Garissa governor Nathif Jama has raised concern over what he termed as political interference in the Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impact Project (KDRDIP) in the area.
Nathif said that the meddling in the affairs of the projects was putting the county and community at risk of missing out on the World Bank funding meant for the multi-million projects.
The governor said that already some projects have stalled in parts of Garissa and called on parties involved to reach a consensus quickly before the projects come to a close in December.
In March this year, two groups from Fafi sub-county, one against and opposed to the projects in the area, held demonstrations outside the Garissa county commissioner’s offices, later demanding the projects be suspended.
Nathif was speaking in his office on Monday when he met with a joint delegation from KDRDIP and the World Bank, who paid him a courtesy call.
“As leaders, we should put our political ambitions aside and pursue the interests of the people who elected us. I urge the warring parties to come together and come up with a consensus so that stalled projects can resume,” Nathif said.
“We risk losing funds running into millions of shillings meant for the World Bank funded projects that come to an end in December if we don’t come up with an amicable solution to our differences,” he added.
The World Bank team is led by Matthew Stephens and his deputy Annette Omollo, while the KDRDIP team is led by Wilfred Omari, the National Project Coordinator for KDRDIP.
They are in the county to assess and review some of the projects undertaken under the KDRDIP project in Dadaab and Lagdera sub-counties today and tomorrow.
Present were Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane, County Secretary Mohamud Hassan, and Water CEC Ahmed Sheikh, among other senior county officials.
KDRDIP is a Sh10 billion credit by the World Bank to the Government of Kenya and an additional grant of Sh800 million by the Danish Government (DANIDA), whose objective is to improve access to basic social services, expand economic opportunities, and enhance environmental management in the refugee-hosting communities in Garissa, Wajir, and Turkana counties.
It was approved by the Bank on April 26, 2017 and became effective on June 28, 2017. It is in its sixth year of implementation, with the closing date being December 31, 2023.
The project operates in Turkana County, specifically Turkana West, Wajir South in Wajir County, and Dadaab, Fafi, and Lagdera sub-counties in Garissa County.
By Jacob Songok
