OPINION: Local content key to unlocking Turkana’s resource wealth

For decades, the vast natural wealth of Turkana County has coexisted with deep poverty and exclusion. Long viewed through the lens of hardship and remoteness, the region has often featured in national conversations as a symbol of developmental failures. 

Devolution has begun to shift that narrative by placing decision-making closer to communities and opening new pathways for inclusive growth to communities that waited too long on the margins. 

The near ratification and rollout of the Field Development Plan (FDP) for the South Lokichar oil fields, led by Gulf Energy and grounded in Kenya’s regulatory framework, marks a watershed moment for Turkana. 

We stand on the verge of demonstrating what inclusive, locally rooted resource development can achieve. This project represents more than oil extraction; it signals the possibility of transforming resource discovery into shared prosperity within a short and narrowing window of opportunity.

This urgency is real as investments in fossil fuels, particularly in frontier markets, are rapidly dwindling in favour of renewable energy options.

Where tens of investors once sought to partner with us, today, only Gulf Energy E&P BV remains the sole entity willing to commit resources to our oil potential. 

This moment is therefore the result of years of firm, consistent advocacy by county leadership to ensure that natural resource development creates value at source.

The recent passage of the Turkana County Local Content Act 2024 was a deliberate milestone toward that goal.

It ensures that the people of Turkana receive not only revenue but meaningful participation across the value chain, from employment and supply of goods and services to enterprise growth and technology transfer. 

Across Africa, extractive industries have often been dominated by external actors, with benefits flowing outward faster than opportunities reach local communities.

When designed and enforced with integrity, local content policies can reverse this pattern, as seen in Ghana, where thousands of direct jobs and new petroleum sector enterprises have emerged.

Lessons abound, reminding us that resource wealth, underpinned by robust local content frameworks, translates into skills, opportunities, and durable economic strength for local communities. Without clear frameworks and accountable enforcement, the promise of prosperity hangs in the air.

Turkana has chosen this alternative path with local content embedded in county law, we require credible partners to operationalise and uphold these commitments.

Projections within the FDP, aligned with our county legislation, indicate that between 2026 and 2050, Turkana County and its communities could receive approximately $216 million in direct allocations under the national revenue-sharing model.

Added to taxes, levies and other fiscal inflows, these resources will be channelled into long-term investments in infrastructure and human capital capable of sparking generational transformation.

This transformation aligns with my nine-point development agenda, especially emphasising Water as a Universal Right.

Through this project, communities will access water from Turkwell Dam, supporting both domestic use and irrigation, thereby enhancing water security, food production, and livelihoods.

The broader agenda encompasses Food Security; Peace Building and Conflict Resolution; Health and Sanitation; Education and Child Protection; Land, Minerals and Natural Resources Management; Trade and Enterprise Development; Wealth Creation and County Revenue Enhancement; and Collaboration and Strategic Partnerships.

These pillars collectively shape the development path we envisage for Turkana.

Revenue alone will not define our success, and true local content requires dedicated, ring-fenced quotas that guarantee business opportunities for local enterprises across employment and procurement.

The Gulf Energy Local Content Plan (LCP) outlined in the FDP must therefore be implemented progressively, consistently, and with full transparency.

We welcome investors to explore Turkana’s vast potential, the cradle of humanity, and to contribute meaningfully to our development agenda by expanding opportunities and deepening the participation of our people.

To us, the FDP is more than a technical document; it signifies a long-term partnership between investors, national and county governments, and most importantly, the people of Turkana.

Our duty as leaders is to ensure that this partnership results in shared prosperity, strengthens economic foundations and creates a future where every Turkana child can grow, learn, work and thrive with dignity.

The writer is the Governor of Turkana County Government.