This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
Published on November 26, 2019, a group of 500 residents from Wajir South have raised concerns over a Sh2.2 billion project funded by the World Bank, citing a conflict of interest due to the involvement of MP Mohamud Sheikh Mohammed Omar.
The residents claim that the project, aimed at economically and socially empowering local communities hosting refugees, was awarded to Waso Resource Development Agency (Warda) for Sh160 million to oversee the World Bank billions.
They allege that the MP founded the agency and that it is currently being managed by his brother and relatives.
The money is part of Sh10 billion shared among three refugee-hosting communities in Garissa, Wajir, and Turkana, administered by the Office of the President under the Kenya Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project.
The fund aims at enhancing access to basic social services, expanding economic opportunities, and ensuring environmental management for communities hosting refugees in the targeted counties.
MP Omar refuted the claims, stating that the allegations are lies and that he does not own the NGO, Warda.
The petition was copied to the World Bank Kenya office, Office of the President, and Head of Public Service, with the residents stating that due to the volatile nature of historical and resource-based conflicts in Wajir South, communities in the area have a marked preference for their organisations or non-partisan ones that are sensitive to clan and sub-clan dynamics.
