Tullow woos Turkana locals with car lease contracts
Margaret Kichwen from Meturena Investment Limited tests one of the 36 vehicles awarded to Turkana-based companies in the Sh225 million car-lease contract deal by Tullow on November 12, 2014. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL |
What you need to know:
Sixty Turkana-based companies applied to operate the vehicles, of which 36 won the available slots and will take full-ownership of the cars after the lapse of the three-year leases.
Protests by locals demanding more jobs and business opportunities at the drilling sites in recent months have crippled operations at two blocks where the company is in the process of developing crude deposits.
Company plans to open an Enterprise Development Centre at Lokichar in February next year where locals will be given financial, legal and tendering process advice.
British exploration firm Tullow Oil has stepped up efforts to ease tension between the company and Turkana residents with the award of Sh225 million car-lease contracts to 36 local companies.
Protests by locals demanding more jobs and business opportunities at the drilling sites in recent months have crippled operations at two blocks where the company is in the process of developing crude deposits.
Tullow Oil and partner Africa Oil have struck commercially viable deposits of oil at Lokichar basin in Turkana estimated to hold about 600 million barrels.
The two companies have held a series of talks with the local community and the government to avert similar violent protests.
Martin Mbogo, the Tullow Oil country manager Wednesday said the company had entered into a three-year lease and buy pact with Toyota Kenya worth Sh225 million.
Sixty Turkana-based companies applied to operate the vehicles, of which 36 won the available slots and will take full-ownership of the cars after the lapse of the three-year leases.
“We recognised that capital was an obstacle to entrepreneurs wishing to do business with us, so we have structured the deal in a way that the 36-companies will have access to financing of this business opportunity,” he said.
Tullow recently facilitated women entrepreneurs from Turkana in an international business training programme where the trainees were equipped with accounting, book keeping and marketing skills.
The company plans to open an Enterprise Development Centre at Lokichar in February next year where locals will be given financial, legal and tendering process advice.
“These deliberate efforts sit within our broader plan of creating shared prosperity with host communities and positively impacting the economies where we operate by creating opportunities for local companies to do business with us,” said Mr Mbogo.
It is estimated that Kenyan companies have since January this year supplied goods worth Sh6 billion to the oil explorer, compared to Sh4.1 billion supplied in the whole of 2013.
Turkana based companies hand supplied goods worth Sh1 billion compared to the Sh222 they supplied last year, a 300 per cent rise.
“A further 2,300 employees of the total 3,600 or six of every 10 employees working for Tullow through its various contractors are from the Turkana community,” said Susan Munyori, the company’s National Content Manager.
This year, Tullow committed Sh400 million on social investment projects covering health, education, environment and alternative livelihood in Turkana County.
The Tullow Group CEO Aidan Harvey Wednesday said the company will next year focus its exploration efforts on East Africa in a strategic shift aimed at tapping into the shaky international oil prices and the challenging global business environment.
