Oil firms must be fair in dishing out goodies

By Ibrahim Sheikh Mohamed
[email protected]

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 Article 61(1) stipulates that, “All land in Kenya belongs to the people of Kenya collectively as a nation, as communities and as individuals.” It is therefore criminal for any local or foreign individual or body corporate to assume that since it has been granted a license by the national government to undertake any form of economic activity in any part of the country, then that is a direct license to operate in a manner that contravenes the fundamental rights of the local communities.

The chapter on the Bill of Rights is clear on the rights and fundamental freedoms; application of Bill of Rights; Implementation of rights and fundamental freedoms; enforcement of Bill of Rights. It is therefore reprehensible that the companies that have been licensed to prospect for oil in Wajir County have chosen to operate in total disregard of the interests of the local communities.

The recent discovery of oil in Wajir has completely disturbed the local political relations. Evidently, the oil prospecting companies within the county have chosen to deal with partisan political interests in the county, with some of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects found in politically-correct areas. Clearly, the companies have chosen to indulge in the local clan-based, attrition-based, discriminative, vindictive and marginalising politics of the county leadership.

The people of Wajir have rejected the policies of the oil companies that follow patterns of cronyism, clanism, nepotism and divisive politics. Hiring of staff must be above board and ensure fair and equitable distribution of resources.

All community-based projects, including the construction, repair and maintenance of roads; drilling of boreholes; distribution of solar lamps; provision of equipment for hospitals; and equipping of schools should be addressed at the ward level. Locals need to know the specific wards targeted with the resources.

All the clans of Wajir must be consulted on the operations of the oil prospecting companies and therefore a comprehensive study on Need Analysis must be conducted to evaluate the developmental disparities that need immediate remedies.

Currently, the oil prospecting companies’ CSR projects are concentrated in Athebohol and Hadado wards, and yet the neighbouring wards, including Wagalla/Ganyure and Ademasajida have received nothing. Residents of Garseqoftu location in Arbajahan ward where the actual oil industry is based, have not benefitted. Furthermore, staffing of these companies is dominated by people from outside the locality. The grievances of the locals must be addressed to end discrimination, victimisation, marginalisation and neglect.

We adamantly state that all the tenders, contracts and opportunities for supplies should be transparent, be conducted above board and open to scrutiny. We finally demand the total disclosure by the national and county governments on the full details of the nature of agreements entered with the oil prospecting companies.