The Principal Secretary (PS) for Immigration and Citizen Services Julius Bitok and the Directorate of Refugees have met to review the proposed Integrated Refugee inclusion in Kenya dubbed the Shirika Plan.
The Shirika Plan is a pioneering approach to transform Kenya’s refugee camps into settlements that are currently designated as municipalities, with refugees included as part of a community-wide development plan.
Bitok announced that they are taking steps to ensure that implementation of the Shirika Plan is in place as the policy has shifted from humanitarian approach to a development approach.
‘We want the refugees to be self-reliant other than just relying on humanitarian assistance,’ expressed Bitok, adding the plan aims to integrate the refugees and host communities to live together in harmony and work together.
He continued, ‘We are going to take the zero draft of the Shirika Plan for stakeholder validation including the counties and the Members of Parliament to get more comments to enrich the docum
ents and later on to the Cabinet for approval by August this year.
The PS was speaking in Nairobi to celebrate the World Refugee Day where he revealed that the zero draft of the Shirika Plan has already been adopted and that on the 1st of November 2024, they will launch the innovative idea.
Bitok reiterated that the landmark plan has already achieved the enactment of the Refugee Act 2021 which acted as the foundation and the gazettement of regulations and documents used by refugees to ensure a legal and regulatory framework to support the Shirika Plan.
‘The Shirika Plan is a phased approach with a four-year transition period and the estimated budget for phase one is 943 million dollars,’ stated the PS.
He said the plan is aimed at involving all stakeholders including Members of Parliament, Governors, refugees and host communities assuring security for the integrated settlements.
Meanwhile, Governor for Turkana County, Jeremiah Lomorukai observed that Turkana is one of the counties that has harbored the l
argest population of refugees in the country for over thirty years.
He however maintained that Shirika Plan will ensure that there will be an imperative balance when it comes to resource sharing and employment.
‘The population of the refugees in Turkana is over two hundred and eighty-eight thousand, more than the population of the Kakuma and the local population causing hostility,’ noted Lomorukai as he thanked the Government for beefing security in refugee camps.
He nevertheless insisted that the Principal Secretaries in charge of Security and Immigration will have to put their heads together to manage the situation in an amicable way.
Source: Kenya News Agency