HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1451374,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1451374/?format=api",
"text_counter": 221,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13582,
"legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
"slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
},
"content": "resources, they do benefit in a way of technology transfer, so that, in future, they can be self-sustaining. We know that oil and petroleum mining has become a curse to many African countries. For us, as a country, to avoid this curse that has befallen some of the major oil producers, be it Nigeria, Ghana and the like, we must come up with measures and a framework that ensures that the local community does not only become passive partakers, but are actively involved. This is by ensuring that there is not only technology transfer, but also direct and proportionate benefit in terms of the benefits accruing from such a prospecting oil mining. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in the absence of a clearly defined framework, some of the county governments, for example, now the case of Turkana, we know it is one of the marginalized counties that may lack the capacity in terms of technical capacity and capital to undertake its training mechanism in the curriculum. It is our observation that during the composition of the committee that will be ensuring that there is equitable distribution and sharing of resources between the national Government, the county governments and the local community, we put in place an elaborate mechanism that spells out how such resources will be shared. Let those guidelines be put in such a manner that they are easy to understand and implement. Most importantly, when such resources are being exploited, the operationalization will not become as problematic and chaotic as it has become in many oil mining countries in Africa. As the committee to oversee this is being composed, we need to ensure that we do not only have the representation of the county government, but equally the local communities, so that they can get the benefits of the mines that are being exploited from their counties. In line with the Bill that is proposed and before us, we must note that most local communities have been left out and have not benefited in great detail because the rules and regulations are not well spelt out. The accounting methods that have also been applied by these multinationals have ended up giving skewed results where the local communities have not benefited at all. I want to bring to the attention of this House that during the exploration of oil in Turkana, there was an oil truck that was shipped to Mombasa with several barrels of oil. However, up to date, nobody knows what happened to the oil and its proceeds. Most unfortunately, the local community only saw the extraction and the transportation, but they have never gotten any feedback of what happened to the oil. On the inquiry that was done by this committee about the whereabouts of the oil that was shipped to Mombasa, we could not come up with a conclusive answer because nobody seemed to know why or what happened to that consignment. To avoid such a reoccurrence, it is important that we put mechanisms in place to ensure that whatever has been extracted from a particular area, the local community stands to benefit. As we talk about benefits, there are multifaceted benefits. One and the most important thing is to ensure that the local communities do not only partake, but also get to get the training so that there is some actual technology transfer in such a manner that the communities around will become involved in the extractive industry and they can create their livelihood along that. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}