Why Turkana Will Only Be Transformed by Intentional Investment of Oil Revenues; Not Vision 2030 or Bottom-Up—Dominic Lotum

Turkana Will Not Be Transformed by Vision 2030 or Bottom-Up,only by Intentional Investment of Oil Revenues. The real transformation of Turkana lies in the intentional, disciplined, and visionary investment of oil revenues.

Turkana’s oil wealth must benefit the entire population and future generations, not just a few individuals today.
I have watched with dismay and pity as my beloved Turkana throw all sorts of suggestions over oil revenues during the ongoing public participation. The proposals being floated are deeply troubling.

Some say the money should be deposited into individual accounts. Others argue that we must first be given “peace” before the oil is taken ,an outrageous suggestion. A section of professionals wants scholarships and considers the matter settled. Politicians ask for a few trucks, jobs, and tenders.

Meanwhile, basic and critical needs, long-term development, infrastructure, and permanent economic liberation of our people are being treated as afterthoughts. This thinking falls below our irreducible minimums.

Our short-sightedness is understandable. Turkana has endured decades of poverty, marginalization, and neglect. But precisely because of this painful history, we must think beyond the obvious and do the unimaginable.

Turkana must do what is not normal if we are to permanently shed the label of a poverty-stricken people.

Let us be honest with ourselves: we have oil for only about 20 years according to the FDP. By 2050, we will be telling stories of how Lokichar and Nakukulas were once busy with drilling activities, now reduced to shells of their former selves. If we consume everything today, we will leave our children nothing but memories and regrets.

I therefore propose something practical and bold: we must stop the temporary excitement of “eating” our oil revenues today and instead save and invest them for future generations and national stability.

The national government’s 75% share of oil revenues should be ploughed back into the economy for development and peace, which is its constitutional mandate. However, strict withdrawal limits of about 3% per year must be introduced to prevent mismanagement, corruption, short-term spending, and political interference arising from regime changes.

For the 25% share belonging to the Turkana community and the County Government, I propose that it be invested overseas through a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) traded in global stocks and capital markets and left to grow for at least 20 years.

This fund can be professionally managed by the Kenyan Government on behalf of the County Government.

If properly invested, this money would compound to more than 100 times its current value. This is not theory. It is a proven model used successfully by Norway, Kuwait, and the famous Singapore.

The purpose of this oil fund would be clear: to convert temporary oil revenues into a permanent financial engine that benefits generations long after the oil is depleted.

With these trillions of shillings, Turkana would be able to:

• Provide free education from nursery to university, eliminating the need for bursaries.
• Build mega water projects worth billions to solve our eternal water crisis
• Tarmac all major roads across the county
• Establish Level 6 hospitals, equivalent to Kenyatta National Hospital, right here in Turkana.
• Open robust regional trade with South Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia
• Implement a grand irrigation project in Todonyang using Lake Turkana
• Secure our borders through serious and permanent security infrastructure
• But most importantly, we would eradicate poverty and underdevelopment for future generations of Turkanas.

The writer is a Sorghum Farmer.

Article By (Dominic Lotum, Former TUCUSA student leader) and Social-Political Commentator.