About 70 youths have been employed as enumerators by the Bahari Wind Power Project to aid in carrying out a household census of at least 259 families who will be compensated on completion of the Resettlement Action Plan.
The Bahari Wind Power Company formerly known as Kenwind Holding Limited a subsidiary of its Belgian Parent Company has already began the implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) exercise which is expected to last for five months.
“The youths contracted by SGS who are the contractors will ensure the RAP exercise is done in a transparent manner to cater for everyone who will be affected by the wind power project being set up in Baharini area,” said the Wind Power Project CEO, Susan Nandwa in an exclusive interview with KNA on Friday.
She stated that the first phase of the project of would involve the enumerators doing a door to door census of those to be affected and taking into account the social and economic value of the land and property holdings, with the intention of ensuring fair compensation.
“The second phase, which will be carried out once the RAP exercise is complete, will show the residents the outcome of the report, taking into account their considerations and giving them a fair proposal for adoption,” she said.
“The RAP exercise is informed by National Land Commission and Ministry of Land regulations for fair compensation which the Bahari Wind Power Project will abide by to ensure that those farmers who will be affected receive a fair compensation,” Nandwa said.
However, she noted that although the project had taken more than eight years, a lasting and amicable solution would be reached to ensure that all parties involved in the process were satisfied.
“The farmers have been very patient with us, but we would like to reassure them that they will be happy with the terms we will bring forward,” she revealed.
“Employing the 70 youths is but a first step into the job creation value that Bahari Wind Power Project will bring to the area,” she noted, adding that once the Sh.20 billion project begins construction, at least 1, 000 jobs would be created directly.
The Bahari Wind Company Project CEO further stated that there would also be a lot of jobs created indirectly and the value of land in Lamu’s Mpeketoni area was likely to increase once the project comes to fruition.
The Bahari Wind Project initiative is projected to cover an expansive area of at least 3, 206 acres with 38 five hundred metre wind turbines expected to add 90 Megawatts of power to the national grid.
The SGS Project Manager, Juliana Tek who also spoke to KNA stated that so far, the contracted youths have been taken through a health and safety training to ensure their well-being through the exercise.
The Resettlement Specialist, Eng. Lameck Ayadh further stated that the once the process is complete, each farmer who will be affected will receive a compensation certificate.
“We expect the exercise to be complete within 5 months and a fair compensation package will be arrived at once we do adequate valuation of the land and farms that will be affected,” Ayadh said.
By Amenya Ochieng
