Government offers to shift coal power plant to Kitui

By PHILIP MUASYA

KITUI, KENYA: The Government is willing to shelve plans of establishing a coal power plant in Lamu County and have it set up in Kitui County where huge deposits of coal have been discovered.

But the court cases that have stalled the multi-billion shillings project in Mui basin must be resolved within two months before the final decision is made on the investment.

Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir made the revelation at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on Monday where he held a consultative meeting with Kitui County leaders. The meeting was called to resolve the deadlock.

Chirchir said the government would halt the proposed Sh300 billion coal power plant in Lamu and have the project relocated to Mui basin in Kitui County where 450 million tonnes of coal deposits have been discovered.

Already, an Expression of Interest targeting potential investors has been advertised for the setting up of the 1000 megawatts Lamu coal power plant.

The proposed plant would rely on imported coal from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Mr Chirchir, however, prevailed upon Kitui leaders and the community to “burn the midnight oil” in engaging the ministry to resolve a two-year stalemate precipitated by court cases.

“It makes a lot of sense to have the first coal power plant in Kitui where the raw material is easily available than in Lamu. You should endeavour to iron out the sticky issues and allow the signing of the contract within two months. But in case the bickering continues, the government’s plans to import coal and make the country energy secure will not stop,” Chirchir said.

Crucial meeting

Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge, Chief Geologist John Omenge and Principal Superintending Geologist Joseph Ndolo accompanied Chirchir at the meeting.

Kitui leaders who attended the meeting were Governor Julius Malombe and MPs John Munuve (Mwingi North), Joe Mutambu (Mwingi Central), Benard Kitungi (Mwingi West), Makali Mulu (Kitui Central), Mutua Muluvi (Kitui East) Nyiva Mwendwa (county women representative).

Also in attendance were the community’s liaison committee led by Law Society of Kenya chairman Eric Mutua and members of Mwingi Central Development Forum who filed the first suit contesting the mining concession awarded to Fenxi Industry Mining Company Limited on August 26, 2011.

The project ran into more trouble when Mutua’s team filed a second petition at the Machakos High Court, stopping the government and the Chinese company from concluding the coal mining deal.

Out of court

The Government is, however, engaging in spirited efforts to have the matter settled out of court to pave way for signing of the contract.  At the Monday meeting, leaders were taken through the Benefits Sharing Agreement (BSA) and briefed on the project preparations including issuance of title deeds to Mui residents, resettlement plans and key support infrastructure.

The cabinet secretary urged the leaders to unlock the court disputes derailing the mining project, saying a coal power plant in Kitui County would make the country a low-cost investment destination and attract investors, thus creating jobs and opportunities for the residents.

He dispelled fears that the proposed Lamu coal power plant was a ploy to blackmail Mui residents into withdrawing the court cases and hurriedly sign the BSA.

He said the Lamu project is part of government’s plans to produce 5000 megawatts of power in the next four years, adding that the government would be forced to import coal if the Mui dispute is not resolved soon.

The Governor called on Kitui leaders to be realistic and moderate their people’s expectations.

“There is need to accelerate coal processing in Mui basin. We have every reason to agree and have the first coal power plant in our county,” Malombe said.

“If we allow the government to set up a factory in Lamu for imported coal, we would wait for many years before the government thinks of the Kitui coal project. That will be a great disservice to our people,” Nyiva said. The leaders were unanimous that it made no economic sense for the government to import coal when Mui basin has sufficient deposits.

They said priority for setting up of the coal power plant should go to Kitui County, which is endowed with the raw material. The leaders demanded proper involvement of the locals in the entire process.

Mutambu called for full participation and involvement of the locals in the project and cautioned activists against working to derail the project whose benefits, he said, would be immense to the locals.

Mulu said that public interest should take precedent over personal demands.