Kenya has never been so well-positioned to offer its citizens the best energy deals ever. The discovery of oil in two locations and the presence of huge amounts of natural gas hold great promise for the country. But like other oil-rich failed states in Africa, Kenya has a history of shameless theft of national resources and the marginalization of some people even as others ascend the economic ladder. There is a high likelihood that malicious investors have already put their money in the oil exploration business and the average Kenyan who lives close to the oil might want to shed blood in order to be heard and given what he can rightfully call his or hers. I hope I am wrong.
Evidence has shown now and again that when you move into a region and siphon all the resources without due regard to the rest of the country in general and the immediate communities in particular, tribal tensions rise and blood flows. The thieves who like stealing without shame must remember this. While I hate blood flows, I see no other weapon at the hands of people who stand abused by untold economic disenfranchisement even when they rightfully stake claim on the resources that are benefiting others. This is especially relevant in issues related to land and oil, unfortunately, is directly attached to land.
What Kenyans want to see is as follows:
The emaciated children of the Turkana who have for years gone to school, naked and barefoot, not to learn but to get their single meal of bean for the day, should be the first beneficiaries of the oil boom in their backyard. Tullow and other companies associated with the oil exploration and the government thieves who might want to play the proverbial ostrich with their empty heads buried in the sand must remember this. These children must be clothed, fed, and given a chance to go to school. I am tempted to think that the resources are enough to be shared.
The process to refine and make the oil usable within the country must be fast-tracked. The shame of Nigerians importing oil when they have as much as 35 billion barrels of oil that makes them number ten in the world and number one in Africa is something we are not prepared for as a nation. We produce it. Let us invest in cleaning and using it. This will not only create jobs, but generate a lot of money since we will, maybe, help Ugandans refine theirs, and sell to the rest of the continent finished oil products. Maybe it is time to catch up with Malaysia and Singapore, the Asian tigers that were slightly behind us at independence.
The bigger part that might be forgotten is the environment. Kenya’s oil discovery comes at a time when the seas are rising, global warming is at an all time high, and the rest of the world is witnessing serious trouble due to pollution. Exploitation of resources without environmental stewardship is the folly of the 21st Century that defines most of the Republican Part stances in the US. This is not the path Kenya should take. We must keep our waters clean and our grasslands and meadows unpolluted. We have to protect our fauna and flora with utmost care.
There are already too many oil-rich states that are failed. This is true for states in Africa as well as the Arab world. Kenya’s business and tribal elites must not be tempted to open the doors for the curse of oil to rock our land. The simple advice to this group of people is: Temper your greed!
Exploiting oil resources in Kenya can be done with great success through existing structures. Other can be created if necessary. The defining element in all these should be honesty and fairness. Let this not become fertilizers or elephants or molasses. Neither do Kenyans want another Goldenberg or another Anglo Leasing.
Let the oil benefit all Kenyans and let this be clear to all sundry.
Professor Matano teaches at Harvard University Law School