Residents want power firm to address concerns

National Assembly Parliamentary Committee on Public Investment and Commercial and Energy Affairs, led by Chair Pokot South MP David Pkosing, being taken through the Geothermal Development Company's (GDC) Paka Hills drilling site on June 21, 2024. The committee toured the site on a fact-finding mission after the Auditor General raised audit queries over the conduct of the company. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Tiaty professionals, Paka Community Land Management, and leaders now want Geothermal Development Company (GDC) to provide them with information on the ongoing exploration in Paka Hills.

The locals, through a law firm, have given GDC seven days to provide them with the information.

Among the information the locals are seeking include the environmental and social impact assessment report, resettlement action plan, census report for the people affected by the project, stakeholder engagement reports, land valuation report, and cadastral maps of the sites of the proposed projects.

They also want GDC to provide details on the compensation plan and or progress report for wayleaves from Loruk to Paka, copies of all titles (mother and the individual wells titles), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of projects implemented so far.

They are also seeking a schedule for implementation and the register of persons listed for compensation.

GDC in the year 2010 conducted surface studies and discovered Geothermal Power potential in the Silali, Paka, and Korosi areas of Tiaty.

It established that the Baringo-Silali Geothermal Development Project has an estimated potential of 3,000MW and that GDC plans to develop 300MW in the first phase of the project.

The locals in the letter noted that the exploration has proceeded with apparent disregard for the express provisions of the Constitution and the Community Land Act of 2016, and without adequate public participation and stakeholder engagements.

“Our clients have further noted with concern that the Geothermal Development Company has continued its exploration without adequate implementation of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), lack of a duly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), thus exacerbating tensions with the community and stakeholders,” reads the letter in part.

They added that the process of acquiring community land through compulsory acquisition, including valuations conducted by the National Land Commission (NLC) is unjust, unreasonable, and is not commensurate to the actual value of the community land as per the legal standards for just compensation.

Early this month during a development tour in Baringo, President William Ruto issued titled deeds to the locals in Tiaty.

President Ruto noted that the development of geothermal power in Baringo is a major investment that will attract investors in green manufacturing and position the county as a leading manufacturing hub in Kenya.