Addressing insecurity in road construction in conflict-prone areas: Lessons from the Horn of Africa

While all development projects call for care and deftness during the implementation phase, these requirements become an absolute necessity in environments characterized by insecurity, fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). The $750 million World Bank-financed Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project (HoAGDP) is a case in point; spanning Kenya’s conflict-prone northeastern region, it entails many security-related complexities that teams on the ground must anticipate and proactively address in order to reach the desired results. This blog is our account of the challenges that have so far emerged and the lessons we have learned along the way. 

Approved in 2020 and due for completion in 2028, the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project  will tackle critical infrastructure needs and boost economic growth in Kenya’s marginalized northeastern region through road construction, including a 365 km-long tract of the Isiolo-Mandera Road (out of a total of 740 km, plus 30 km of spur roads), and the laying of a fiber-optic cable along the entire corridor (and 200 km of spurs) to communities all the way to the Somalia border. This will enhance regional connectivity in the Horn of Africa, a region where conflict is a common phenomenon.

In the face of this challenge, the HoAGDP team, which comprises World Bank Task Team members and officials from the Government of Kenya (GoK), adopted a strategic approach and designed a comprehensive plan to prevent, minimize, and mitigate security risks throughout the project cycle.

Here is a step-by-step guide of what we did, and why.

Recognizing the substantial security threats to the HoAGDP’s implementation allowed us to plan ahead.

As soon as the project was initiated, it became apparent that the security risks in the region would present significant obstacles to its successful implementation. Risk factors included competition for resources, cattle rustling, ethnic and clan conflicts, political dynamics, institutional challenges, land injustices, porous borders, and an illicit firearms trade. A history of high youth unemployment and marginalization has also made the region susceptible to radicalization and violent extremism, a vulnerability that the Al-Shabaab terror group has exploited.

In light of these circumstances, we made it an imperative priority to ensure the security of all project personnel, contractors, assets, and the neighboring communities, in accordance with the World Bank’s Environmental and Social Framework. This led us to develop a detailed plan and a comprehensive, adaptable approach involving both state and non-state actors capable of answering these challenges.

Relying on the government’s lead and ownership provided us with the necessary knowledge of local conditions.

The government agencies implementing the HoAGDP, including the Ministry of Roads and Transport, Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), the Ministry of Interior, and the national security agencies developed a robust framework to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the security and safety measures of the project. To ensure a comprehensive approach, the World Bank also engaged a Kenyan security consultant with in-depth knowledge of the region who provided expert advice on the drivers and sustainers of conflict. Through this collaborative effort, the GoK successfully developed its first-ever Security Management Plan (SMP) in a development project, which delineated the architecture of security management while ensuring compliance with World Bank safeguard standards.

Conducting a south-south knowledge exchange provided important insight.

The World Bank team, together with the representatives of the GoK’s Project Management Office and security agencies, travelled to Cameroon for a south-south knowledge exchange to study road rehabilitation in an FCV area that bears significant similarities to the HoAGDP corridor. The resulting insight led the GoK to establish a Multi-Agency Security Committee in charge of overseeing the deployment of police, specialized units, and, when required, armed forces. Each road section was attributed a liaison officer responsible for communicating with KeNHA regarding tensions and security issues.

Adopting a conflict-sensitive approach at the local level proved key to fostering acceptability.

A civil society organization with local knowledge was contracted to coordinate stakeholder engagement, oversee equitable labor recruitment, manage a grievance resolution mechanism, and mitigate the risks of gender-based violence. This approach, which also included the provision of vocational training positions to local youths, fostered trust and project acceptability across the area.

Training all security officers and personnel ensured improved results.

In order to guarantee appropriate responses, we provided all security personnel assigned to the project, regardless of rank, with mandatory training in conflict sensitivity, human rights, and gender-based violence.

The welfare of National Police Reserve (NPR) security personnel was improved.

The NPR are local security personnel recruited within their communities to assist the police in maintaining law and order. While responsive and rich with local knowledge, they have a reputation for sluggishness which is attributed in part to poor pay and subpar working conditions. The SMP stipulated health and life insurance benefits for them to enhance morale and loyalty.

Leveraging the Geo-Enabled Initiative for Monitoring and Supervision (GEMS) allowed us to collect relevant data.

The GEMS ensures continuous monitoring in a constantly evolving security environment by creating a data collection Kobo Toolbox which records local incidents and synthesizes the information into quarterly reports. Local stakeholders were trained to use it to improve overall knowledge.

Conclusion

So far, security challenges to the project have included demonstrations stemming from inter-ethnic tensions over employment opportunities, fuel theft-related insecurity, labor disputes, and unrelated inter-communal conflicts and banditry. However, the SMP has proven effective in addressing these challenges and ensuring that insecurity does not affect implementation.

Early indications suggest that the SMP has successfully fostered ownership and proactivity within the government, enabling a better understanding of and more appropriate responses to security risks and emerging challenges.

As the HoAGDP progresses into areas with heightened insecurity, the SMP serves as a readiness tool, instilling confidence in both the GoK and the World Bank for effective and ethical management of the security challenges at hand. We believe that our experience offers a valuable benchmark for projects in FCV regions and we look forward to providing a full perspective on our achievements regarding security management once the program is completed.