Watts Up Magazine wattsup magazine online | Page 47

OIL & GAS
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t a recent public rally held recently in Lodwar - headquarters of Turkana
County -, a visibly angry President Uhuru Kenyatta scoffed at those ‘‘lying
to the Turkana people’’ that he wanted to take Turkana’s oil. Last year he
who declined to assent the Petroleum Exploration and Development Bill 2016 that
stipulated that the local community gets 10% and the county government gets 20%
of the oil revenue, instead sending it back to Parliament with amendments to have
the community gets 5% and county get 10% and both were capped dependent on the
National Government allocation.
On 7th December, 2016, in a meeting of community members, opinion leaders and the
Turkana political leadership in Lokichar – the epic centre of operations for Tullow oil – came up
with Resolution on Insecurity and the Petroleum Bill 2016. It was signed by Governor Koli Nanok,
on behalf of the county.
One of the points of the resolution stated “We remind the President that our poverty has been not
only as a result of vagaries of weather but discriminative policies pursued by successive governments.
We now see, the government offsetting loans for coffee and tea farmers. It has never come to restock our
livestock after prolonged droughts and insecurity. Now we need our money.”
WATTS UP MAGAZINE APR - MAY 2017
47