KDF refunds for Al-Shabaab war Sh3.5 billion short of target

Wednesday May 26, 2021

Reimbursements to Kenya for its troops fighting Al-Shabaab militia in Somalia fell short of target by Sh3.51 billion in nine months to March as the UN-backed planned date for troops withdrawal draws closer.

The Treasury says in latest exchequer statistics the European Union (EU) and its partners wired nearly Sh3.35 billion in the review period against a goal of Sh6.86 billion in the budget.

The grants to Kenya, through the African Union Peace Facility, were, however, 15.39 percent more than Sh2.9 billion disbursed in the same period a year earlier.

The Treasury expects to receive about Sh7.4 billion this financial year ending June, falling to Sh2.5 billion in the year starting July as funding dries out because of Amisom’s planned handover to Somali security forces in December.

The EU funds largely cater for allowances for the Amisom troops and police, international and local civilian staff salaries and operational costs of their offices.

The United Nations Support Office in Somalia, on the other hand, provides logistical field support to the Amisom troops and Somali National Security Forces during joint operations.

The 15-member African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council on May 11 extended the Amisom’s stay in the war-torn Somalia to December 31 from an earlier date of March 14 after the country failed to conduct presidential poll in February.

The move by the AU’s top decision-making organ on conflict management and prevention was in line with the UN Security Council’s resolution on March 12, reauthorising Amisom to maintain its 19,626 officers in Somalia.

The UN had called on Somalia and its partners to work towards “Somali-led political and security reforms to ensure the transition of security responsibilities agreed by the Somali authorities, the Somali security forces, and Amisom from the outset”.

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