Page 7 - DMEA Week 36 2021

DMEA COMMENTARY DMEA

approach would be more fruitful than hold- the last remaining obstacle to land acquisition
ing “small meetings” with few local officials in for LLCOP, noting that NLC had already com-
attendance. pleted this process in Lamu, Garissa, Meru, Isi-
The governor also called on the government olo and Sambu counties.
to hold some of its consultations on the pipeline “I wonder why local leaders are talking of
outside the country’s major urban centres in delayed benefits, yet for the country to commer-
order to accommodate local officials. He also cialise crude oil so that we get profit out of it, we
called attention to Turkana County’s plan to must have land to lay a pipeline from Lokichar
establish a land registrar, saying that this step to Lamu, which assures us of 80,000 barrels [per]
would allow the parties to discuss the matter day,” he said.
more transparently. The pipeline’s projected capacity will be
Meanwhile, Lomenen has spoken up in 80,000-100,000 barrels per day (bpd).
favour of the county administration’s call for He also indicated that the midstream pro-
suspending land acquisition for LLCOP. Local ject would help determine whether oilfields in
authorities need more time to set up the land reg- the South Lokichar basin ever produced at full
istrar, which will help ensure fair compensation capacity. The government is hoping that these
to disadvantaged populations, he said. deposits eventually yield 150,000 bpd, he noted.
“[Before] the pipeline passes in our county,
we must have title deeds for our land and given Into the spotlight?
value for all trees along the way for compen- This matter is far from settled. Kenya’s govern-
sation,” he was quoted as saying by the Nation ment has shown that it is keen to push LLCOP
newspaper. forward, and Turkana County authorities have
He continued: “Land in Turkana County can’t demonstrated that they are willing to continue
be taken without permission from leaders and their fight against the project.
locals, as it will remain our land. Our land should Thus far, though, the dispute between the
only be leased for intended projects for a certain two sides has not drawn much attention out-
period and reverted to owners, or else we will kill side East Africa. Western press agencies cover-
pastoralism in the affected areas.” ing LLCOP (itself a project with a lower profile
than EACOP) have made the occasional men-
Nairobi’s response tion of disagreements over land acquisition in
Kenya’s government, meanwhile, has responded Kenya, but they have generally not gone into
by pointing out that delaying LLCOP will stymie much detail. Likewise, Western NGOs such as
plans for the development of oil reserves in the Greenpeace, which was one of the signatories of
South Lokichar basin. the open letter that led some banks to reconsider
John Munyes, the cabinet secretary of the funding for EACOP, have not taken up Turkana
Ministry for Petroleum and Mining, recently County’s cause.
stressed that Kenya needed LLCOP, which will It remains to be seen whether the situation
follow an 892-km route from Lokichar to the changes – that is, whether the LLCOP land dis-
Indian Ocean port of Lamu, to move crude to putes start attracting notice outside the region.
market. If oil does not flow, he remarked, the They may not, given that the Lokichar-Lamu
government cannot distribute funds accord- link has a lower profile and a lower price tag,
ing to the provisions of the 2019 Petroleum $1.5bn, compared with $5bn for EACOP. But if
(Exploration and Production) Act, which calls they do – if, say, the project draws the attention of
for national, county and local governments groups that lobby for indigenous communities’
to receive 75%, 20% and 5% of all revenues rights – Nairobi may end up contending with the
respectively. court of public opinion as well as the Turkana
Munyes also described Turkana County as County government.™

Week 36 09•September•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P7