NAIROBI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Kenya said on Thursday that it will resettle more than 700,000 refugees in the northern part of the country after key stakeholders formally adopted the planned integration with local communities.
Julius Bitok, principal secretary of the State Department for Immigration and Citizens Services, said the stakeholders have settled on November as the starting date for the Shirika Plan, which will result in redesigning the refugee camps in Garissa and Turkana counties into municipalities.
Bitok said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to mark World Refugee Day that the focus now will shift to mobilizing resources to implement the Shirika Plan, with phase one of the four-year project estimated to cost 943 million U.S. dollars.
"This money will come from different partners and donors, including governments and the private sector," he added.
The Shirika Plan will be jointly implemented by the government, the respective county governments, and UN agencies, among others.
Under the plan, the refugees will be absorbed into municipalities within the host communities, and the latter will benefit from enhanced socioeconomic investments, including schools, health facilities, roads, and modern markets.
Kenya is currently hosting an estimated 775,000 refugees and asylum seekers from over 20 countries, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
