Siaya: Siaya residents have been urged to embrace the planned Sh500 billion nuclear power project, with stakeholders assuring them that the proposed plant will provide significant benefits to the region and the country.
According to Kenya News Agency, Siaya Senator Dr. Oburu Oginga encouraged residents of Lenya Village, the proposed site of the nuclear plant, to support the project while negotiating for favorable compensation for land to be acquired by the government. Speaking during a Senate Standing Committee on Energy engagement with landowners in Bondo, Oburu asked residents not to be swayed by what he termed propaganda against nuclear energy, describing the technology as safe and important for Kenya’s future power needs.
The proposed nuclear power plant will occupy approximately 200 acres within an 800-meter radius at Lenya Village, Central Sakwa Location in Bondo Sub-County. Oburu, who is also the ODM party leader, said the Senate committee was convinced that the proposed 2,000-megawatt project would benefit Kenyans, adding that its responsibility was to protect the interests of residents affected by the development. He urged the government to ensure landowners received fair compensation based on prevailing market rates.
Senate Energy Committee Chair William Kisang expressed satisfaction that the two lead agencies involved in the project, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) and the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), had addressed questions and concerns raised by residents. Kisang assured residents that the committee would continue sensitization on the proposed nuclear project and their rights to enable them to make informed decisions.
NuPEA Chief Executive Officer Justus Wabuyabo assured residents that the agency would deal directly with landowners to eliminate cartels and middlemen seeking to benefit from land compensation. He cautioned residents against selling their land to what he described as predatory buyers who could take advantage of uncertainty surrounding the project. Wabuyabo also revealed plans to facilitate visits by more than 100 residents of Lenya Village to nuclear power plants outside the country as part of efforts to enhance public understanding and confidence in the technology.
Bondo MP Dr. Gideon Ochanda, who attended the meeting, called for urgent solutions to land succession and dispute cases affecting residents in the proposed project area. He said approximately 70 percent of the land earmarked for the nuclear plant was either subject to succession cases or land disputes, which could delay the compensation process.
Residents, led by Denis Awana, welcomed the Senate committee’s engagement but called for more consultations at Lenya Village to ensure all affected residents were involved in discussions concerning the project. They also presented a number of demands as part of their negotiations for accepting the mega project, including the tarmacking of the 22-kilometer Bondo-Liunda Road, employment opportunities for 20 trained teachers from Lenya Village, and organized scientific visits to nuclear power projects outside the country.
