A section of contractors from Fafi on Wednesday came out in support of the Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impact Projects (KDRDIP) being undertaken in the area.
Speaking to the press outside the KDRDIP offices, the demonstrators who were led by Yussuf Hussein said that the projects have positively impacted the lives of residents.
They were reacting to comments from a section of residents from the constituency who held peaceful demonstrations outside the KDRDIP offices in Garissa on Tuesday.
Tuesday's group called for the suspension of all community mobilizers and community facilitators whom they accuse of working in cohort with the Garissa office to the disadvantage of the community.
Among other issues the demonstrators want to be addressed include the non-renewal of contracts for the officials working in Garissa County when their contracts expire.
“We are here to affirm that the projects by KDRDIP have significantly changed our lives for the better. As I stand here today I want to confirm that our lives have been changed for the better,” said Fatuma Abdulahi.
“So whoever is coming here to spread lies and calling for its suspension is missing the point. Those are enemies of progress who must be called out."
On his part, Mohamed Salat who did the Bulagolol and Fafi Ward Projects regret that the entire project had been politicized.
In a letter to Cabinet Secretary for East Africa Community, ASAL and Regional Development Rebbeca Miano, the World Bank’s country director Keith Hansen notes that while the project has been successfully implemented in Wajir and Turkana counties, there have been delays in contracting community facilitators in Garissa county causing some projects to be put on hold.
“With the project ending on December 31, 2023, the World Bank is concerned that any further delays in Garissa county, where the bulk of project activities are located, will leave the project incomplete at the time of closure,” the letter reads in parts.
“Less than nine months to the closure of the project, more than USD20 million in project funding remains not disbursed. In addition to denying displacement-affected communities in Garissa county much-needed access to social and economic services and infrastructure, further delays would raise the risk that the government of Kenya would need to refund the World Bank the full cost of any incomplete sub-projects,” World Bank warns in the latter.
Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (KDRDIP) is a National Government initiative, supported by the World Bank to improve the lives of the refugee-hosting communities in the north of the country; Turkana, Wajir and Garissa Counties.
