APL (Ajiken Power Lunch)

APL (Ajiken Power Lunch) is a lunchtime workshop open to public, including IDE staffs, visiting research fellows, IDEAS students, outside researchers and graduate students. This workshop provides a platform for presentation of any work in progress where we can discuss in either English or Japanese.

Those who would attend a seminar are asked to announce yourself to receptionists on your arrival at the IDE and to obtain APL Organizers' signature on your admission card after the seminar.

June 12, 2015. (Friday) 12：30-14：00

Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization C23 Meeting Room 　

Governance and oil: The case of Turkana, Kenya

‘It’s our time to eat, God has finally heard us’ this was how the Turkana people, a marginalized pastoralist people in the vast arid border county of Turkana responded when they heard the news in 2012 that commercial quantities of oil had been discovered in the county.

It is expected and hoped that abundant resources should bring tangible benefits and prosperity to a country, and to the local people of the area within which resources are extracted. However, this comes with governance challenges in terms of law and policy implementation in areas such as the economy, security, borders, minorities, the environment and culture. At the same time, under a new 2010 Constitution, Kenya has moved to a devolved governance system requiring extensive reorganization. Moreover, law and policy are lagging behind and the Turkana people are demonstrating about exclusion, displacement and disruption of pastoral livelihoods.

This comes on the background of high levels of armed conflict between pastoral groups on the international and inter-county cross-border areas which is exacerbated by new resource finds. There are many layers of insecurity therefore, and the oil is the latest issue. This presentation is based on 3 years of research in Turkana since the oil find and explores the vital role of governance in prevention of further conflict, prevention of human rights and avoidance of the resource curse.

Dr. Kennedy Mkutu Agade (Visiting Professor, Kyoto University (ASAFAS) / United States International University, Nairobi, Kenya)

Shinichi TAKEUCHI

English