Garissa leaders demand suspension of refugees Shirika Plan amidst implementation controversies

Parliamentary leaders from Garissa County have called for an immediate suspension of the Shirika plan, currently implemented by the Kenyan government and the UNHCR. The parliamentary representatives of the host community raised contentious issues bedeviling the successful implementation of the Shirika plan, unveiled earlier this year to transform refugee camps into more integrated settlements, providing greater opportunities for self-reliance and offering additional support to the host communities.

Speaking at the National Parliament, Farah Maalim, the MP for Dadaab Constituency, 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, civil society, and refugees. He accused the refugee agency and the Principal Secretary of Immigration, Julias Bitok, of their total disregard for involving various stakeholders in refugee affairs.

"We are the representatives of the host community; we hosted the refugees for three decades. The host community bears the brunt of hosting the refugees, facing issues ranging from wanton destruction of the environment to the destruction of roads by the WFP heavy commercial trucks ferrying food to the camps," said the MP. He questioned how the State Department of Refugee Affairs and UNHCR planned to execute the implementation of the Shirika plan without the full involvement of elected leaders and other local stakeholders.

The MP called for an investigation by an independent body into the implementation of the Shirika plan and alleged cases of nepotism and mismanagement, citing a recent recruitment of assistant commissioners by the Department of Refugee Affairs. He further highlighted the protracted neglect from the UN refugee agency regarding the sustained usage of firewood in the camps without providing an alternative source of fuel.

Garissa Woman Rep Amina Siyat urged the State Department and UN refugee agency to suspend the implementation of the program until the contentious issues were addressed. She stated that the host community was taken for granted, and unless the raised concerns were addressed, the leaders would not support the Shirika plan. She called on the UN refugee agency to roll out an El Nino response plan for the host community to alleviate suffering induced by the El Nino rains.

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