NAIROBI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Friday launched a United Nations-backed policy that aims to tackle marginalization in order to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Jane Kiringai, the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA) Chairperson, told journalists in Nairobi that the policy identifies 1,424 sub-locations, spread across 366 wards in 34 counties in Kenya as being the most marginalized.
"The policy aims to improve access to basic services for about 5.6 million people in order to help Kenya to achieve the SDGs," Kiringai said.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) provided technical and financial support for the development of the policy.
Kiringai said the policy identifies Makonde from Mozambique, Elmolo, Waata, and Dorobo-Saletia all from Kenya, as minority groups who have small population, unique culture and traditional lifestyles and therefore deserve specific projects targeted at them to improve their socio-economic conditions.
In developing the policy to identify marginalized areas, the Commission used indicators on access to safe drinking water, use of improved sanitation, use of electricity, net primary school attendance to ascertain the marginalized areas.
Kiringai said the policy will set out the criteria by which marginalized areas are identified for purposes of sharing revenues from the Equalization Fund.
The fund receives money equivalent to 0.5 percent of all revenue collected by the national government.
Kiringai said the fund is to be used to improve the services in marginalized areas to the extent necessary to bring the quality of services to levels generally enjoyed by the rest of the nation.
According to the chairperson, the two key factors that have contributed to marginalization are colonial policies and practices as well as inadequate post-colonial corrective redistributive policies.