The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Truth on the Lamu Port, Kenya

                                          

                                             The GOOD, the BAD & the UGLY Truth

Hidden Skeletons behind the Construction of the Lamu Port

A fire raged in the forest. The animals fled for their lives. Only the Ruby-throated humming bird stayed behind. She was but a small red speck in the sky, flying from the lake to the smoking forest.

And in her beak she ferried a few small drops of water to try to stop the fire. They all looked up at the Ruby-throated hummingbird in disbelief. The lion roared: "Ruby-throated hummingbird, what do you think YOU are doing up there with your one drop of water?"

Undeterred by the impossibility of it all, the little hummingbird said: "I am doing what I can."

There are those among us who are the Ruby-throated hummingbird. They do what is right even when it the most difficult thing to do. Even when we stand in their way. Even when it seems impossible. They start to put out the fire. They never stop trying. And in their persistent determination to keep trying, they inspire us to open our minds, our hearts and our eyes to the truth.

Such was the nature of Wangari Maathai. A woman who can only be described as a force of nature. She never tired. She never stopped. She inspired a nation, a generation for years to come. To do what right for everyone. We have with us a legacy. And we also have with us the same rot that she sacrificed her life for.

Majorities of the people from the indigenous communities living in the tranquil Lamu County don't own the land they live in; a county that contributes five billion Kenya shillings of the country’s foreign exchange revenue in tourism, little of which is reinvested here. This is the backdrop in which the Government of Kenya is undertaking a multipurpose transport and communication corridor known as the “Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) Transport Corridor. A port, a railway line, airports, resort cities, an oil refinery and an oil pipeline. The project has been planned with the assumption of full cooperation with the Southern Sudan Government because the potential oil pipeline that it is banking on.

In July 2011, Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki gave his consent following which the Government of Kenya (GoK) is desperately soliciting for funding. Plans for a ground breaking ceremony in November 2011 are in top gear forgoing a pertinent environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. Considering the fragility of the local ecosystem on which the Lamu communities and economy are highly dependent on, this would be a great oversight.

Though a feasibility study was carried out toward the end of 2010, some important pre-requisites are yet to be implemented including the presentation of the study to the public, the carrying out of an EIA and community consultations, and the establishment of a Port Management Body (PMB) which is to address the environmental and social impacts of the project.

Based on these deficiencies, the true project components of building the Lamu Port currently evolve around environmental degradation, socio-economic genocide of the indigenous peoples and the construction of a hi-tech corruption breeding ground for leaders and investors that do not hold the interest of the environment or the people.

The Environmental Management and Coordination Act (1999), section 42(1) clearly states that it is unlawful to “erect, reconstruct, place, alter, extend, remove or demolish any structure or part of any structure in, or under the river, lake or wetland; nor excavate, drill, tunnel or disturb the river, lake or wetland” without an EIA followed by written approval of the Director-General of NEMA. The Act further states that “the EIA must: a) Take into account anticipated environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts; b) Analyze alternative to the proposed project; c) Propose mitigation measures to be taken during and after implementation of the project; and d) Develop and environmental management plan.

THE ENVIRONMENT

The feasibility report, LAPPSET Corridor Development, was published in November 2010 by the Japan Port Consultants Ltd, which intends on undertaking the herculean project. The report states the railway to be constructed will run through Marsabit National Reserve. (Table 2. 4-4 National Parks and Reserves along the Proposed Alignment, LAPSSET Corridor Assessment Report).

Several gaps in the study raise red flags on the thoroughness of the research. For example, the project has been given the go-ahead although the geotechnical conditions are still being tested in the lab in order to provide detailed interpretation of the ground that will be drilled. (2.3.4 Geotechnical Conditions, LAPSSET Corridor Assessment Report). The tidal levels assessment in Lamu was done over a period of 15 days as opposed to the recommended long term period of over one year.

In addition, instead of conducting investigation to provide accurate base-line data, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has indicated that the tidal levels at Lamu Port be projected using those at Kilindini Port in Mombasa. Furthermore, the sea level at the project is assummed to be the same as that at Shela. This opens up many doors for errors that are irreversible.

THE PEOPLE

As per the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, GoK is mandated to:

 “recognize that the process of globalization and social transformation, alongside the conditions they create for renewed dialogue among communities, also give rise, as does the phenomenon of intolerance, to grave threats of deterioration, disappearance and destruction of intangible cultural heritage, in particular owing to lack of resources for safeguarding such heritage”.

With a destroyed ecosystem and no mitigation plan, residents of Lamu may not only be physically and economically displaced, but also culturally marginalized. The project boasts the creation of employment opportunities in a region that has only a handful of primary schools and only a couple of secondary schools. Considering that the proposed jobs will require at least a high school education, this is very little promise in a region where education has not been easily accessible and indigenous communities survive primarily on fishing and sustainable agriculture.

The Boni community who number less than 5,000 people will be one of the most affected as they currently have only one high school graduate and a select few who made is through primary school. This would practically eliminate them from job opportunities at the port.

The assessment done highlights the importance of a resettlement plan (RAP) that would avoid involuntary displacement. Should this be the case, the study states that:

“All people affected should be consulted and involved in resettlement planning to ensure that the mitigation of adverse effects as well as the benefits of resettlement is appropriate and sustainable”.

Knowing the speed and effectiveness of the government, or lack thereof, indigenous communities of Lamu are yet to be given their land rights from decades of being displaced and considered as squatters in their own ancestral land. Such disparities have pushed the youth of Lamu to the fringes of desperation. This has been capitalized on by the heavy drug trafficking in the region and the militant groups both in Kenya and across the border in Somalia.

GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Considering that even the modest sized project of a cold storage facility in Lamu that never materialized, the multi-billion dollar proposal raises several concerns of accountability, especially so close before the 2012 elections when the current leaders may not easily be held to account for their offices. It is hard as it is to put trust into a system that has fallen short innumerable times.

Based on the above considerations, we Citizens of Kenya therefore assert our right to know and make informed decisions once:

1. The GoK publicly shares all information on the proposed project to the local communities and identify the true stakeholders.
2. The GoK publicly facilitates an environmental impact assessment to be carried out by independent experts and fulfill all the laws and regulations to be applied to the planning of the project;
3. A participatory process be undertaken with the local communities involved in the assessments of the impacts and planning of the proposed projects;
4. There be adequate investigations and action to address the land rights violations against the indigenous Lamu communities before any further development plans are inaugurated.

We request that:

1. The financiers of this project acknowledge the severity of lack of due process and suspend any further activities or plans to finance the project
2. As Kenyans, we should engage and put pressure on our peers and our leaders so that we can correct the environmental and social injustices that seem to be a recurrent saga in our governance structures.

We cannot gamble on a $20 billion experiment; the stakes are too high. Kenya has great potential to become a trading hub for East Africa, and this has to seriously factor in the priceless natural resources that the country is blessed with. Development should not be carried out through the authoritative colonial lens that will subject us to neo-slavery.

Our forest is still on fire and we should not stand aside and watch it burn down.

Become a friend of Lamu, visit http://www.savelamu.org/ for more details and sign the petition.

By Umra Omar (October 3, 2011)