Members of the Garissa County assembly are accusing the government of sidelining them on the issue of repatriation of refugees and the eventual closure of the Dadaab Camp which hosts over 350,000 Somali refugees.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday at the county assembly chambers, Fafi MCA, Mustafa Abdirashid said the national government had ignored them and decided to engage the local MPs on the matter.
The 20 MCAs said that the government had deliberately decided to ignore their input in the entire exercise despite their wards having hosted the refugees for the past 25 years.
“We want to voice our concern over the manner in which the government is carrying out the exercise. As the local leadership, we have completely been kept in the dark. The host community feels they should be involved in every step of the repatriation process,” he said.
Abdirashid whose ward hosts Kambioos and Hagardera refugee camps said the UNHCR and its implementing partners had also not explained to them the how the massive infrastructure like schools, dispensaries, water boreholes among others being used by the refugees will be managed.
“We want to know the fate of these massive infrastructures. The infrastructure should revert to the host community because of their generosity for the past 25 year,” he said.
Abdirashid noted that the host communities that largely depend on livestock have been badly affected by the presence of the refugees.
“The refugees have completely destroyed the environment and led to the dilapidation of the roads infrastructure in the area. This must also be addressed by both the UNHCR and the national government,” he added.
The North Eastern Regional co-ordinator, Amb. Mohamud Saleh said local MPs were properly briefed on the exercise and they should liaise with their MCAs if they have issues.