Govt to relocate Congolese refugees
A HIGH-LEVEL delegation comprising cabinet ministers and other stakeholders have visited Kenani Transit Centre in Nchelenge to see how best fleeing &ongolese refugees can be transferred to Mantapala Refugee Settlement in the same district.
The team is led by Home Affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo under the auspices of Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee that was established in February this year by President Edgar Chagwa Lungu to coordinate a country-wide emergency response toward the unfolding Congolese refugee inÀow into Zambia in a holistic and integrated manner.
According to a statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the delegation was meeting with Congolese refugees and assess their relocation from Kenani to Mantapala Refugee Settlement.
The Government with support from UNHCR, humanitarian and development partners and the donor community was seeking to ensure that the Congolese emergency response in Zambia was comprehensibly addressed by a whole of society to alleviate the burden on the host country.
The field visit was also an opportunity for the delegation to assess the progress towards the provision of social services as well as construction of infrastructure in the refugee settlement.
The delegation will finally meet with provincial and district authorities to discuss matters related to Congolese refugees especially the need to create conditions for a peaceful coexistence and social cohesion between refugees and host communities.
The high-level ministerial visit was also an opportunity for Zambia to identify the good achievements and to also assess various operational challenges and gaps in the ongoing delivery of protection, assistance and services to Congolese refugees.
Zambia has since August last year been receiving refugees Àeeing the ongoing conÀict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with most of them were arriving through informal and formal border points in Luapula and Northern Provinces.
Should the refugees continue arriving, also through the North-Western and Copperbelt provinces bordering the DRC, it was anticipated that by the end of 2018, Zambia may host up to76, 000 refugees from the DRC including an existing caseload.