday by the Department of Refugee Affairs and the UNHCR seeking the transformation of refugee camps into integrated settlements.
The MCAs were protesting what they termed as a lack of consultation with host communities and local leaders in the implementation of the programme dubbed the Shirika Plan.
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The Shirika Plan is a multi-year initiative, aiming to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees in Kenya by transforming camps into integrated settlements for both refugees and asylum seekers. The plan seeks to alleviate pressure on hosting communities and enhance self-reliance for both refugees and host communities.
The members of the county assembly said they were not allowed to provide input or feedback on the programme and questioned the need to call them to a consultation meeting when the programme was ready for implementation.
Jarajila Ward MCA Noor Sheikh Farah, representing the Jarajila host community, said he made several efforts to reach out to UNHCR on concerns by the host community in the implementation of the Shirika Plan but to no avail.
"Our communities have suffered irreparable damage from hosting the refugees in their settlements for 35 years. We need public participation; our voice regarding the plan is important but we were ignored," he lamented before the walkout.
Grassroots leaders ignored
Hassan Dahir, the MCA of Baraki Ward in Dadaab Constituency, expressed concern about the deliberate omission of grassroots leaders and community members in high-level meetings despite them bearing the biggest brunt of hosting the refugees.
"The host communities have been experiencing depletion of groundwater levels. In Dadaab and Jarajila the groundwater level has gone as deep as 255 metres up from 55 metres owing to the high number of refugee population in the area, yet our concerns are ignored," he said.
He questioned how the host community and their representatives were ignored on a plan that seeks to address their plight.
Abdirahman Bor, the MCA of Sankuri Ward in Balambala Constituency, also protested against the plan which he said deliberately ignored the inclusion of some communities in Balambala that were affected by the refugee activities in the areas neighbouring Dadaab and Fafi constituencies.
Participants during the Shirika Plan meeting held at Garissa Hotel. (Photo: Issa Huseein)
"We will not rubber-stamp a plan that did not involve the communities in its formulation," said Abakhaile Ward MCA Hajir Mohamed Dahiye as the local legislators walked out in protest from the meeting.
When contacted for comment, officials from the Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR told journalists that they were not authorised to speak on the allegations raised by the MCAs.
In November 2023, MPs from Garissa County called for an immediate suspension of the Shirika Plan.
The parliamentary representatives of the host community raised contentious issues bedevilling the successful implementation of the plan.
In a press conference held in Parliament, the legislators led by Dadaab MP Farah Maalim stated that the initiative, which had the potential to bring together the host community and refugees in Dadaab, Hagardera, and Kakuma, was being implemented without the inclusion and full participation of local elected leaders, the civil society and refugees.
He accused the refugee agency and the Immigration Principal Secretary Julias Bitok of disregarding the involvement of various stakeholders in the affairs of the refugees and host communities.
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