NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 28 – President William Ruto has said the planned East Africa Refinery in Lamu will open up a Sh2 trillion investment opportunity, create about 60,000 jobs and supply petroleum products to eight countries in the region.

📻 Breaking It Down

The President said the project would be formally launched on Wednesday, September 30, with the groundbreaking ceremony expected to mark the start of construction of what the government says will become a major regional petroleum and industrial hub.

“We will have a refinery that will unite at least eight countries which will be constructed in Lamu and give us a chance for investment of about Sh2 trillion and give employment opportunities of 60,000,” President Ruto said.

He said the refinery would also help Kenya earn foreign exchange and reduce the amount of money spent importing refined petroleum products.

📌 What You Need to Know

The President  who was in Lungalunga,Kwale county during the issuance of title deeds linked the project to his administration’s efforts to transform the Coast region, saying the investment would help address what he described as decades of marginalisation.

“On Wednesday this week, we will do the historic groundbreaking in Lamu and this will serve as a testament that the coastal region will not be left behind and the marginalisation that has happened for decades will not continue,” he said.

This is even as  at least 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County have moved to court seeking to stop what they describe as the unlawful takeover and destruction of land they say their families have occupied and used for generations.

The residents have sued the Office of the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission (NLC), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority and the Lamu County Government.

They have also named Dangote Industries and two companies identified as contractors as defendants.

In court papers, they say their families have used the land for farming and livestock keeping for generations and have established homes, mosques, shrines and other structures.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya