Turkana oil discovery set to end county's road eyesore after 38 years

For almost 40 years, the section of road between Kainuk and Lodwar in Turkana County has never been repaired.

It has over time blended with the wilderness in the area, becoming a nightmare for motorists. The neglect over the years has effectively cut off Lodwar from the rest of Kenya.

The town hosts the headquarters of Turkana County and is also key for Northern Kenya as well as a transit point for Kenyan traders doing business in South Sudan.

In two short years, however, the stretch, which can take a driver up to four hours despite being under 200 kilometres, is set to get its first layer of tarmac since it was first built in 1978.

This is thanks to recent discoveries of oil in the Lokichar basin and the larger Turkana County.

Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) last week said it had started rehabilitation of the section, which is part of the 297-kilometre Lesseru-Kitale-Lokichar-Amosing road that the authority is repairing in preparation for the Early Oil Pilot Scheme.

While the development might be purely by chance and only necessitated by the Government’s need to start exporting oil, the people of Turkana will be more than relieved after years of suffering.

DONE IN PHASES

The same applies for the traders moving goods from as far as Mombasa to Turkana County as well as South Sudan.

Currently, a substantial chunk of traders exporting goods to South Sudan move their goods through the longer but better Ugandan route.

“It’s high time the people of Turkana enjoyed Government services and good roads like other Kenyans. The first phase of the road will cost Sh3.2 billion and will be stretch from Lesseru in Uasin Gishu to Amosing in Turkana South Sub-county,” said Deputy president William Ruto when he commissioned rehabilitation works on the road last week.

QUALITY JOBS

The rehabilitation of the road is expected to be done in phases, starting mid-next year, with the entire stretch set for completion in June 2018.

“We expect that in the next eight months, the construction will be done and this will also enable the Turkana people to reach Nairobi easily. Marginalisation of the Turkana people will be a thing of the past,” said Mr Ruto.

Rehabilitation of the road is expected to reduce travelling time between Kitale and Lodwar substantially.

The new road is one of the perks that Turkana is getting following the oil finds that have made the country a lot more relevant to the rest of Kenya after years of apparent neglect.

Residents are also getting work in the oil fields where British oil exploration and production company, Tullow, has discovered oil, estimated at over one billion barrels.

Tullow says the county has not benefited from structured employment in the past and it is only now that many residents are getting quality jobs.

“At the peak of our activities early in 2015, Tullow provided 3,500 contractor and sub-contractor jobs in our supply chain. Kenyan nationals represented 95 per cent of this workforce, with 67 per cent being from the local Turkana communities,” said the firm in its 2015 Sustainability Report.

The oil exploration activities have also resulted in indirect employment, ranging from transporters, hoteliers and other service providers.