Employing participatory rights in kenya's extractive sector to promote development
Date
2016
Authors
Mutsotso, Angela Khanali
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Kenya is a country that has actively began the process of exploring its underground minerals the most famous being the discovery of oil and gas, Tullow Kenya estimates that the South Lokichar basin contains 600 million barrels of extractible hydrocarbons'. There is Titanium Mining currently going on in Kenya. As of 2015 annual Titanium exports from Kenya fetched over US$150. The Base Titanium Project adds approximately US$125 million to Kenya's GDP annually.Seeing as Kenya is a developing country and a young democracy it is important for the government,citizenry and extractive companies to be wary of the possibility of economic and environmental shock on the country, and taking from the experiences of other countries it can result in immerse wealth and economic growth or in violent conflict.This paper seeks to explore how Kenya can avoid violent conflict as witnessed by other mineral rich economies, through promotion of participatory right. In this case participatory rights are viewed from the angle of State Participation (which encompasses benefit sharing and local content) and Access to Information (which involves the right to information and free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities.
This paper discusses participatory rights in depth from the two perspectives described above. Subsequently, the paper will embark on a case study analysis comparing the experiences in Canada with regards to Informed Consent and involvement of the Aboriginal community in mining activities and Norway with regards to protection of the right to access information and state participation.Canada and Norway are of particular interest because of the shared circumstances with Kenya. Canada has had a long successful history of including its indigenous Aboriginal communities in its mining activities, agreements between the mining companies and the indigenous communities have been vital in ensuring effective inclusion of the local communities, we shall use this as a basis for how Kenya can ensure inclusion of its indigenous communities. Norway on the other hand has institutions and legal regimes that ensure access to information, we shall draw lessons from this country.
Description
A Dissertation submitted in Partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Law (LL.B) degree at Strathmore University