By Rashid Lorogoi
A group of 65 Turkana councillors were blocked from accessing oil exploration sites in the county.
The civic leaders had stormed the oil wells demanding to be told what the community’s stake was in the fortunes the oil would bring.
The councillors, led by Turkana County Council Chairman David Ekod and County Clerk Christopher Onanda, claimed there was no communication about the sharing of revenues from the oil. “As custodians of Turkana trust land we want to know everything that relates to this exploration and what our community stands to gain,” said Ekod.
They said several requests to meet the company’s representatives had gone unanswered.
However, their attempts were thwarted after by Tullow Oil officials.
Ms Ann Kabugi, the company’s corporate affairs officer, said the company needed to have been alerted in advance to prepare for the visit.
“We need prior notice before any visit to the exploration sites because there is a lot of operations and we need to guarantee the safety of our visitors,” she said.
Revenue
Kabugi further told the leaders that they could only discuss the issue of revenues with the Government.
They then headed to Turkana South District Commissioner’s office. He, however, was not in office and they held the meeting with District Officer One, Abdi Mohammud.
Ekod said the council needed to sign a formal agreement with all parties involved in the exploration to avoid a repeat of the Turkwel Gorge scenario. “The local community is not benefiting from the electricity generated from the gorge,” he said.
