- Only 4,734 fishermen whose livelihoods were ruined by the project are to be paid.
- Dredging activities at the port meant the fishermen could no longer carry on with their economic activity.
@ppchetu
The Kenya Ports Authority had denied the inclusion of ghost Lamu fishermen to be compensated under the Lapsset project.
Only 4,734 fishermen whose livelihoods were ruined by the project are to be paid.
In May 2018, the High Court in Malindi awarded fishermen the Sh1.76 billion package as part of compensation owing to the adverse effects, including displacement by the new Lamu Port at Kililana following a successful petition.
Dredging activities at the port meant the fishermen could no longer carry on with their economic activity and the compensation package was to enable them to pursue alternative livelihoods.
The government has been slow to implement the directive, with KPA only indicating that compensation will happen.
However, there have been recent reports that names of government officials are also on the final list of beneficiaries of the Sh1.76 billion package.
The concerns were voiced early this week by the Taskforce on Lamu Lapsset Fishermen Compensation. Taskforce chairperson Mohamed Somo expressed shock that the current list of beneficiaries bears names of officials from the KPA, KRA, security agencies, and many others. He said it differed from the list they presented to the authority.
“We are worried that all this might affect this process and justice may not be served to the affected fishermen,” Somo said.
He, however, acknowledged cases where a fisherman is deceased and a son who works as a civil servant is the only one authorised to sign on behalf of the father.
However, on Thursday, KPA head of corporate affairs Bernad Osoro said the authority was heavily relying on the Lamu Beach Management Unit leadership in coming up with the list of beneficiaries.
He said it’s not the authority’s fault if there were any undeserving names on the list.
“We believe in the leadership of the BMU and thus it’s not our fault if among those in the list received will be fake claimants. What we know is that we will be compensating those affected soon as is our mandate,” Osoro said.
He equally dismissed claims by the fishermen that KPA was deliberately frustrating and delaying the process.
Osoro said they are done with all fundamental bits of the process, including validating the list of fishermen, agreeing on the mode of payment and percentages for cash and development.
“What we are doing at the moment is collecting the bank details of the fishermen, meeting with lawyers from KPA and Save Lamu to finalise any arising issues before we can finally disburse the cash. No cause for worry,” he said.
He said KPA had played its part effectively, which included facilitating the community, especially the BMU officials, to obtain the right list and bank details of the affected.